Minor gain in base VE Commodore fuel economy

THE new VE Commodore Omega is fractionally more economical than the outgoing VZ Executive, despite offering a more powerful V6 and tipping the scales at almost 100kg more.

Expected to be the volume-selling VE variant, the entry-level Omega consumes an average of 10.9L/100km - matching its direct Ford rival in the Falcon XT auto and going one point better than its predecessor, the VZ Executive, which returned 11.0L/100km.

While six-speed manual V8 variants (in the SS and SS V) are down by 0.2L/100km, the VE's new 6.0-litre V8 and six-speed automatic combination has increased by 0.3L/100km to 14.3L/100km.

Holden claims increases on other models have been minor, considering significant gains have been made in safety, crashworthiness and technology across the VE range.

Holden has managed some fuel consumption reductions on Berlina V6, SV6 manual and five-speed automatic, Calais five-speed automatic V6 and manual variants of SS and SS V models.

However, six-cylinder Falcons with a six-speed auto manage 10.2L/100km and the Falcon XR8 six-speed automatic achieves 13.7L/100km, beating equivalent VE models.

Holden’s executive director engineering, Tony Hyde, said yesterday that Holden knew its customers were seeking competitive fuel economy as well as performance, styling and other features.

"All V6 powertrains have improvements except Calais V which delivers features and content placing it in a higher test weight class. Consumption for V8 automatics has increased slightly," he said in a statement.

"When it comes to fuel economy, Holden has delivered all the benefits, safety and technology improvements in VE Commodore and remained extremely competitive."

2006 VE Commodore fuel consumption:

Omega 180kW V6 four-speed auto: 10.9L/100km (VZ 172kW Executive: 11.0)
Berlina 180kW V6 four-speed auto: 10.9L/100km (VZ 172kW Berlina: 11.0)
Berlina 270kW V8 six-speed auto: 14.3L/100km (VZ 260kW Berlina: 14.0)
SV6 195kW V6 six-speed manual: 11.0L/100km (VZ 190kW SV6: 11.4)
SV6 195kW V6 five-speed auto: 11.3L/100km (VZ 190kW SV6: 11.4)
SS 270kW six-speed manual: 14.4L/100km (VZ 260kW SS: 14.6)
SS 270kW six-speed auto: 14.3L/100km (VZ 260kW SS: 14.0)
SS V 270kW six-speed manual: 14.4L/100km (new variant)
SS V 270kW six-speed auto: 14.3L/100km (new variant)
Calais 195kW V6 five-speed auto: 11.3L/100km (VZ 190kW Calais: 11.4)
Calais 270kW six-speed auto: 14.3L/100km (VZ 260kW Calais: 14.0)
Calais V 195kW V6 five-speed auto: 11.3L/100km (new variant)
Calais V 270kW six-speed auto: 14.3L/100km (new variant)