Holden: Gas guzzler tames its thirst with V6

You could average 6 litres/100km with a new Commodore. Photo / Supplied

With car prices rising, fuel costs fluctuating and increasing environmental awareness, our love affair with Falcons and Commodores could be over.

Not that Kiwis will relinquish their large cars easily. After all, would Barina racing fire the same passion as V8 Supercars?

So Commodore is holding on, taking top spot again last month and second behind Corolla year-to-date. But it needs to address its thirst to keep its appeal, and that's what this update to the V6 range does.

What's new?

There are no cosmetic changes; the differences are all aimed at cutting fuel use - by up to 14 per cent for some variants.

Not all Commodores get the full suite of changes, but every V6 is more frugal than before. The police will save a litre per 100km for their favourite Commodore - considerable savings given the distances they do.

How's it done? By introducing spark ignition direct injection to the Aussie-built V6 engine line-up, with fuel injected directly into the combustion chamber for greater efficiency.

Throw in more advanced engine control modules, a lower idle speed, an exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head and a lighter, composite inlet manifold.

Some 9kg of mass has been cut from the engines which are linked to a six-speed auto transmission with a steep first gear for a good launch and a wide ratio spread to improve economy.

There are also lower rolling resistance, lighter Bridgestone tyres with higher tyre pressures built into the specification.

The company line

World oil demand will increase to 104 million barrels per day by 2030, and a 64 million per day increase is needed to meet demand.

It's vital to find alternatives to oil, to focus on development of electric propulsion via hybrids, fuel cells and extended battery range.

Meantime, "we believe there's still a great potential for further fuel efficiency gains", says Holden NZ managing director Simon Carr. Hence Holden's LPG, diesel, E85 and CNG for its current range, all marketed under the Ecoline brand, and a buy-in to GM's global improvements for its internal combustion engines.

This is a global V6 engine, but Commodore's units were calibrated locally, with fuel economy top of mind.

What we say

Dramatic thirst reduction is long-overdue good news.

During open-road cruising you could average around 6 litres/100km, and as Simon Carr says: "Ten years ago if you'd said a Commodore could pull sixes we'd say 'what are you smoking'?"

On the road

Engine performance feels the same; there's still plenty of power at 190kW/290Nm for the 3.0 and 210kW/350Nm for the 3.6 so it all looks like good news, although the jury's out on the low rolling resistance tyres. The stability control system cut in more often, suggesting reduced traction in the admittedly damp launch conditions.

We await a longer trial on (dry) home roads to confirm our impression and to see how frugal these cars really are in the real world.

Why you'll buy one

You want a grunty Commodore, but the car's thirst has always frightened you off.

Why you won't

Cars the next size down are just as practical, most are more frugal and there's still no diesel.