Tools of the trayed

Utes can no longer just do the job, they've got to look good as well. ALASTAIR SLOANE reports on Holden's latest offering.

Former American President Bill Clinton had a ute back in the 1970s when he was a budding politician in Arkansas - "When I was younger and had a life."

It was an El Camino, a swept-up two-door made by General Motors. "It was a real sort of down-southern deal," said Clinton. "I had astro turf in the back. You don't want to know why, but I did."

Any down-home country boy can guess - the astro turf was canoodling Clinton's casting couch, years before he learned to work the Oval Office.

The latest ute from GM subsidiary Holden doesn't come with astro turf, nor is it likely to lead to the White House. But it is the spiritual successor to the El Camino, certainly in terms of styling, with the cabin roof sweeping into the wellside.

Holden calls its first genuine new ute in 10 years the VU. It is the 23rd model and celebrates the 50th anniversary of Holden utes. The first official Holden ute was the FX of 1951.

Holden says it has tried to make the VU behave like the four-door Commodore VX sedan - New Zealand's best-selling passenger car - on the road as well as in areas such as crash protection, smoothness, comfort and equipment.

It has done this by improving the front suspension and fitting the VU with independent rear suspension, modified to handle payloads and offset uneven tyre wear. The independent setup is a first for an Australian-built ute.

It has also tried to keep down the noise of the flapping tonneau cover by smoothing the airflow over the VU's bonnet and cabin. Engineers say structural and powertrain improvements have also helped to make the VU the quietest Holden ute.

Three VU models will be available in New Zealand - the standard workhorse for tradesmen and the better-equipped S and SS for those buyers who might not carry anything heavier than an overnight bag but who want to look slick.

In Australia at least, Holden expects the S and SS to outsell the tradesman's tool by two to one. The sales mix in New Zealand will make interesting reading six months down the track.

The basic VU is powered by a 152kW 3.8-litre V6, producing 305Nm of torque at 3600 rpm and costing $35,000, either with a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox. Optional extras include passenger-side airbag at $500 and a $1800 LPG kit.

Buyers of the S model have the choice of powerplants - the 3.8-litre V6 or the 225kW 5.7-litre V8, which develops 460Nm at 4400 rpm.

The V6 is mated to either the five-speed manual or four-speed automatic and costs $38,000. The V8, however, comes with an optional six-speed manual and costs $42,500. The SS costs $47,000 and uses the 5.7-litre engine.

The cabin in the VU ute is more sedan-like than any previous Holden ute, says the carmaker.

There is plenty of space and seat travel and and the SS has all the bells and whistles, including red instrument faces and red SS logos on the seat backs.

Standard equipment includes dual airbags, air conditioning, leather-wrapped steering wheel and handbrake, power windows and an in-dash CD player.

Holden says the VU's cargo area is longer, wider and deeper than the outgoing VS model's tray. The standard ute can carry 830kg, an 18 per cent increase over the VS.

But updates to the suspension systems in the premium models restrict payloads in the S to 735kg and in the SS to 665kg.

The direct rival to the SS, the limited-edition 200kW Falcon XR8 Pursuit, can cope with a load of about 550kg.

Sales of the $49,500 XR8 Pursuit in New Zealand will be limited to 25 units - 21 with automatic gearboxes and four with manual. The 5-litre V8 engine produces 420Nm of torque at 3750 rpm.

The well-equipped Pursuit is based on the current AUII model but comes with an extensive body kit, including an aluminium roll bar as standard. The tonneau cover is specially designed to fit around the roll bar.

The body kit on the Pursuit is available as a factory-fitted option across the Falcon ute range, as are the other accessories.