Holden's first imported Commodore will be smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient than the one it replaces, offering four-cylinder turbo diesel and petrol engines as well as an updated version of the 3.6-litre V6.
Today's announcement of the new model confirms Holden's worst secret – that the imported Commodore would be a rebadged Opel Insignia - while revealing key details about the biggest change to the Australian manufacturer's core large car since it began producing family vehicles in 1948.
Due in 2018, the controversial new Commodore will for the first time drive the front wheels and not be offered with a V8 engine option or a sedan body style.
To be produced in Opel's Russeslheim factory in Germany, the fifth generation of a car that has helped define Holden will not arrive in dealerships until February, 2018.
But Holden had begun what will be one of its most challenging sales pitches by allowing selected media limited access to heavily camouflaged development cars, which have been in Australia since August as part of an intensive development program.
The new Commodore – so far referred to by Holden as the NG Commodore, or Next Generation Commodore – is 74mm shorter and 36mm narrower than the current VF model, which continues in production until late 2017.
The reduced length hasn't negatively impacted interior space because of improved packaging as a result of having the engine run across the engine bay (in an east-west configuration) rather than along the length of the car, as with every other Commodore. So the distance between front and rear occupants is just 1mm shorter than the outgoing car and rear knee room is claimed to be identical.
But the narrower cabin means the Commodore is no longer as well suited to three adults across the rear, long a sales pitch of the big-car-for-a-big-country.
And while front headroom is unchanged, rear headroom has shrunk 13mm, although Holden still claims it's more than adequate for tall Australians.
The traditional Commodore sedan will be killed off, too, instead replaced with a five-door hatchback body style to be marketed as Sportback.
There will also be a wagon, or Sportwagon, which is expected to spawn a Subaru Outback-style light duty off-roader.
Under the bonnet is the choice of two 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engines – one petrol and one diesel – as well as a 3.6-litre V6.
In Australia the four-cylinder engines will drive the front wheels in the quest to reduce fuel use.
It's a bold move, especially considering Holden's failed Starfire four-cylinder engine that was largely loathed in early 1980s Commodores.
But sales director Peter Keley says the new engines are a very different proposition.
"We've done intensive research [on the new Commodore] … and it's about what the car does, not what it is," said Keley.
"For the core of our customers the ability to have a V6 and have the all-wheel drive will give them a lot of comfort. Where we will have the opportunity to expand sales will be the fact that we have a great entry level powertrain, which will be the best performing powertrain we've had in our entry level cars ever."
Traditionalists and those wanting more power will be able to choose a 3.6-litre V6 – a heavy evolution of the V6 in the current Commodore – which will be the performance hero of the new 2018 Commodore.
While the 230kW of power and 370Nm of torque fall well short of the heady outputs delivered by current V8 Commodores, the reduction in weight of between 200kg and 300kg combined with an all-wheel drive system that improves traction will deliver 0-100km/h acceleration times of 6.0 seconds.
Indeed the all-wheel drive system is a big part of the Commodore performance play.
The so-called Twinster system eschews a rear differential and instead uses two clutch plates to constantly monitor conditions and adjust drive accordingly.
In gentle driving all the drive is sent to the front wheels, but when taking off or in slippery conditions the Commodore V6 will be able to send up to half the engine's drive to the rear wheels, actively splitting it from left to right in microseconds.
But it's the technology play that will form much of the Commodore's sales pitch.
Holden has confirmed matrix LED headlights with auto high beam as well as the latest Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
Also expect a suite of crash avoidance technology once more details of the car are released over coming months.
10 Comments
chris s | 2016-10-25 23:21:57
Firstly lets get this straight, its not Holden its a re badged Opel, may be it might have some mods for our hopeless roads. It will not pull a load nor get off from the lights with four Ozzie coppers in it. If it is smaller in the back seat it won't get three baby seats across, the list goes on, good luck! GM. It will have lost its appeal, and just be another contender in the mid size range which is over crowded already, I can see this hitting a brick wall like the Astra. If it goes up against the like of Kia/Subaru/Hyundai at significantly more cost it will be cactus PS Ford has been quite open about its Falcon replacement the Mondeo which does take three in the back!
The Voice | 2016-10-25 23:38:10
@chris s How can you say the new Commodore will have lost its appeal? Isn't Holden's manufacturing closure due to the Commodore's lack of appeal to the market?
hatchman76 | 2016-10-26 00:41:20
Ah chris s you do realise that the original Commodore was a rebadged Opel Omega, modified for Australian conditions and fitted with the venerable 202 inline 6 that featured in many a Holden before it Holden aren't exactly cutting new ground here.
ibstltr | 2016-10-26 01:17:21
hatchman76 you do realise that when GMH did this (from memory it was actually the Omega body with the Senator nose) it was such a sales flop compared to the XD/XE Falcon that GM USA had to bail them out to the tune of millions of dollars and told them never again ? The limitations that Chris S describes show that Holden have forgotten that very expensive mistake, and if the same issue occurs then we won't see the Holden badge in Australia much longer. All heil our new German overlords, Opel.
pmcd3 | 2016-10-26 02:17:31
In Australia the four-cylinder engines will drive the front wheels in the quest to reduce fuel use.??? What does driving the front wheels have to do with saving fuel? Just more expensive mechanicals for the consumer to pay for.
Gdaydaniel | 2016-10-26 02:18:07
I agree with Chis... and others. This car won't cut it for those who by the traditional Commodore (Falcon). And many people who once drove tjese cars for towing, family, etc have moved on to SUVsand 4 door utes. So perhaps Holden should have ended the model; i think it will struggle against other mid weight contenders.
bmerigan | 2016-10-26 02:48:30
As Chris says - it won't tow very well and it won't seat 5 adults. I can't believe they would call that car a Commodore. Looks like the Ford Mondeo is going to do well in 2018+.
Top Gear | 2016-10-26 06:17:50
Yawn.... who cares about Holden. There are plenty of better quality/more exciting cars out there.
Steve 0 | 2016-10-26 06:53:16
The Holden faithfull will leave in droves. Who wants another Camry copy? They better give us the Camaro or they aren't going to survive!
stroppy | 2016-10-26 09:20:07
How sad that it's come to this. Australia has gone full circle...from living off the sheep's back and what we could dig out of the ground to a manufacturing nation with flair and ability back to living off the sheep's back and what we could dig out of the soil. We now make so few things in this country (including some processed foods) that it's actually a surprise to see something labelled Made in Australia. We are supposed to be transitioning to a service economy but to be a successful service economy requires people who are gainfully employed prevailing upon those services. We really have shot ourselves in the foot. I despise what Abbott and Hockey did to the car industry but in a bigger sense there were fundamental problems with the industry from its inception. The problem was that the government backed foreign manufacturers and never encouraged local investment in local product. Hence all decisions for the local car makers can from their masters in Detroit or Tokyo. Now there is a real chance for a local consortium to grab one of these factories on the cheap and the production machinery therein IF the government directs one of the manufacturers to leave its machinery behind AND they could do that by simply saying that if the factory is not left as is then the company will be made to pay back all the tax-payer subsidies for the last thirty years. The local consortium could look at building the kind of car Australians want...perhaps a small car with a bit of go and an SUV with great quality. Let's not also forget that having a car industry is great insurance in times of war. Sir Lawrence Hartnett who was CEO of Holden at the start of WW2 was asked by the Federal Government to start building war materiel in the Holden plants asap. They did so within three weeks and turned out stuff as diverse as airplane engines to binoculars. Not a bad thing to have if the world situation went pear-shaped. As it is now the moment a war started all our vital medical supplies and oil would be cut off simply by severing the shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.