Aurion SX6, Falcon XR6 and Commodore SV6 comparison test

[turboute]

I still think we need another couple of months before we start getting real reviews of these cars, Everytime a new car is released in Australia the meadia goes nuts and proclaims them as the new class leader. When they finally do back to back testing they weight them up properly and the story changes.

Facts:
WTF did the 380 win car of the year when shortly after is was rubbished in all comparison testing?
The VE was claimed to be light years in front of the falcon - then in back to back testing the Falocn was 'only just falls behind' and most jurnalists wanted to drive the ford 6 over the holden 6 because it was gutless and the ride was too stiff.
Aurion - best thing since sliced bread ... - TBC

[HLC]

jeez those Aurions look stupid.

[Full Spectrum]

Originally Posted by turboute

I still think we need another couple of months before we start getting real reviews of these cars, Everytime a new car is released in Australia the meadia goes nuts and proclaims them as the new class leader. When they finally do back to back testing they weight them up properly and the story changes.

Facts:
WTF did the 380 win car of the year when shortly after is was rubbished in all comparison testing?
The VE was claimed to be light years in front of the falcon - then in back to back testing the Falocn was 'only just falls behind' and most jurnalists wanted to drive the ford 6 over the holden 6 because it was gutless and the ride was too stiff.
Aurion - best thing since sliced bread ... - TBC

Actually use the same engine and tranny package in both and it's a clear cut win too the commodore. It's biggest problem too many are it's not as good auto too the ZF. And it's no as good torque as the Barra.

But i thought it's been said in many tests that the falcon was too stiff and the commodore was a little too soft.
But i would hardly claim that anyone would think a 195kw 6 is gutless, And some might say the V6 is a victim of holdens great high powered V8's;).
Which is maybe why they are looking too close the gap between the V6 and V8.

[rushing on acid]

walkinshaw the auto trans in the vz on commos have some stupid function that is called adaptive drive or some crap, so if your an easy going accelerator then it will shift earlier and so forth but if you wanna be like skaifey and boot it everywhere the trans will shift like skaifey (forget about bathurst at this point in time even though they feel like it when they accelerate) but when skaifey jumps into the grandpa commo and tries to launch it the transmission doesnt know what to do for at least a few kilometers until it realises that skaifey is behind the wheel and not the grandpa that normally drives it, and when grandad jumps into skaifeys commo and tries to drive it slow it will thump into gear at low rpm. this is all according to the holden engineers, i dont believe a word of it, i just think they are trying to talk up a product that is a fraud. i have a bloody vz company ute now and it bloody sucks. its times like this that make me appreciate driving the XY.

[rushing on acid]

from what i have seen with the ve ( berlina only at the moment waiting for more to come through work) perosnally i think they are trying to copy the 5 series but in a very cheap way. the handbrake lever is feral, the woodgrain on the dash especially under the instrument cluster is very korean, rear seat comfort looks non exsistant, high speed cruising is very very scarey (they feel very floaty at about 100km/h) and performance feels the same if not worse than the vz.
that is my opinion so far, good luck to holden for spending 1 billion on it, cant see where it went apart from advertising, but they could have just updated the vz a little bit to make it better and with the change they could have spent it on helping world poverty.

[Doogstar]

Have you noticed in the photos that the XR6 is always in the background of the photo, or can't be seen clearly. I think that is because the XR6 looks so much better than the others from every angle and they are advertising the the new Toyota, aren't they? That's the purpose of the whole article isn't it?

Then again, I might be a tinnsey bit biased.

[uranium_death]

Originally Posted by Doogstar

Have you noticed in the photos that the XR6 is always in the background of the photo, or can't be seen clearly. I think that is because the XR6 looks so much better than the others from every angle and they are advertising the the new Toyota, aren't they? That's the purpose of the whole article isn't it?

Then again, I might be a tinnsey bit biased.

I actually thought the Falcon's front looked the best.
The Aurion's front was weird, and as before, the VE has a front similar to the previous model Astra.
The Falcon has that sporty look I love.

The Falcon is behind the 8 ball, but in some respects, they are also ahead as they can look at the Aurion and VE and see where they can do a coupla last minute tinkers to make the car the best. Then we'll see exactly which car comes out of the stone age.

[MarkAW]

Originally Posted by uranium_death

I actually thought the Falcon's front looked the best.
The Aurion's front was weird, and as before, the VE has a front similar to the previous model Astra.
The Falcon has that sporty look I love.

The "european" look front on the Astra/VE actually came from the Holden Vectra CDxi which is my current corp car. The Vectra which is actually a fully imported Opel assembled in UK, copied it from other Euro cars such as the Audi A4 & A6. Much of the interior of the new Astra and VE is just revamped Vectra equipment. Billion dollars in new designs - bullsh*t - just plug and play parts from other vehicles.

VE with tighter suspension - bullst*t - just watch a new Ve travelling down a road from the outside. They flop and wander around like a 1970's US pimp mobile - caddy's, Lincoln Conts. etc. The stability of the rolling chassis is non-existant especially in the base model omega. The body seems to float much like the driver of a truck in an air suspended seat - great for the driver comfort if you remember the sea sick pills - doesn't work for vehicle stability.

[Wally]

Most of you guys are just making it up as you go along. Take it from a bloke who actually has a VE... it's a nice car.

[Fordoldie]

Originally Posted by MarkAW

The "european" look front on the Astra/VE actually came from the Holden Vectra CDxi which is my current corp car. The Vectra which is actually a fully imported Opel assembled in UK, copied it from other Euro cars such as the Audi A4 & A6. Much of the interior of the new Astra and VE is just revamped Vectra equipment. Billion dollars in new designs - bullsh*t - just plug and play parts from other vehicles.
VE with tighter suspension - bullst*t - just watch a new Ve travelling down a road from the outside. They flop and wander around like a 1970's US pimp mobile - caddy's, Lincoln Conts. etc. The stability of the rolling chassis is non-existant especially in the base model omega. The body seems to float much like the driver of a truck in an air suspended seat - great for the driver comfort if you remember the sea sick pills - doesn't work for vehicle stability.

Hate to say it but youre full of *****. We have several as work cars from Omega to SSV and there is no floating of the sorts. Omega feels softer in suspension but sits very well on road and drives fine - bout same as BF XT IMO (which we have also) maybe corners better but thats all.
SSV is a beast and puts most anything else in its class to shame. I tride to critisise it and all the Ford drivers here tried but alas cannot.
We have 2 Vectra and several Astra and Vectra nothing like VE except inside controls which are more Astra and I suspect a uniformity sort by them across the range like the grill/front look.
I am not pro Holden (not against them either) but I dislike people forming opinions by "watching one" drive down the road. They may have their faults but are extremely well designed and drive accordingly. There is no need to bag something because it is not a Ford (as you appear to be doing)

[MarkAW]

Originally Posted by Fordoldie

Hate to say it but youre full of *****. We have several as work cars from Omega to SSV and there is no floating of the sorts. Omega feels softer in suspension but sits very well on road and drives fine - bout same as BF XT IMO (which we have also) maybe corners better but thats all.
SSV is a beast and puts most anything else in its class to shame. I tride to critisise it and all the Ford drivers here tried but alas cannot.
We have 2 Vectra and several Astra and Vectra nothing like VE except inside controls which are more Astra and I suspect a uniformity sort by them across the range like the grill/front look.
I am not pro Holden (not against them either) but I dislike people forming opinions by "watching one" drive down the road. They may have their faults but are extremely well designed and drive accordingly. There is no need to bag something because it is not a Ford (as you appear to be doing)

If theres one thing I really think is gutter trash is people who critisize for what others observe.

If I see a vehicle traveling in a straight line on a relatively flat road at speed (Sydney M4) whilst the body continually moves a few inches up and down (more prominent in the rear) and all the other cars around it are reasonably static then theres something wrong. So far I've seen this action on a number of the Omega's (3 to date noticed). Did Holden forget the shocks or is this within their design parameters. Note what I am discussing - an Omega - not an SS or a Berlina or Executive or Statesman or any other model but an Omega. What I don't need is someone calling me a liar.

If you had of read the previous posts more carefully, you might of noticed others make a comparison between the front of the Aurion, the VE and an Astra. My note was only to state where the front grill styling came from - the Vectra which preceded the Astra by at least 2 years along with the internal C-Bus type controls.

As it stands do YOU drive any of these cars that you claim to have "at work" more than just down the road for the office lunches. When I said "my corp car" I mean mine, I drive, 5 days and about 700 to 1000km per week.

[Fordoldie]

Originally Posted by MarkAW

If theres one thing I really think is gutter trash is people who critisize for what others observe.

Then you shold choose your words more carefully. Take a look at what you wrote. You make statements such as "they got this from" "copied this from that" "bulls##t this" etc. Hence my motivation to pull you up on it.
Perhaps you should start with "This is what I think...." LOL

I did say I hated to say it (youre full of it) and I still do. No offense

I drive either an XR6T (about to be replaced with another) or SS VE on a daily basis. I have to pass one of them on shortly probably the XR.
I drove a CDXi Vectra for a few months last year.
I can also drive any of the others (several brands) at any time and I do being Fleet manager for a large company. I get to go to drive days at the local race track, fleet launches for various brands etc.
Out of the big 3, Toyota try the hardest and are rather more professional. Ford have a far better infrastructure for after sales. Holden are a bunch of complete dorks, literally. They treat fleet clients with.....hang on I'll change that....they dont, at all. Holden NZ are pulled by strings outside NZ I know so I assume it is the same in Aus....
Sadly Holden now have some good product IMO but their after-sales is complete CRAP

[BI6TIM]

[QUOTE=Rollin]Who in the hell can manage 175Nm (either doing up or undoing) on the side of the road?[QUOTE]

Me.

[Bossxr8]

Let me get this straight. The Aurion is better because it has more equipment, but it doesn't drive as well. OK then. :

[Rollin]

thought the handbrake was a nice touch even though this is a contentious issue even with Holden fans!!

Yeah it's a nice touch until you have your left pointer finger too far forwards when you let it down and you take a chunk out of your finger...

Originally Posted by BI6TIM

Me.

Ok, "who apart from BI6TIM can manage 175Nm on the side of the road?"

Lol.

[ads]

Out of the three I'd have to say that overall the Holden has the best styling IMO. not to say that it isn't flawed. Front on it has got those dorky "big ears" wheel arches and the back of it points up too high in the air. Seems like they were too concerned about the side profile, which I like a lot but it compromises the other angles.

Ford looks fantastic from some angles but not so good from others, the carry over AU midsection really spoils it for me, but still a very handsome car. The facelift is nifty. Ahead of it's time and still holding its own.

Toyota, well, did a great job of transplanting BA headlights and a noodly sportivo bodykit onto their stretched camry. Would have fitted in great... in about 2002. Clinically developed to offend the least amount of people. Lacks some things that usually hang between the rear tires of real Aussie sixes, they're called balls, aka real wheel drive.

You know their going to snap up 15% market share though... that's all Toyota needs to put even more pressure on Ford and Holden.

[MarkAW]

Originally Posted by Rollin

Ok, "who apart from BI6TIM can manage 175Nm on the side of the road?"

Lol.

Rollin
175Nm is only 129ft/lbs which while it is a lot for a set of wheel nuts, its not insurmountable. My normal wheel nut spanner is a 600mm snap bar (flex handle) with socket. If the nut is on at this sort of torque just step on the snap bar.