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The Holden VF turns 10 this month. Feeling old yet?
Revealed to the press in February, 2013, there was much riding on what was the only real facelift that the VE Commodore received since launching some six and a half years earlier.
Reviews were positive, praising the VF's efficiency gains, better dynamics, safety advancements, elevated interior design, improved comfort, reduced pricing, increased standard specification and V8 performance models.
The latter culminated in what ranks amongst the best Australian grand touring muscle cars ever, in the form of the phenomenal HSV Gen-F GTS-R.
If only we better appreciated what we had back then.
At any rate, hopes were high that the VF could arrest an alarming decline in sales, assisted by new export deals that created the Chevrolet SS to take on the BMW 5 Series, as well as the long-wheelbase Caprice-based Chevrolet PPV police car, with both destined for North America.
There still seemed to be life left in the Aussie large car yet.
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Of course, in reality, things went very differently for Holden, leading to its extinction by 2021. Buyers abandoned a brand that 60 years earlier commanded half of the entire market, and with just one model line.
And there-in lies the answer as to why neither the last Australian car nor its maker succeeded. No matter how good the Commodore was, the world had moved on from the only type of vehicle Holden truly knew how to sell.
In fact, the writing was already on the wall 10 years before the VF stepped into the limelight.
Some background...
Back when the VE program with its all-new Zeta architecture was approved by parent company General Motors in October, 1999, the VT Commodore was slaying it as Australia’s favourite car and a growing export earner, and that continued into the new millennium.
It was a no-brainer to green light its fourth-generation successor, especially as there were plans to export it and various spin-offs as Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Buicks and even Saabs, further justifying the one billion dollar investment.
It was to be the most changed Holden since the 1971 HQ.
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But by 2005, the world had fallen in love with SUVs and out of love with large cars. Soaring fuel prices didn’t help, prompting buyers to instead consider these as well as smaller cars like the Mazda3, larger 4WDs and – most worryingly for the Commodore ute – dual-cab pick-ups like the Toyota HiLux.
Definitely not helping was the looming Global Financial Crisis and a booming Aussie currency, which together saw export markets like North America and the Middle East evaporate, along with the proliferation of VE-based models that were also created to be sold overseas.
The VF in context
Basically, born in a perfect storm in August, 2006, the VE would never recover its colossal investment. And then debt-ridden GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and killed off Pontiac and the US exports that were so crucial, leading to drastic budget cuts in the development of all future Holdens.
Among the casualties was the original version of the VF.
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A rebody of the VE for launch around 2012 or 2013, it was said to be a complete redesign with a new look that included different doors and glasshouse. A Holden insider revealed as much, pointing to several renderings amongst hundreds on display during the production VF’s design reveal. Whether any ever proceeded to the clay stage is unknown. What could have been.
This is why the VF we know was forced to retain its predecessor’s tracks and wheelbase, as well as glass, roof, ‘A’ and ‘B’ pillars and doors, meaning that only the front and sedan rear sections (from a now-more sloping C-pillar back) were new.
The VE ute and Sportwagon rear ends carried over – though the latter’s tail-lights did eventually gain fresh new lenses that better integrated with the horizontal tailgate garnish as part of the VF Series II mild refresh during mid-2015.
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VE vs VF: What changed?
Larger headlights as per the fashion of the time were incorporated, along with bolder grilles, sleeker bumpers and a higher bonnet line.
These were matched with tapered horizontal tail-lights and a kicked-up boot that subtly referenced both the 1993 VR’s curvature and 1986 VL’s famous ducktail. Likewise, the numberplate shifted down to the bumper.
Interestingly, the VF’s muscular wheelarches were slightly slimmer and pulled in 5mm for better air flow.
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Overseen by chief designer Richard Ferlazzo and exterior design manager Peter Hughes at Holden’s Fishermans Bend HQ, the VF’s styling consisted of elements cherry picked from proposals. The design was locked-in by early 2011.
According to Mr Hughes, meeting international pedestrian-impact requirements is what helped shape the look first and foremost.
Still, with the little Holden had to work with, the result still looks great today.
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Though the sheetmetal remained common throughout all VFs, several grille and bumper styles were employed to differentiate grades, from the elegant base Evoke (which replaced both the fleet-focused Omega and mid-range Berlina) and glitzier Calais to the racy SV6 and aggressive SS sports versions. All models were slightly longer than before.
After the disaster of losing the Pontiac contracts, Holden was determined to make the VF right for its new export-earner role as the premium-priced Chevrolet SS. And with the penny-pinching fleet buyers abandoning the Commodore in droves, the decision was made to crank up the quality, opulence and ambience across all grades.
Australia's greatest-ever interior?
Hence the elevated cabin, with a premium appearance and presentation fitting for a performance flagship that has since stood the test of time.
Cheapo plastics (largely) gave way to high-series materials and finishes; sumptuous seats were fitted; and a large (for the era) 8.0-inch central touchscreen was nicely integrated with beautifully ergonomic switchgear positioned around it.
Better still, many of the VE’s annoying ergonomic flaws were binned.
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The power window switches moved to the driver’s door from the lower centre console for the first time in the Commodore’s history; proper switchgear illumination became a thing; the cruise control moved to the spokes of a smaller steering wheel; and an electric park brake replaced the buttress-style item that looked cool but could snag unsuspecting fingers.
Plus, an electronic parking assist system was standard (and it still works a charm in local conditions, unlike most alternatives offered before or since) and options like a colour head-up display (borrowed from the related Zeta-based US Chevy Camaro) were made available.
The VF was sophisticated in a way that no Australian family car ever matched, eclipsing that of even the brilliant Ford Territory.
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The VE’s different dashboard design themes that served as visual demarcation between base, luxury and sport versions were abandoned, to help keep complexity down, for a single high-quality fascia, with only trim and colour variations separating grades.
The only VE items carried over inside were the interior mirror, front centre armrest, rear air vents and back-seat ski-port in sedan. Having no folding backrest was a misstep, though – a decision meant to encourage Sportwagon sales but underlining the inflexibility of sedans in an SUV world.
Still, to this day, an Evoke’s layered, textured dashboard remains a delight to behold. Holden’s Australian team has every right to be proud.
Beauty not just skin deep
And then there was the VF’s progressive engineering.
Holden managed to shave weight through new hot metal stamping techniques, as well as aluminium instead of steel for the bonnet (supported by one and not two gas struts to further save kilos), suspension (front knuckles and lower control arms) and instrument panel beam.
Plus, high-strength steels were added in key structural areas of the body in white, losing 43kg alone.
Clever wind-cheating details included a smoother and more aerodynamic nose featuring sleeker mudguards (now with – still fake – vertical air intakes), as well as rear-wheel air deflectors and the sedan’s higher boot lid profile with built-in spoiler.
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The resulting drag co-efficiency rating fell by about seven per cent (from 0.33Cd to 0.30Cd), which also happened to be the average fuel consumption fall, according to Holden.
The VF also switched from hydraulic to speed-variable electric power steering that brought better feel and response. Even to this day, it’s difficult to think of a better-handling large car range.
Engines were modified VE items, starting with the Australian-made direct-injection LF1 3.0-litre and LFX 3.6L SIDI direct-injection V6, using a revised Aisin six-speed manual or GM automatic transmission to send drive to the rear wheels. Ditching the dual for a single exhaust system in LF1 saved further kilos, along with a smaller differential in the base engine.
An LPG-based LWR version of the larger V6 was offered only in VF Series 1, but tellingly, with more private buyers choosing performance Commodores, Holden concentrated on these and dropped this option for VF Series 2.
On the V8 front, the VF's L77 6.0L in either Tremec TR-6060 six-speed manual and GM 6L80-E six-speed auto was replaced by the evocative LS3 6.2L for VF2.
HSV Gen-Fs, meanwhile, offered either LS3 or supercharged LSA V8s depending on grade, with the iconic GTS featuring magnetic-ride adaptive dampers, beefed-up rear differentials and other drivetrain enhancements for improved performance and dynamics.
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Right up there with the greatest Falcon GT HOs, these are the apex of the Australian sports sedan.
All VFs introduced a tighter damper tune and larger anti-roll bars over their VE counterparts, along with updated stability control, traction control and anti-lock braking tech.
Big steps were taken to mitigate noise/vibration/harshness, with better airflow leading to quieter cars, along with improved body sealing, engine bay isolation, body structure elements and noise-path measures, as well as more sound-proofing and sound insulators.
Finally, VF launched with substantially lower prices than VE (by between $5000 and $9800) across the whole range.
Inaction and consequences
But none of these advancements were enough to save the Commodore.
At the time, it was difficult not to look back at one particular occurrence as a bad omen.
Whether coincidental or not, Ford Australia announced its vehicle-manufacturing closure on May 23, 2013, the same day as the VF’s long-planned short-lead Australian press drive event, ahead of the planned June on-sale date.
Even now, journalists speak of how the mood at the Commodore launch that evening changed from cautious optimism to paranoid negativity, diverting attention away from the car to whether Holden would be next. Inevitably, it did follow suit, by December 11 that year.
A minor initial sales boost aside, Commodore demand continued its terminal decline. Just 111,770 were built between 2013 and October 20, 2017, when local Holden production ceased forever, including 12,860 Chevrolet SSs.
To put this in perspective, the VT managed nearly 95,000 sales in Australia and thousands more in exports alone during 1998.
A decade before the VF’s release, the large-car segment commanded 35 per cent of the total market; by 2013 that shrank to just 4.6 per cent, or 203,500 versus 52,500 sales. Last year it was 0.5 per cent at 3000 cars, dominated by the Kia Stinger – the conceptually similar spiritual replacement for the Aussie Commodore that, too, is headed for oblivion.
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Yet, despite dismal sales, the VF has held up incredibly well in the decade since its debut, and remains a credit to the Australian designers and engineers working under incredible duress.
In many ways, the Aussie Holden’s failed Opel Insignia-based ZB Commodore replacement of 2018 from Germany – eschewing the old-school sedan and rear-drive configurations as well as V8 engine availability for a front/all-wheel drive five-door liftback or wagon alternative – was a better, lighter and more efficient machine.
It is unfairly vilified as unworthy of the badge. Yet Holden bought into the program all the way back in 2012 with the clear and stated intention of building a longer-wheelbase variation of it in Elizabeth, South Australia, as the VF’s direct replacement. Managing director Mike Devereaux even announced as much 10 years ago.
In fact, extensive ZB testing in Australia ensued, with Holden (along with Buick for the US market) insisting on the successful inclusion of the V6 engine that Opel fought against, while local specific steering and suspension tuning was also carried out. It’s a decent machine.
But the ZB was neither conceived nor engineered in Australia as Holden’s ambitious answer to a 5 Series like the VF was. And, a decade on from the latter’s unveiling in Melbourne, the gap left behind is more pronounced as well as profound than ever.
There will never be anything quite like our last locally made Commodore again. Or will there… stay tuned.
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