Road Test: Holden Calais V

Review by Peter Maniatis – 23/May/2007

For almost twenty years, the local Calais moniker has delivered Holden a solid seller in the large luxury car market, keeping at bay most other local contenders – most notably Ford’s Fairmont Ghia and the Mitsubishi Verada of the past.

The term «luxury» has often been hotly debated when linked to Australian made vehicles, but in this latest incarnation Holden has come close to resetting the benchmark of what a local car manufacturer can produce to represent the idea of ‘prestige’ in a large car in this country.

Throw any other form of European badge on the Calais V and most pundits would pay the local dealer twice as much as the current sticker price. Sit inwards and take this little baby for a drive and you will feel guilty paying the Holden dealer what their presently asking for. It’s sleek, suave, and the standard features list reads like that of a top tier German car with a DVD player, proximity parking sensors and dual zone climate control.

My comments may sound a little bias, but the fresh Calais certainly steps up as a genuine contender for luxury, spectacle, styling and ingenuity as compared to its European equivalents. “Mind you most of its fresh styling have demonstrable European origins,” you may say. And that’s fairly right, but when you match the qualities of this vehicle with its price tag – and take away badge snobbery – you can slot two top end Calais Vs in the garage for an equivalent European of this size and power.

The «European Holden» has arrived and it’s a very promising car, but with large car sales in the doldrums you have to ask yourself if the large Australian car is going to be extinct in another decade. If the local car clans determine to keep building cars like the Calais V however, I reckon they’ll be around for donkeys years.

Price: $53,990 (V6) $58,990 (V8)

Transmission: 5-speed automatic (V6) 6-speed automatic (V8)

Engine: Three.6-litre, Vee 6-cylinder + 6.0-litre Vee 8-cylinder, petrol

Safety: six airbags (driver/front passenger (x2), front side (x2) and front and rear curtain airbags (x4)), Six pack, ESP, EBD, T/C

Drive: Four/Five

Holden’s Calais V is a very wise looking

car, with impeccable road manners to boot

In a word. magnificent. The Calais V feels and drives like a far more expensive European import: it’s slick, refined and very responsive, yet quiet enough to permit conversation inbetween passengers without road, wind, or driveline noise entirely drowning everything out.

The ambiance inwards the car is tinged with sophistication and it’s hard not be amazed with what Holden has done with the fresh VE model Calais, and it’s no wonder the Americans are clamouring to get their arms on this fresh model (see the Pontiac G8).

Even tho’ the Calais is a large family-sized car, its nimbleness and treating feels as tho’ you are behind the wheel of a smaller three Series or an Audi A4, which is a credit to the youngsters at Holden who have tuned the suspension and chassis to suggest such a dynamic feel. It sits very plane on the road and doesn’t wallow through corners either, but the 18-inch wheels and rock-hard suspension can sometimes reduce rail quality (especially on poor quality roads). Like all good luxury cars however, it’s got a pliant rail that ensures driver and passengers will not be wantonly jostled around.

It feels solid on the road with the steering being effortless to manipulate and fairly light, but very responsive and stable, and this helps with parking the car too, as you don’t have to wrench the steering wheel with brute force to get a response.

Whether you opt for the V6 engine or the V8, the car pulls away from the traffic lights cleanly and sleekly, and tho’ the V6 is not a bad engine and more economical than the V8, there’s something to be said for an 8-cylinder luxury car. The Calais V feels awesomely strong with the fresh LS2 6.0-litre engine rumbling away underneath its large engine spandex hood and even tho’ you don’t always use the utter 270kW of power, it’s nice to know it’s there.

Both Calais V types come with automatic transmissions that are a big step up from the auto-boxes that were used in Holdens of the past. The 5-speed auto that comes with the V6 seems to be in the right gear for every situation when slotted into drive, tho’ the tiptronic feature isn’t as good as the Falcon’s.

The 6-speed automatic that comes with the more expensive V8 Calais V isn’t as good as the 5-speeder, but it comes close. And realistically, the yam-sized levels of power from the 16-valve V8 engine mean that the gearbox doesn’t need to shift as often to provide ample acceleration, but it does well and the tiptronic mode works much better than the V6’s 5-speed version, which will impress the spectacle die-hards out there.

Both V6 and V8 versions of this vehicle come standard with 245/45 R18 tyres, which suggest a good combination inbetween rail and treating. There’s enough absorbency in these semi-sports tyres to help deal with 2nd rate roads, but they’re also broad enough so as to provide the car with lots of grip through corners if you ever feel the need to gas it.

If you’ve driven a modern Australian large car in the last few years, you’ll know how suited they are to our local roads, and the Calais V doesn’t disappoint. Sometimes it feels a bit rock-hard, but it always goes about business with a peaceful, relaxed, and ultimately luxury manner. It’s an pleasant car to drive at all speeds and even in dense traffic and cruising leisurely, with a quality feel through coming through the steering wheel that almost indescribable: Holden seems to have engineered a certain on-road ‘feel’ that just makes you want to drive the car.

Engine: Four/Five

The V6 or the V8, that’s the question.

Let me be up front with my opinion here: V8 all the way. For most pundits the V6 will be more that satisfactory – it provides fine power, offers excellent fuel economy, is sleek in operation matched by a more than adequate 5-speed automatic. It uses a claimed 11.6 litres of fuel per 100km travelled, which isn’t good but looks very thrifty up against the V8s 14.3L/100km. Gulp.

Both models get twin harass outlets – a single pair for the V6 and a dual pair for the V8 – and this gives the Calais V a sporty look no matter which engine you choose, which is wise design choice by Holden. No one gets left out.

For mine however, as I drove both the V6 and the V8 models, the Calais V with its purposeful stance, spectacle styling, luxury interior and a rear end that looks V8 Supercar-ish, the entire package sobs out for the torque, grunt and note of a dirty fine big V8 engine. It just seems like a natural pairing.

With the V8 under the bonnet, the Calais V’s picture of style, purposefulness and road presence is finish. The V6 provides good power levels – up to one hundred ninety five kilowatts – and with the 5-speed auto is responsive to your right foot, but after driving the V8 it sounded too light – shall I say tinny? – and didn’t give you the right rumble through the seat of your pant as you planted the foot.

Engines: GM Holden Trio.6-litre V6 + 6.0-litre V8

While the smaller V6 is the more technologically advanced engine, featuring 4-valves per cylinder and dual overhead cams, the pushrod 2-valve per cylinder V8 makes more power and torque and thus makes the Calais feel much sportier. Both engines have seventy three litre fuel tanks.

V6 Fuel consumption: 11.6L/100km (combined cycle)

V8 Fuel consumption: 14.3L/100km (combined cycle)

V6 Max Power: 195kW @ 6500rpm

V6 Max Torque: 340Nm @ 2600rpm

V8 Max Power: 270kW @ 5700rpm

V8 Max Torque: 530Nm @ 4400rpm

The interior features perforated leather upholstery,

and there’s even a DVD player for rear passengers

The fresh V8 6.0-litre motor litre provides the Calais V with all the power, torque, and acoustic energy to re-assure the driver that they are not only driving a lovely luxury car in the Calais V, but that their alter ego will never be questioned at the traffic lights, cruising down the freeway and especially when cruising through corner country.

Holden’s large 6.0-litre V8 may be thirsty, but it’s got an amazing wallop that shoves you into your leather seat with force.

Exterior: Four/Five

It’s amazing to think where Australian motor vehicle styling has journeyed over the last decade, and one could argue that Holden has led the way in latest times. Holden has never been timid in making its cars more and more aggressive and purposeful in their stance and appearance than most other local car makers, and this has paid off for them handsomely at the cash register during that time.

Perhaps it is a sign of our society that we want our cars to define our own confidence and stature in society? Perhaps we just want to be cool, but personally I can’t get enough of the fresh Calais V, which is certainly one of the best looking cars in the fresh VE Commodore range.

The car we drove had proud styling with more than few European design facets, and sitting on large 18-inch alloy wheels added another level of visual intrigue.

Even so, when I very first looked at the fresh Calais V, I was a little hesitant whether the styling was too aggressive for the market segment it was placed within – but that was only a momentary lapse of reason on my behalf. I absolutely love the 18-inch wheels on it, and they could lightly be upgraded to 19- or 20-inch rims to truly pack out the wheel arches.

The suspension settings permit the car to sit very nicely on the road; not too low that it scrape the bumpers on the driveway or random speed humps, but low enough to give the vehicle a very purposeful stance.

The biggy for me, and this has got to do with the entire VE range of cars from a styling point of view is this: front on the car looks like a V8 Bathurst Supercar from 1980. So much so that it looks out of place for a family sedan. Where the SS V looks superb because it’s a one-eyed sports model, this one sometimes doesn’t always work.

Front on it looks like Peter Brock’s one thousand nine hundred eighty Bathurst winning VB Commodore – WITH FLARES.

The flared guards on the VE seem out of proportion to me on a front of view but look absolutely in place at all other angles of the car. Go figure – maybe it is similar to one of those BMW seven Series phenomena – where the styling will take a few years to get used to, is primarily written off as shockingly ugly, and then two years later everyone will be doing it.

From any other angle apart from dead on straight the car looks absolutely amazing, a modern interpretation of Australian car design that mixes European elements with a strong Australian flair. It’s totally stylish and very, shall I say it, sexy. But perhaps I’m getting too emotional here.

Interior: Four.Five/Five

All the luxury appointments are present on the Calais V, from leather interior (you can smell the success!) to the sophisticated design of the fresh dash, the cloth headlining to the climate control and large colour LCD screen in the centre stack. The overall design of the interior is an improvement over the previous VT-based Commodore and Calais models and even the choice of colours gives the interior a prestige feel: two-tone black (upper) and beige (lower) accented with decent quality aluminium strips.

The seats are very comfy and with electronic adjustment you never need strain yourself adjusting your convenience levels or view of the road, and when you rest your arm on the door treats there’s leather inserts here as well, which give the car a soothing level of tactility.

The instrumentation and dashboard materials are unmistakably European and are of a higher quality than previous Holden large cars, and the sound system is more than adequate to listen to your favourite CDs. Having said that, I love the upgraded Bose system. I’ve attempted to like the Blaupunkt stereos for many generations of Holden but I’m over attempting – give me the Bose any day! It gets eleven speakers and has a 6-stacker CD system.

The space inwards the Calais V is more than adequate to pack with five burly Aussies – but they may need to throw their computer cases (or slabs of beer) in the boot however. Rear seat gam room is superb, but it’s just for the gams, not for laptop PCs. I suppose you could look at the Statesman or Caprice if you want your passengers to carry their computers on board. The boot is well sized too, so you’ll uncommonly find yourself cursing your vehicle choice when going on an interstate journey with the family or loading up with golf bags.

Another of the car’s gadgets that I thought was pragmatically implemented was the zoned rear and front parking assist systems. Puny sensors in the front and rear bumpers of the car relay how far away you are from another car, or a wall, or any solid object, which are represented both in the graphical representation on the high quality front panel LCD, and in audio beeps. It gives you a more certain sense of where you are in relation to your surroundings or where you are going to hit the car as you maneuvered taut city multi-level car spaces. It’s very intuitive and enhances the sense of luxury appointments the Calais V has to suggest.

Almost everything in the car is electrical – except the handbrake, that’s still by hand operated – including mirrors and windows, plus there’s a range of audio and journey computer controls on the leather steering wheel that make life lighter when you want to listen to something different, or see how far you’ve travelled or how much fuel you’ve used.

Holden’s luxury charge is also packed with practical safety features, such as Six pack, ESP, active front head restraints (which are supposed to reduce whiplash injuries), plus six airbags including side curtain airbags. Like the electronic stability programme or ESP (which can switched off) there is a lot of electronic gadgetry inwards the Calais V with the central display suggesting help and menu functions to navigate your way around. But like most fresh electronic fucktoys these days, it takes a little time to familiarise yourself with what the car can do and how to customise things for the way you like them. It’s just one of the joys of ownership.

The Calais V has an internal luxury that can match the smell and touch of it’s European competitors and made this would-be market segment purchaser blessed to say that yes, I could be caught dead in this Calais and not have to pay three times as much for a Beemer or Merc equivalent in order to feel that I was successful. One of the more amazing features that is often a cost option on German luxury cars is the inclusion of the DVD screen for the rear seat passengers. I think the entire idea of feeling proud about what you drive has been successfully executed in the fresh ‘V’ badged Calais models, and the interior treatment is one of the best examples of this.

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