Since the Pontiac G8 burst onto the scene at the Chicago Auto Show heralding a new era of affordable, rear-wheel drive GM sedans, interest in the new vehicle has been intense. Based on GM's new Zeta platform, the G8 is actually an Australian Holden Commodore under the skin and is set to be manufactured Down Under at Holden's Elizabeth plant in South Australia. This could give us a great opportunity to tell you all about how the Pontiac G8 will feel and drive long before one lands on U.S. soil. That is, so long as Autoblog has someone actually in Australia – someone who can convince Holden to lend us a Commodore SS V-Series. Well we do, and they did.
[Images: Dane Muldoon and Damian Griggs]

The Commodore SS V-Series is the sportiest of the new VE models, available in just one engine configuration, a 270 kW / 362 hp, 6.0L Gen 4 V8 running through either a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission. This car is hot - remember it's the model on which Holden debuted an all-new colour for at the Brisbane Motor Show, the very lairy purple " Morpheous".


Looking all the world to our eyes like a grown man's Hot Wheels car, the SS-V is a full sized sedan with aggressive looks and an almighty engine to match. A powerful, upright face is skirted below the fog lamps by a broad front spoiler that wraps around the front of the car with honeycomb accents adding purpose to the lower and centre grills. The car has a similar presence as that of Chrysler 300C, but without the over-done gangsta vibe. Angled headlights give the face a menacing look without breaking any design conventions and a pair of accent lines run from between the head lights and the centre grill up the bonnet to terminate at the base of the windscreen.
From the shots I've seen of the G8, it appears GM is planning to beat the Commodore with an ugly stick to accommodate the signature Pontiac twin-nostril snout. Or, perhaps the Americanizing of one our favorite sedans offends my delicate Aussie sensibilities. Either way, the SS-V looks fantastic.


Huge, bulging wheel arches are the most prominent visual cue up front, inside which the SS-V crams 19-inch alloys running Bridgestone Potenza RE050A ultra high-performance tires. 20-inch alloys are an option, but the 19s look so good that upgrading isn't necessary unless you're that insecure about not having the biggest rims in town. The wheel arches are so big that it makes the car look more like an actual V8 Supercar than any other SS we've seen Holden deliver. Everywhere the Commodore SS-V was driven, heads would turn and we were stopped a number of times by people keen to know more about the silver monster.
Unfortunately, the heaping mounds of praise the SS-V elicits come to end when the doors open. The sound and heft when closing the doors just isn't right. It seems hollow and flimsy to a degree we never accustomed ourselves to during our short time with the car. The boot lid also had the same hollow, flimsy feel. Perhaps it really is a huge, plastic Hot Wheels car after all?


Venturing down the flanks, well penned fender vents are highlighted by integrated indicator lights that flow nicely into the long expanse of the door panels. There isn't much of note about the sides, save for the V8 and SS badges behind the front arches and in front of the rear arches, respectively. A lower skirt below the doors extends the spoiler's line from the front right along to join into the rear wheel arch housing two more of those huge wheels. Around back, a serious rear spoiler mounts the boot lid and provides shade for conventionally shaped lighting fixtures. Even more compelling than the spoiler or the SS and V-Series badges, are the four tailpipes mounted low against the dark bumper. Nothing hints at the performance on tap quite like an over abundance of tailpipes singing a durge of alloy and air.

There's no mistaking the Commodore for anything but a large, family-sized car. On a trip into the city with three other grown men as passengers, everyone had heaps of leg and shoulder room both front and back. Apparently, the lack of rear-shoulder room was one of the issues that prompted Holden to develop the Zeta platform in the first place, so it's no surprise that the back seat of a Commodore is a very comfortable place to be.


The very serious 11-speaker, 230-watt sound system includes speakers mounted in the rear doors just behind the driver and front passenger, which results in the sound seemingly coming from just behind you. Sat nav is an option, but was not installed on our tester and really not missed. Rear parking sensors are an option as well, and though not installed on our tester, they were sorely missed. The SS-V features plenty of active saftey controls like Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Traction Control System (TCS), Anti-lock Breaking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Assistance (EBA) and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). Holden would tell you all those braking systems are to improve safety and improve the vehicle's response in an emergency situation. We'd say they're more likely to come in handy when you glance down at the speedo and realise you're accidentally doing 30 clicks over the limit and, why, is that a speed camera you spy up ahead? Happens all the time here and it's all too easy with what's under the bonnet.




