1996 Holden Commodore VS 3.8 ECOTECH from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

A great car

Faults:

I have had to replace 2 pulleys and a drive belt.

It had a flat spot and it required new plug leads.

Air-conditioning needs re-gassing every year.

General Comments:

The VS's acceleration is amazingly quick for a fairly weighty car. With Lowered King Springs the ride is smooth and stable when taking corners reasonably fast. Bigger tyres (235\45\17 LWT) really give you a sense of stability and traction and are far better in all weather conditions. I have fitted a Panasonic CD player with 2X12 inch Alpine TypeS subs and a Alpine V12 amplifier. Sounds great. Future mods may include a set of extractors, a cold air intake and a sports exhaust system. The cabin is very spacious and plenty of room for 5 people. My VS was not made on a Monday. It is very responsive, quicker than my dads VT Commodore and gives most 5 litre V8's a run for their money.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 28th January, 2003

1996 Holden Commodore VS 3.8 litre V6 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Reliable Holden V6 that gets up and boogies

Faults:

Transmission and Engine needed major serviced on purchase. Drive train of car runs pretty well although 4th gear in transmission dosn't seem to hold that well on long freeway trips. At 110km the revs sometimes drop from 2000rpm to 1500rpm, but this only happens occasionally car seems to run OK.

Front Brakes squeal need machining and new brake pads.

Overall car is in excellent condition as long as it is serviced at regular intervals.

General Comments:

VS is very comfortable to drive and handles well.

147kw from the ECO TECH V6 gives the car pretty good performance.

Have got over 500km from a tank of petrol in all driving conditions.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th December, 2002

6th Sep 2003, 09:17

Don't know how often your car gets up and boogies if you are getting 500km to a tank. I get about 420 from the same car.

26th Nov 2003, 13:36

I agree with the last comment, I also own the same vehicle and I get about 400k's to a tank. That's when I'm not being too heavy on the accelerator.

21st Nov 2004, 05:20

Get 'em out on a highway and stretch their legs and see how they go! Have seen 600-650k's from Brisbane to Walcha {Armidale/Tamworth area} on a tank. Keep the Injector-Cleaner up to them regularly also!!!

8th Jun 2005, 03:59

I get about 480 kms in town and long distance average.

19th Jun 2005, 23:00

Hi I have a 95 VS Commodore, it has to date been a good runner, Although of late the the revs drop in and out and is becoming less responsive. I am confident that its not an engine problem, but more a transmission problem (maybe the belts?) be great if you could throw some knowledge my way

Cheers!

1996 Holden Commodore Executive 3.8 V6 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Great value for money and cheap to repair

Faults:

A headlamp bulb blew. The glove box sort of fell apart, but was easily clipped back together - a friend told me to expexct this sort of thing with a Commodore.

General Comments:

The Commodore went very well indeed. It was fast and remarkably economical on the highway if you stuck to the speed limits. The cruise control and speed alarm are essential to avoid loss of licence!

The ride was fine, but the unsophisticated rear end combined with the dollops of torque from the 150kW V6 makes wheel spinning burn outs or tail happy wet weather handling all too common an occurrence.

My wife front ended it and the repair costs were miniscule considering the amount of spares required (only $2500!).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th June, 2002

6th Sep 2003, 09:14

Sounds like you don't like the tail end sliding out! keep practicing and before you know you'll be doing circle work. Helpful advice from a fellow VS driver. Cars are a boys toy, have fun in them.

1996 Holden Commodore VS 'SS' 5 Litre V8 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

With low cost mods, SS's can rival high priced performance cars

Faults:

Alternator replaced 6 months after purchase.

Ignition barrel replaced.

Diff replaced ($700 thank-you!)

Clutch replaced (original clutch gave 110000km before dying)

Radiator(original)needs re-coring/replacing at next service (Oct 2002)

Shock Absorbers(original)need replacing next service (Oct 2002)

General Comments:

I had a cold air induction kit & a Uni-filter air filter installed.

I have extractors & a twin system from a VS Senator fitted - I really noticed the difference in pickup.

Apart from the diff going, all the other things are normal wear & tear so I'm not complaining about them.

It's nice & quick & screams like a banshee when you put your foot down.

Tyres for this car can be expensive. I usually spend $200+ per tyre (225x50x16) & they last on average 12-15 months - these are performance tyres though, not passenger tyres which I don't recomend for this type of car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th April, 2002