Thoughts on the Omega

[UTESRULE]

what are peoples thoughts on the omega feedback on owners who have or had this car what are A4 autos like on the freeway

cheers

[mmciau]

what are peoples thoughts on the omega feedback on owners who have or had this car what are A4 autos like on the freeway

cheers

I have a dual fuel Omega International.

Cruises at about 2000RPM at 110/KM - revs more at 110Km/hr than the old V6 Iron motors

The 3.6 Litre V6 'does not' hang on as long as the old 3.8 litre V6 if it is subjected to forces going up hill.

I change my oil at 5000 km.

No problems or difficulties from the engine or drive-line since new - done 25k Km now.

Make sure the rear end wheel alignment is correct - I wore out 2 rear in 21,500 Km - car has since been aligned and it is a pleasure to drive.

mike

[blu ute]

My missus had a few for company cars. I thought it was a great car. The last one we had for 2years. 60,000 kms and it never missed a beat. Was good on fuel not that we had to pay. Just having to find the servos where the fuel cards were always busy. The only reason the company changed was to be more green so fleet is now deisel and hybrid.
Cheers damo.

[commodorenut]

I've just ticked over 127,000km in mine - it's only got a few weeks left before replacement, and it's been one of the best company cars I've had, even if it was a bit of an 'unwanted child' initially (I was entitled to a more upmarket car, but this had just been leased & the guy left, so I took it over instead of copping a diesel or hybrid - yeah, we've 'gone green' too).

I average 10.2L/100km - most of my driving is freeway, with just a bit of traffic at each end. I do a bit of local running about after hours & on weekends that has an affect. Best was 8.2L/100 on a trip from Sydney to Coffs. If I don't do any running around it's into the high 9s (9.7 to 9.9 range).

Now before anyone says "the trip computers are optimistic" - I keep a log of every single fill (km, litres, price, total etc) - we have to, as the fuel companies like to drop the odd extra 'fill' onto the account at times, and those figures are from my excel spreadsheet - and are surprisingly close to the car's displayed average.

I got 92,000km out of the OEM tyres on it. The replacements still look close to new. When they went to align it with the new tyres, it was already perfect, and was not touched.

I've had numerous issues with quality & part failures, but nothing worse than other Aussie-assembled cars. These problems have not affected the drivetrain in any way - only the body, trim & front suspension.
Worst items would be the front swaybar bushes which went twice in 5000km, but are now OK, and the sunglass holder/front interior light that just fell out one day - hanging by the interior light wiring. There's provision for a screw in there, but Holden deleted that 1 single screw part way thru VE production, and later ones even lost the hole altogether.

As far as driving, the A4 is always, and I mean ALWAYS in sport shift mode in my car. It's a natural movement for me when shifting out of park. It's simply too gutless & lazy when left in normal shift mode. As mentioned, it does need to be given a bit more of a nudge to get up hills compared to the older V6s, but on the flat, and when cruising at freeway speeds, they have enough poke to keep you out of trouble, and overtake safely on the open road.

The stock suspension is fine for when you're on your own, but I find with 4 people and/or some weight in the boot, it can get a bit "lost" in it's own spring momentum - the shocks struggle to keep up with the oscillations, and it can get bad enough on mid corner bumps for the ESP to kick in to try to hold onto it. Every Omega in our work fleet did this, and I think it's a poor design fault, which probably comes down to overall cost.
I've tried to replicate this in my Calais V (V8 with FE2) and it doesn't even give any hint of it. I would suggest if you'll be using this to go away on holidays, or a bit of open road driving, then upgrade the springs/shocks to at least FE2 spec - not for comfort, but more for safety!

For the price that these things are commanding on the used market, you get a lot of good car for the money, and you won't regret it.

[UTESRULE]

cheers mate great feedback the car will be morely used to go from the central coast to hornsby everyday when u say sport shift mode is that u start at 1 let it rev and then push it to 2 on the auto or is it a button u press

[commodorenut]

Just the button on the console in front of the shifter.

Your intended daily run is very similar to what I do now, but with a lot more hills, so I guess you won't see as good economy as what I'm getting unfortunately, as it will need to be pushed on Mooney & Mt White.

[TumTum]

I do a 220k daily round trip in a VE Berlina, which shares mechanicals with the Omega (4 speed, suspension, motor etc). As a highway cruiser, I'd agree with the comments above. It's a softer ride than my SV6 and doesn't cop the hard corners as well, but for the highway, the 'grandpa ride' is perfect. If you're doing a constant speed, there's no real difference in having the 4A box - only when it kicks down to 3rd and shoots up to 3000 RPM! But, it's not the end of the world as it's not that often I kick down a gear. I tend to leave mine out of sport mode unless I'm in traffic. 'commodorenut' is right in that the A4 is a bit lazy and will take too long to kick down a gear. I also suspect the pedal's physical position compared to the (electronic drive-by-wire controlled) throttle is more "economical" in these models. If I stab the pedal in the SV6, my neck gets snapped. In the Berlina (or Omegas I've driven), it sorta grunts and then gets going. Sport mode will help it kick down sooner and it will hang on a bit longer - the experience is similar to the normal shift modes in the SV6 etc.
Overall, as a highway cruiser for the daily drive, the suspension, transmission etc are fine by me and make the 1000km+ a week I do quite bearable. Just don't expect sports-like handling and you'll be fine.