VE Ute Test Drive, Review and Issues!

[Huthy77]

Well, after years of faithful service from the VY II SS Ute, I'm tossing up upgrading to a new VE, but after taking a detailed look at the range, I'm bitterly dissapointed by Holdens efforts!

First thing was to take a look at the SS Thunder...
Just taking a look around the engine bay I noticed two dissapointing things...
First was the combination of the clutch and brake reserviours! What were they thinking, especially after the contamination issues associated with the T56!
Second was the lack of the battery! Where was it, well even the dealer wasn't sure and had to take a look at the manual! Behind the passenger seat believe it or not! God forbid the hydrogen buildup that occurs when batteries are being charged!

From there it was a few questions for the dealer, again who didn't know!! What was I the first person to ask this??? The T56 is now being filled with "gear oil", and no longer Dexron!

Lack of storage bin space is dissapointing really! I don't know about others, but as a bloke I hate schrapnel, so in the VY it sits in the little area at the back of the storage bin, quite tidy, and handy to reach when you zip through Macca's late on Friday night!

The IQ system seems great, albiet long overdue... But why put the USB connector in the storage bin???

Now the real killer in the manual.... Maybe it's just my boofy size 13's, but I struggled to get the left foot between the clutch pedal and the firewall! I'm occassionally getting in the ute with dirty steel caps, and can easily and cleanly get the foot past the pedal in the VY, but in this VE not a hope in hell!

So time for a test drive, and I'm reasonably impressed by the feel and grunt the 6.0 delivers. The clutch seems so light compared to the VY, and it took a couple of shifts to get used to...

Redline Limiter??? What's doing there? That caught me out a couple of times, but I guess makes sense, although the engine seems to want to push through it, not stop!

Brakes are again the pitiful Holden Commodore standard, something which a set of EBC greenstuff's would sort out pretty quickly!

Exhaust noise... Well, I was pleasantly suprised in this department! I'm not big on "loud", but want to know that I am driving a V8, not pushing the right foot to operate a sewing machine or vacuum cleaner... I'd be pretty happy with the sound through the cabin the standard exhaust delivers, but I guess external could be another issue!

So back to the yard to try the auto version... I had my head and heart set on an auto this time around, but it faulted on the test drive... The auto and AFM was seemless, tight shifts, but was this the same car, from the same manufacturer? More importantly, was it the same engine and exhuast? There was no sign/noise of the V8, despite hammering the auto, despite using the manual mode and giving it stick!

Back to the yard and I took the SV6 Thunder in auto for a drive, and it actually sounded better than the SS Auto!

I don't know maybe I just expect too much these days, but the VY II SS seems to have been one of the last well built utes! The build quality and finish is so "plastic" on the VE... Does everyone really want a plastic tubliner? Over all the years of driving utes, I've never wanted one, and when I've driven utes with them, all it does is assist things to slide around! Better to get a Bluey's mat! Then you only have to look at the accessories... Why not include sports pedals as standard? Or worse, when you order the alloy pedals, why not get an alloy foot rest too?

Maybe I'm scared by the fact I had a 21 year old, on their birthday, still hungover, talking about short shifting a WRX, and how they love 2nd gear, and how they love driving manuals! My god, I've I let them drive another 100m before giving me the cars, I'm sure I would be claiming workers comp for whiplash!

Anyway, just thought I'd throw my thoughts out there and see if others think the same... Particularly of the auto/manual exhaust issue?

[Thunder2011]

Hi Huthy77,
I have recently bought the SS Thunder. Unlike yourself this was the first time I have owned a Holden. I decided to get the manual. I have to agree with you on the Rev limiter it just wants to keep on pulling. I have had a few issues with mine which are going to be sorted out tomorrow hopefully. Firstly I found paint defects along the top of the side skirts due to a defective mould. Secondly after only 1600km's it has developed an alternator fault. The headlights were dimming and the radio started cutting in and out.
Apart from those two issues which are being delt with under warranty I am very pleased with the overall experience of my first Holden. I have been surprised by the fuel efficiency. So far I have been averaging around 10.8 - 12.3 depending on the traffic. Not much worse than my turbo diesel ranger.

[calais190]

Firstly, You seem to have forgotten one of the MOST important features your VYII does not have that the VE does. Airbags. The VY has 2, and the VE has 6. I would much rather be in a VE if the unlikely were to occur than in a VYII.

Secondly, I agree with you on the exhaust note, my VEII Auto SSV sounded like nothing... at all. I have since changed the catback and am extremely pleased with the note - an easy change.

Thirdly, The plastic tub-liner can easily be fixed with rubber inserts. Not an expensive thing to do yourself.

Lastly, The centre console doesn't hold many churchies but a small container in the console to hold them in is a pretty convenient way for you to access your coins for your maccas runs.

All in all, the VE is safer, faster and has more modern conveniences than the VYs. I don't think there's much to be disappointed about.

[JJW501]

I was going to order an auto VE SS without test drive. Luckily the salesman insisted I go for a test drive and I am very glad I did. I thought it was weak and the auto seemed to not know what gear it should be in. The fuel consumption with the AFM did not seem to be too amazing either. I was not impressed.

So I went straight to the ford dealership and drove a G6E Turbo sedan. That had an excellent engine and gearbox. Could not fault it. But I don't like the look of the falcon utes with the old AU tray.

So then I read an article about the AFM robbing mroe power than Holden admitted.........drove a manual and I was impressed.....bought one.

The console is not particularly high quality or well thought out. Neither is the interior light switch that is flush with the roofline and does not illuminate ie at night you can't see or feel it.

Rev limiter on test drive??? Remind me not to drive a demo car you have driven!

I don't have small feet and I am not sure what you are saying about the pedals? I don't have a problem with boots or joggers etc.

In hindsight, the auto can deliver good power and nicer shifting after a tune. If you are the type to change cams then you can piss the AFM off anyway.

Batteries are sealed these days, I don't think I am going to have an "Oh the humanity" moment.

The things that annoy me most about my VE are;

-Paint quality - it is paper thin and scratches if you look at it the wrong way
-Interior light impossible to find
-Suspension geometry and bushes - all seem to flex more than any other vehicle I have owned
-Too restricted but that is easily fixed
-For ute, the tray has poor tie down points, and the allocated places in the tray are not in the corner - but 8 inches from the edge in the middle of the tray! Crazy.

The plastic tray is a good thing. It doesn't scratch or dent, is easy to keep clean, is strong, lightweight..........Once you have one you will prefer it over metal. I had an AU falcon ute and at first thought it was stupid but it proved itself. Then I went to a VY with metal tray and was wishing I had plastic. No point putting plastic liner in a metal tray as dirt and grit gets in there and takes the paint off anyway.

JJW

[Wonky]

The battery is a sealed unit and you won't get hydrogen gas escaping when charging, especially if you use a decent charger like a CTEK.

I put my coins (and spare reading glasses not in a case) in the big "slot" on the opposite side from the handbrake. Works well and even with my disabilities I can easily get coins out at McChuck's drive through. :yup:

Rev limiter on the VE is a "soft" limiter, unlike on earlier models. The only time I've really hit it is when it was going in for minor accident repair and I had Chev adjust it to 3,000 for me. Going down the freeway I floored it at 75kmh just to see what happened and all it did was die in the arse on me till I backed off.

I :love: the plastic tubliner - means no scratching of paintwork and they're pretty resilient.

I thought apart from a very minor difference to reduce NVH on transition in and out of AFM, which I thought should make no difference to the sound you hear in the cabin, the auto and manual exhausts were the same??? :confused:

A short test drive is no way to test AFM. AFM cars can get some phenomenal fuel figures, especially with extractors, exhaust, OTR and tune. I'm sure Mark (Roonstain) got into the 6s on a trip after an Oztrack tune and full exhaust/OTR. An A6 tune will greatly improve the box. :yup:

[ADAM 26]

i went from a vy maloo to a ve ss.

the ve has just about everything over the vy, the ride, comfort, handeling, power.

the only thing about the ve that the vy had was brakes, the vy hsv brakes i think work mush better than the ve ss items.

also the storage behind the seats of the ve is bloody great, the vy was good for a half folded melways behind there!

[iloveholden]

I adore my SSV ute for a few reasons

1. The ride is soo much smoother than my VZ
2. The power is much much more
3. The handling and the sharpness of the steering. You point and it goes, not bad for a big near 2 tonne thing.
4. Interior layout and space is good for a ute
5. Looks rad!!

Downsides

1. I dont have a hardlid yet :(
2. Gearbox can be slightly notchy at times, especially when cold but nothing major
3. Stereo is a gramophone with an elderly person sitting on it
4 The general fit and finish is ify in places but im probably being a perfectionist here. Also the paint quality isnt as good as my VZ!

The upsides really outweigh the down, so im happy with my purchase.

People say to me, "Michael, how can you deal with paying 80bucks a week for BP ultimate in a car you dont really need?"

I reply with "who cares, i can afford it and at the end of the day my smile is the only thing that matters"

:)

[GavinO]

the ve has just about everything over the vy, the ride, comfort, handeling, power.

Couldn't agree more. Having owned 4 SS utes (VU, VYII, VZ and VE), I found the VE a world apart from the previous models in terms of ride quality and comfort.

In terms of power difference between AFM and non AFM versions of the 6L engine, I'd say they are stuff all really (having driven a non AFM ute for 3 years, followed by an AFM Calais for the last 6 months)

All of my pre VE utes felt decidely 'old' after 40,000kms, but the VE was still tight as a drum and rattle free after 100,000+ kms.

Just my thoughts on your comparison of 2 vehicles I have owned.

BTW, battery placement is not an issue - VE uses a calcium battery (as opposed to a lead acid battery)

[ATOMICSS]

The things that annoy me most about my VE are;

-Paint quality - it is paper thin and scratches if you look at it the wrong way
and takes the paint off anyway.

JJW

I was mucking around with a fancy device at work the other day that can measure paint thickness, for fun and curiousity I decided to check a few cars in the office car park, resuts from memory were.
VE Holden 150um, VZ Holden 150um, Ford territory 140um, Suburu Liberty 80um, Toyota Landcruiser 160um, Hyundai 120um, BA Falcon ute 300um (but the driver of that ones a shocker and probably had a few extra repair coats in there from his driving misadventures). Checked a couple more but cant remember the results, in reality though don't think the VEs have thinner paint, generally, than other cars. Might not be super quality but not super thin.

[Wonky]

My previous VE was a nickel SSV sedan and now with the SSV ute it's white. First thing I do with my cars is get them properly detailed by the Little Master (Damian at Final Inspection), which includes a protective coat of one sort or another. The ute has Seal Strong (normally an extra $90) which lasts for a year or more while retaining an easy to maintain gleam. Therefore, possibly that gives it some extra protection but so far with both cars things have happened which I expected to scratch the paint, at least a little, but so far so good. No swirls etc even though I have to pay to have it washed by others.

[smokey777]

the worst for VE is paint chips on bonnet :(

[grpawalky]

I was initially in the market for a low km's VZ Thunder ute. Drove a few that were ok, but then thought for a little more I could buy a VE SSV. Went and drove a VE and they are like chalk and cheese. Loved it so much, i bought an SSV.
I'm 6'4" and felt limited in seat adjustment and overall legroom in the VZ, completely different story in the VE. They have heaps of room, I can't even drive the thing if the seat is all the way back! Internal storage is awesome also.
I love this thing!! Also has heaps of Safety features not available in the VZ and they look fantastic. Biggest downside is the stereo, it's pretty ordinary but on the whole, I prefer the VE. Have to agree about the paint, it chips very easily!

[tomo]

[QUOTE=Huthy77;1910092]Well, after years of faithful service from the VY II SS Ute, I'm tossing up upgrading to a new VE, but after taking a detailed look at the range, I'm bitterly dissapointed by Holdens efforts!

First thing was to take a look at the SS Thunder...
Just taking a look around the engine bay I noticed two dissapointing things...
First was the combination of the clutch and brake reserviours! What were they thinking, especially after the contamination issues associated with the T56!
Second was the lack of the battery! Where was it, well even the dealer wasn't sure and had to take a look at the manual! Behind the passenger seat believe it or not! God forbid the hydrogen buildup that occurs when batteries are being charged!

sealed battry? hydrogen meh just dont smoke...

[JJW501]

Good point about the safety.

I am not a fan of the ABS on the VT-VZ series cars.

The ESP on the VE is much smarter and much more advanced. I have tried to trick it, and it is good.

Sure you can still crash, but it does offer a safety advantage over non ESP cars.

Factor in more airbags plus a better engineered structure and you have a superior vehicle hands down.

Its a shame they couldn't strip some weight out of it.

JJW

[701let]

Had a vz ss ute... Wasn't even half the car the VE is... You've had your vy for a while, maybe you just need to get used to the VE? Seriously you won't look back...

[Wonky]

the worst for VE is paint chips on bonnet :(

Strange..... I'll have to check tomorrow in daylight but we live down at least 1.5km of dirt road (more if we come in the other way) at least half of which has plenty of stones at times (depending on how recently it was graded) and has an 80kmh speed limit. I always slow down as another car approaches but quite a few cars have approached and gone past at or near the limit, yet in well over 2 years and 37,000km last time I looked I'm sure the bonnet has no stone chips.

[smokey777]

Strange..... I'll have to check tomorrow in daylight but we live down at least 1.5km of dirt road (more if we come in the other way) at least half of which has plenty of stones at times (depending on how recently it was graded) and has an 80kmh speed limit. I always slow down as another car approaches but quite a few cars have approached and gone past at or near the limit, yet in well over 2 years and 37,000km last time I looked I'm sure the bonnet has no stone chips.

i think mine is due to 90% of my 25ks in 2 yrs being long trips. even though i always sat well back from trucks etc it's hard to avoid

[JJW501]

Strange..... I'll have to check tomorrow in daylight but we live down at least 1.5km of dirt road (more if we come in the other way) at least half of which has plenty of stones at times (depending on how recently it was graded) and has an 80kmh speed limit. I always slow down as another car approaches but quite a few cars have approached and gone past at or near the limit, yet in well over 2 years and 37,000km last time I looked I'm sure the bonnet has no stone chips.

I thought I didn't have any chips til I poilished mine recently......35,000kms and there is a good peppering across the front of the bonnet and one on the roof.

JJW

[iloveholden]

I thought I didn't have any chips til I poilished mine recently......35,000kms and there is a good peppering across the front of the bonnet and one on the roof.

JJW

Nah i agree. The VE paint is softer so to speak and chips easier! Also easier to create swirl marks etc.

[whitels1ss]

Nah i agree. The VE paint is softer so to speak and chips easier! Also easier to create swirl marks etc.
There have been posts about the paint on VE's being soft in the past.
Here is one thread on the subject. :)


http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=140917&highlight=paint+chips+ve

[smokey777]

I thought I didn't have any chips til I poilished mine recently......35,000kms and there is a good peppering across the front of the bonnet and one on the roof.

JJW

ya worse thing ya can do is wash a VE lol