SSbaby
26-08-2004, 03:56 PM
Article courtesy of GoAuto (http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/BD2E7884665A1BE7CA256EFC000B4CAD).
VZ Crewman brings an Alloytec V6 and, for the first time, a manual transmission
By MARTON PETTENDY 26 August 2004
IT may be less than 12 months old, but Holden’s popular Commodore-based four-door Crewman ute has already come in for its first facelift.
With Holden’s longest rear-drive model on target to meet its 2004 sales target of some 8000 units – or a staggering two-thirds the number of Commodore Utes that will be sold this year – The General hasn’t seen fit to address Crewman’s greatest shortcoming, a tight rear seat.
Holden has, however, blessed VZ Crewman with its all-new 3.6-litre DOHC Alloytec V6, along with a new six-speed manual gearbox as standard and revisions to the SS Crewman’s 5.7-litre Gen III V8 and both engines’ four-speed auto transmissions.
Of course, the updated VZ cosmetic package also applies to Crewman and includes a new, twin-spear bonnet, more aggressive front bumper, more compact headlights sans the “Bull’s eye” parking lights of the VY-based version and a larger Holden Lion logo in the middle of a larger single-bar grille.
Reflecting the VZ Commodores sedan, wagon and ute facelift, Crewman’s look has been lifted a notch or two at base level, with the entry level Crewman V6 scoring a body-coloured front skirt and side rocker mouldings, although the baser’s 15 x 7.0-inch steel wheels remain.
While base VZ Crewmans also get silver chrome bezelled headlights and a new Gable cloth interior trim, Crewman S gains Sonic sports fabric trim and both S and SS get Bermuda cloth trim. A new Odyssey paint colour is available for all VZ Crewmans, with S and SS variants also gaining a new Impulse paint option.
Crewman SS raises the bar again by adding projector headlights with black bezels and twin horizontal parking lights, clear-lens foglights and a centre console storage compartment.
But, like SS sedan and Ute, the Crewman SS styling drawcard is a pair of front quarter "fender vents", which actually don’t channel air but are blocked and simply house a couple of chromed fins and the side repeater lens.
At the business end of VZ Crewman lies a modified version of Holden’s base Alloytec V6, with the same 175kW and 320Nm performance peaks as found in VZ Executive, Acclaim and Berlina sedan models – and all VZ Utes, for that matter.
The difference is that, for both Crewman and One Tonner, the V6’s maximum torque output is available 400rpm lower at 2400rpm, courtesy of a higher back-pressure exhaust.
That’s 14 per cent more power and five per cent more torque than the defunct 152kW/305Nm 3.8-litre pushrod Ecotec V6.
An all-alloy 24-valve DOHC design, the 60-degree V6 employs a sand-cast alloy block, forged steel crankshaft, twin knock sensors, stainless steel exhaust, roller finger valve followers, 32-bit engine management system, coil-on-plug ignition, an electronic throttle and variable inlet valve timing.
The new 3.565-litre engine, with oversquare 94 x 85.6mm bore and stroke dimensions, runs a relatively high 10.2:1 compression ratio and continues with the 15,000km regular service intervals introduced with VY Commodore’s 3.8 Ecotec V6, but it misses out on the variable exhaust valve timing and two-stage inlet manifold of the premium Alloytec 190 V6 found in SV6, Calais, Statesman and Caprice sedans.
Similarly, Crewman misses out on those models’ new five-speed automatic transmission featuring Active Select steering wheel-mounted gearshift buttons.
Instead, there’s a comprehensively upgraded version of Commodore’s current GM four-speed auto, which features a new torque converter, smarter control module and new calibration to improve shift-to-shift variation.
But the big transmission news for Crewman is the standard fitment of a brand-new D173 Aisin six-speed manual.
Not only is it the first time Crewman V6 has been available with a manual, but it’s also the first time the Japanese-built gearbox has been employed in a production vehicle anywhere in the world.
When it comes to V8 power for Crewman, the SS flagship may score fender vents but it misses out on its sedan and ute-bodied namesakes’ upgraded 250kW/470Nm V8. Instead, exhaust packaging limitations see SS Crewman’s peak power raises 10kW to 235kW at 5600rpm, while torque remains at 460Nm at 4000rpm.
While Crewman SS’s six-speed Tremec manual is carried over, SS autos receive a new torque converter with 13 times greater electronic smarts, plus a new hydraulic controller aimer at delivering smoother, less shocking shifts.
VZ Crewman brings an Alloytec V6 and, for the first time, a manual transmission
By MARTON PETTENDY 26 August 2004
IT may be less than 12 months old, but Holden’s popular Commodore-based four-door Crewman ute has already come in for its first facelift.
With Holden’s longest rear-drive model on target to meet its 2004 sales target of some 8000 units – or a staggering two-thirds the number of Commodore Utes that will be sold this year – The General hasn’t seen fit to address Crewman’s greatest shortcoming, a tight rear seat.
Holden has, however, blessed VZ Crewman with its all-new 3.6-litre DOHC Alloytec V6, along with a new six-speed manual gearbox as standard and revisions to the SS Crewman’s 5.7-litre Gen III V8 and both engines’ four-speed auto transmissions.
Of course, the updated VZ cosmetic package also applies to Crewman and includes a new, twin-spear bonnet, more aggressive front bumper, more compact headlights sans the “Bull’s eye” parking lights of the VY-based version and a larger Holden Lion logo in the middle of a larger single-bar grille.
Reflecting the VZ Commodores sedan, wagon and ute facelift, Crewman’s look has been lifted a notch or two at base level, with the entry level Crewman V6 scoring a body-coloured front skirt and side rocker mouldings, although the baser’s 15 x 7.0-inch steel wheels remain.
While base VZ Crewmans also get silver chrome bezelled headlights and a new Gable cloth interior trim, Crewman S gains Sonic sports fabric trim and both S and SS get Bermuda cloth trim. A new Odyssey paint colour is available for all VZ Crewmans, with S and SS variants also gaining a new Impulse paint option.
Crewman SS raises the bar again by adding projector headlights with black bezels and twin horizontal parking lights, clear-lens foglights and a centre console storage compartment.
But, like SS sedan and Ute, the Crewman SS styling drawcard is a pair of front quarter "fender vents", which actually don’t channel air but are blocked and simply house a couple of chromed fins and the side repeater lens.
At the business end of VZ Crewman lies a modified version of Holden’s base Alloytec V6, with the same 175kW and 320Nm performance peaks as found in VZ Executive, Acclaim and Berlina sedan models – and all VZ Utes, for that matter.
The difference is that, for both Crewman and One Tonner, the V6’s maximum torque output is available 400rpm lower at 2400rpm, courtesy of a higher back-pressure exhaust.
That’s 14 per cent more power and five per cent more torque than the defunct 152kW/305Nm 3.8-litre pushrod Ecotec V6.
An all-alloy 24-valve DOHC design, the 60-degree V6 employs a sand-cast alloy block, forged steel crankshaft, twin knock sensors, stainless steel exhaust, roller finger valve followers, 32-bit engine management system, coil-on-plug ignition, an electronic throttle and variable inlet valve timing.
The new 3.565-litre engine, with oversquare 94 x 85.6mm bore and stroke dimensions, runs a relatively high 10.2:1 compression ratio and continues with the 15,000km regular service intervals introduced with VY Commodore’s 3.8 Ecotec V6, but it misses out on the variable exhaust valve timing and two-stage inlet manifold of the premium Alloytec 190 V6 found in SV6, Calais, Statesman and Caprice sedans.
Similarly, Crewman misses out on those models’ new five-speed automatic transmission featuring Active Select steering wheel-mounted gearshift buttons.
Instead, there’s a comprehensively upgraded version of Commodore’s current GM four-speed auto, which features a new torque converter, smarter control module and new calibration to improve shift-to-shift variation.
But the big transmission news for Crewman is the standard fitment of a brand-new D173 Aisin six-speed manual.
Not only is it the first time Crewman V6 has been available with a manual, but it’s also the first time the Japanese-built gearbox has been employed in a production vehicle anywhere in the world.
When it comes to V8 power for Crewman, the SS flagship may score fender vents but it misses out on its sedan and ute-bodied namesakes’ upgraded 250kW/470Nm V8. Instead, exhaust packaging limitations see SS Crewman’s peak power raises 10kW to 235kW at 5600rpm, while torque remains at 460Nm at 4000rpm.
While Crewman SS’s six-speed Tremec manual is carried over, SS autos receive a new torque converter with 13 times greater electronic smarts, plus a new hydraulic controller aimer at delivering smoother, less shocking shifts.