Reliability

Well, until last week – no. Last week I noticed it sounding a bit rough at idle, then a few km down the road it made a dramatic drop to 7 cylinders. Over the next few days it would run well, then it wouldn’t. Engine light on, then off, etc. Turns out it was an injector playing up, so had them all replaced. Other than that, she has never missed a beat over the 11 years I have owned it.

How it drives

It’s so sad the VF was the last, because it was most certainly the best. Over the last 40 years, I have owned, from new, a VR SS, VY II SS Crewman, VE Berlina 6.0, VE II SSV Redline Sportswagon and the current VF II. It does everything so well, inside and out.

The FE3 suspension package is both sporty firm and country road comfortable; how did they do it? I do as much WA country road driving as I do city driving, and it’s such a joy to drive. Even the electronic power steering is spot on. Not long after I bought it, I took it to Harrop in Victoria Park and had the ‘stage 3’ kit fitted: intake, headers, cats, a full dual 3-inch stainless steel exhaust, and a tune.

Yes, all the OE gear is in the shed. I opted for a mild tune on 95RON as I don’t flog it, but when I want it to go, I want the full potential of the engine, albeit unopened, available. On the open road, fully loaded a/c on, it will achieve 9L/100km, and around 11.5L/100km around town. Not bad for 6.2 litres of pure joy.

The Tremec TR6060 6-speed manual gearbox and hydraulic clutch make this car something special behind 6.2 litres of V8.

Ownership experience

No problems at all. The local Holden dealership became a VW and GMSV dealership, so servicing and parts are not an issue. I would say that the fact that the drivetrain is GM means that, for the engine/gearbox, etc., getting parts shouldn’t be an issue in the future. Can’t say for certain about body parts, though.

Features and practicality

Eleven years on and it still has everything that I want in a car. Not a fan of intrusive ‘driver aids’, so the ones the VF does have are fine by me. The a/c system is superb, the interior is comfortable and well appointed, and after 11 years of regular use, it is still in very good condition.

The stereo system is fine; I am not interested in Android Auto, etc. The Wipertech wiper blades I bought for it a few months ago are just as good as the OE spec blades but at a fraction of the cost. I have two child seats in the back for my 5- and 3-year-old daughters; they just love going for a drive in ‘Dad’s car’.

Anything else?

I grew up in a typical Holden family. My parents owned EHs; the first car that I built myself as a teenager was an FC ‘Station Sedan’. After that was a ’75 HJ Premier 4.2, ’89 VN BT1 5.0 and then a series of new V8 Commodores, a ’94 VR SS manual, ’03 VY II SS Crewman manual, ’07 VE Berlina 6.0, 11 VEII SSV Redline Sportswagon manual and the VF I have now.

Holden disappearing from our lives still saddens me to this day. Young Australians today will never know what it is like to be looking forward to the next model Commodore, HSV or even Falcon that is coming out.

Nothing but uninspiring foreign boxes now, so at this point the VF and the VS I own now will be staying with me until I am carried out of my home in a wooden box.

Yes, I love Holdens, but it was never totally blind purchasing. I often tested other cars in my budget that were on the market. In particular, in 2006 I had a list of 15 cars to test, including various V8 Falcons (including FPVs), a few Mazda turbos, VE SS, and even a VZ SS Crewman (I was disappointed the VE Crewman never eventuated).

It came down to the Berlina (albeit fully optioned) and the Subaru Liberty GT 3.0 manual. I let my then two young sons pick – they chose the Berlina. It was a good choice.