1985 Holden Commodore VK review from Australia and New Zealand

Quite a lot.

This car had good and bad points. It was comfortable, and being a wagon it was very practical with loads of interior room. Also, the country pack suspension kit with its increased ride height and underbody protection really was useful offroad.

The thing that really let this car down was the engine. The fuel economy was always appalling, returning around 5 to 6 km per litre no matter how you drove it. This made it an expensive car to run, particularly on long trips into the outback where petrol was typically 20% more expensive than the city. Despite this poor economy, the performance of the car was surprisingly modest. The engine was very unrefined, being quite noisy when pushed hard - fan and induction noise being most pronounced. It also had this curious habit of blowing a lot of bluey white smoke when pushed hard - particularly during a long hard slog up a hill. It always used oil, never started easily (rough running and black smoke when cold) and was generally quite inadequate. No mechanic could ever find cause for its poor economy and performance.

The handling was average. I suspect the non-standard gas shockers helped tie it down a bit. However the rear end was pretty nervous on dirt, in the wet, on rough roads, etc etc. A couple of times I very nearly killed myself using a bit too much throttle around a corner in the wet.