2002 Holden Commodore VX - Series II review from Australia and New Zealand

It has an extremely annoying squeak that emanates from the Auto stick shift area. Dash has an intermittent rattle that can be temporarily cured by squeezing the top of the instrument binnacle.

This car is blue and the quality of the paintwork is poor. In strong light the finish appears very uneven. The duco also seems very soft and is extremely easy to scratch. I don't know if this is inherent with blue duco, but my previous car (a white Camry) had duco that looked like new even after 10 years. It didn't pick up scratches like this car either.

The panel fit is poor in some areas. The boot looks like it was fitted by somebody with myopia. The door hinges sag visibly when the doors are fully opened. The fuel cap looks like it was pressed to fit a completely different car, but is obviously very cheap for Holden to make.

The inside trim is mostly OK apart from the door seals which look very cheap, is poorly fitted and is already coming loose in places.

I bought this car from Pickles auctions with 17000kms on the clock. It now has 24000kms up with no major problems experienced, apart from annoyingly poor build quality and finish.

The performance and handling are good for a car of this size and you would have to be trying hard to lose control in the dry. Oversteer is evident in the wet which is only to be expected in a rear-wheel drive/front-engined car.

The brakes are excellent, providing great stopping power and fairly fade resistance.

Ride is very good, with most bumps being well absorbed by the suspension.

Cabin ergonomics are generally good. However, I will never know why the headlight switch is still on the dash when every other decent car has the control on the indicator stem. I think this is a hangover from the original VN design and Holden can't be bothered to change it. There is also no "Door Open" dashboard warning light! Wake up Holden.

Engine has good mid-range power, but it has asthma when pushed above 4,500 rpm. Engine displays disapproval of being asked to go to the 5,000 rpm region by a lot of vibration and generally unwillingness to rev. This is probably not a problem for most drivers though.

All up, not bad value for money (it cost 24,500 with 17,000km on the clock), but I will get rid of it when the 3year\100,000k warranty expires as the build quality and design doesn't fill one with confidence that the car is not going to fall apart!

My previous car (a 94 Camry) displayed much better build quality and finish compared to this car. Camry was still rattle free and drove like new after 10 years and 170,000kms. The paintwork was still pristine as well.