1990 Holden Commodore S review from Australia and New Zealand

When I bought it, the coil pack had an occasional fault, which would affect economy, power and idle smoothness, and would cause the engine light to come on. Got another one for $20 from a wreck, all good now.

Just had it serviced and have found a few minor problems;

Rear shocks

Back tires

Diff leak (needs new filler plug)

Rear seal on the trans is leaking

Slight vibration between 80-90km/h

Heater tap is leaking.

Very little problems for a 20 year old car :)

So far I am very happy with this purchase. I paid $2300 for it about 3 months ago. Since getting my license this is my first car.

How it drives: Plenty of power even from the lower revs, and happily revs all the way to redline, which sounds great with my 2.5inch cat back exhaust.

Great for suburban driving and cruising on the highway. At around 55ks it is already in overdrive so it revs really low when cruising, and once you are over 85ks an hour, the lock up torque converter causes the revs to drop even more, and when doing 100ks an hour it revs at about 1850rpm. Put you foot down and it will happily drop back to second so you can fly past the grannies LOL. Also when cruising at any speed, it is quiet and very smooth, especially with the cruise control.

Handling: I have the S pack version that has the lower/stiffer sports suspension, which makes it feel like it's on rails around corners. Taking a corner at 60ks an our is no worries in this car. In the wet though the grip at the rear wheels is very bad and spinning the rear wheels is hard not to do. Braking is also bad. It can easily get up to speed, but wiping it off can be a bit nerve racking at times, but you do get used to it.

Economy: For an old, heavy V6 it is surprisingly good if driven nicely. On the open road it is excellent with up to 10lt per 100ks.

In conclusion, if you can get one in good condition, they are a good, cheap performance/passenger car with spare parts readily available.