Ve Ute

[arlester]

Has anybody noticed. No WAGONS. What is going on there.

Maybe Holden purposely built up so much hype with the ute that people would forget about it.

Does this mean Holden will not be selling them and leaving it all up to the Captiva?

BTW I think also that the tailights look like they are straight off a territory.

[Sloth]

Overall I think its good, but the rear lets it down a little. It seems too rounded compared to the rest of the VE design that I'm used to.

The rear window, C pillar and around the back of the cabin with the integrated stop light looks very nice and the concealed tailgate hinges are a good idea.

The worst thing is the rear overhang looks huge! - probably because it uses the same wheel base as the sedan without compromising too much load space.

[FlipXW]

Originally Posted by arlester

Has anybody noticed. No WAGONS. What is going on there.

Maybe Holden purposely built up so much hype with the ute that people would forget about it.

Does this mean Holden will not be selling them and leaving it all up to the Captiva?

BTW I think also that the tailights look like they are straight off a territory.

There will be a wagon. Garenteed

[JoesAu]

i reckon ford have got their work cut out for em, one of those ss utes dumped with 20's or 22's will look crazy, already seen a few sedans in geelong with 22's all round and ford r gonaa wanna make this orion look the part cos holdens are shitting it in at the moment.

[dishpig]

That carslaes article states that it has three time as much room behind the seat as before but looking at the pics on drive it doesn't look to be enough.

The fact that these company's are turning ute into pure pretty boy cars is the stupidest thing I've herd of. My xr6 can carry more then their "workman's" ute, yes people buy sports utes but most people who do still use them for work and load them up heaps too. I know i load them daily and i load almost equal between base model and sport utes.

I bought a sport ute because i wanted a nice car to go to work in but it's still a ute and I try to use it for what it's made for as much as possible. Also on the carsales site they say it has spring suspension all the way around can someone please tell me if this will be better or worse under weight. By my thinking the leaf springs would be far better then springs with a load on the back (but I don't know if this makes that much of a difference other then if the springs bottom out they're screwed). If ford follows holden's direction they deserve to be slapped.

I hope orion stick's with the same style the ford ute's (carrying capacity and model range wise) because right now it's right on par. BTW The VE ss sedan grew on me eventually but none other's but I can't see this thing ever getting any prettier. But offcoarse the holden boy's will buy them and dump em on the first phat 20" chromies they see.

:

[FlipXW]

It could look like a smashed crab and still sell like hotcakes.

[apolloxbgt]

Originally Posted by Sloth

The worst thing is the rear overhang looks huge!

I can't beleive this wasnt brought up earlier,it looks terrible!
That is what happens when you cut corners and build everything on the one platform.

Was there a reason it couldn't have been built on the statesman platform?

[rodderz]

I don't mind it, but by the same token it's not exciting either. Maybe it was the fact that photoshops have been around for a few months with pretty much what they have released, or that various parts look similar to other model cars.

One thing I like with the Holden utes, is the curved part which joins the cabin and the ute tub, but the downside to manufacturing them this way is that they can't go the tray option like the Ford utes. They will still sell heaps of the things

[tapeworm]

Holden are getting notorious for cutting corners to save a buck with most of the range being Sth Korean crap and now no tray back ute. lol. Like a few have said it could look like road kill and will still sell by the truck load.

[McobraR]

Cmon the overhang aint that bad. I think overall, the ute is noice, love that green colour, reminds me of citric acid or that other similar colour. Will sell like pancakes me think. Ford better come up with the goods

edit: what i think nice is the sports variants... the base model doesn't do it for me

[tapeworm]

What's with the size of the lion logo on the nose of Holden vehicles now? Geezuz christ

[stupa]

Originally Posted by dishpig

spring suspension all the way around

the main diferances are that coil springs which holden use give better handling but reduced load capacity.
For example my VU Storm handles better than my mates dumped XH

[dallasv8]

i will vote on the "its ugly" poll

[Van D]

Man... I'll not-so-happily admit that holden have had some fine looking cars in the past, even better than the same year Falc, but that is just damn ugly. If the Orion takes any styling tips from that i won't be a fan either.

[uranium_death]

No Sir, I don't like it!

[big_pete]

i dont think that style of car is suited to the ute format, sadly the new Falcon will probably suffer the same styling troubles....we'll see

[kocho]

Dont like it too much at all to be honast. I like how they've changed the tail lights but I strongly dislike the way they look.

The car doesnt flow very well at all.

[Jayden]

just needs some blokes to stand in the back, then it would make a good mardigra float.

just joking... but it does look like a pos considering this is 2007 and its a major release.

[bonspeed]

looks like puss, I'd go as far as saying I'd be embarrassed to drive that thing around, anyone I see driving one of these things is going to get a hard time. Any one got any shots of the mooloo?

[Rodp]

Wow, I guess I'll be the first to go on record and say it looks like a really nice piece of kit. Went and visited the old man last night and the release came up on a news story (and he's been a Ford man for at least 40 years) and turned to me and said, not a bad looking ute, wouldn't want to put anything in the back though.

I don't like the rear though, and haven't really liked the rear of a Commy since the VY (except on the utes).

[red_hotxr6]

Originally Posted by Fordmuscle1965

I may be a bit bias but I've seen the new Ve ute and I think it looks crap!
short & sweet!

It reminds me of one of those subaru brumby utes for some reason, must be the back of it! seems very short in the tray area.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleID=42714

http://editorial.carsales.com.au/car...w/2780287.aspx

Dont worry you are not the only one, besides after 7 years off the market someone at holden thought maybe we better try and flog some of these things. Did you notice that they said on the news yesterday, they were hoping the rev heads buy them...

[LeadFoot81]

I dont think FOrd will have the same trouble as Holden did when they design their ute. The AU ute always looked nice (really round nose with square tray) I think Ford will continue this with Orion and it will be a winner. Regardless of how it looks, the Tray option and a legit carry capacity will ensure strong sales.

[NRD80Y]

Originally Posted by Sloth

The worst thing is the rear overhang looks huge! - probably because it uses the same wheel base as the sedan without compromising too much load space.

The VE ute is actually based on the LWB of the Statesman

http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring...den-ve-ute.htm
"Tony Stolfo, the current director of design at GM Holden, says the ute is "Australia's own vehicle" and the Holden ute represents 60 years of ute design. "VE ute is long wheel base," Mr Stolfo continued, "it's 3009mm wheel base shares all the underpinnings of Statesman."

Overall the new Ute is slightly shorter than the VZ model, measuring 5040mm, and as Mr Stolfo stated, the new model is "no longer just a workhorse, but a 2-door sports car with practicality". Tony Stolfo added that there were many features they couldn't include in the design, such as a drop down rear window, but overall he was extremely pleased with the end result.

Its high belt line and low roof give it a true performance aesthetic, while the smooth integrated cabin adds a sleek element to the car's silhouette. Hidden tailgate hinges are new, and the fold-down tailgate also features small grooves to hold ramps for motorbike loading. There's also six tie points with rope cleats that are screwed into metal frame, not just plastic, but total payload limits have dropped somewhat, but about 20 to 40 kilograms across the range.

That said, the tray measures 1878mm, and even with the improved interior space the tray is longer by 14mm compared to its predecessor. Accessories include items such as a clever lockable modular box that can slide on rails, aerodynamic sports bars, a hard tonneau cover, and even GT stripe decals."

[RavenLS1]

Originally Posted by red_hotxr6

besides after 7 years off the market someone at holden thought maybe we better try and flog some of these things.

what?????

[The Stylist]

I must admit, the new VE Ute looks pretty damn good. They have certainly brought in some interesting new colours, and I give thumbs up to Holden for incorporating Stability Control as standard.

[ClevlndStemer]

i think it looks ok, looks like a solid machine indeed. Well done Holden.

[uranium_death]

According to that video of the Falcon Ute doing test runs, the bloke said that Ford will continue to push more towards tradesman sales which I think will work in their favour.

Hopefully the Orion ute is superior to the VE Ute and is better designed to suit a tradesman.

[Xitdxr]

Nothing short of average. The tail lights make it look as cheap as the proton jumbuck. :

[tapeworm]

Ford have a repuation with the tradies as the more suited to hard work and I hope they continue down that path, it's a good reputation to have and would make up for alot of sales.

[red_hotxr6]

Originally Posted by RAVEN81

what?????

Dont you watch the news...geez louise.