A comparison – XR6-Turbo vs SS-V

[BeStRaFe]

A comparison – XR6-Turbo vs SS-V
Over the last few days I have had the opportunity to do a little bit of driving and a little bit of car renting,
Both cars were rented from the same area and driven around the same area
Different rental companies and prices but that’s not the issue here, im comparing the cars

Ford XR6-Turbo
Premium sound, 18’’ wheels, 6 speed auto, leather, reversing sensors, 2,700 km’s
Ride: the ride was good and smooth, much more refined then my XT or Turbo BA
There were some panel squeaks especially from the center console lid (very annoying) a lift and closing again fixed this, seats were had good support and snugged well, a bit too slippery with my jeans on but otherwise fine,
Power: power delivery was good, nice and quick off the line, auto trans was a ace, shifted right when I asked it to, on the burts around a nice sounding note and gave more then I was expecting at times
Handling: im impressed with fords stability control and traction control, belting this car around was great fun and gave very good confidence in the toys
Fuel: it reported 14.6l/100 witch was good for my driving style and some city traffic.

Holden SS-V
Leather, 19’’ wheels, 6 speed auto, 350km’s
Ride: the ride was ok, not as good as the turbo, cabin noise was above what I was expecting, felt heavy when navigating around a car park and was far too low when navigating the Broadway shopping center in the city
The plastics were no where near as good as the ford, they felt cheep, however on this note the layout of the center console and sound system was better in the holden, and the dials were good and gave a great amount of informaton
Power: power off the line was FANTASTIC, much more punchy off the line, kicking it sideways a little each time it hit a little water
The gearbox was not as nice as the ZF in the falcon, a bit laggy in changes, but in auto mode it was good.
Handling: their esp was good, nice and comforting and neatly impossible to trip up, however it took some time to catch a slide in the wet.
Fuel: it reported 19.1l/100 witch I was disappointed in, however that v8 noise was worth the fuel

Wind up: I was impressed by them both, however for me, the new holden is worlds apart from the old one, but I still prefer my ford 

[|||]

good write up i'd take the holden as its the new hotness while the ford is old and busted

[XR6 Hulk]

When you say quick off the mark for the ford. im a little confused. I have a BA XR6T and its not that quick off the mark. (Auto).

when boost comes, its thank you very much but before that, its pretty ordinary. (I have 14psi) plenty of lag

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by XR6 Hulk

When you say quick off the mark for the ford. im a little confused. I have a BA XR6T and its not that quick off the mark. (Auto).

when boost comes, its thank you very much but before that, its pretty ordinary. (I have 14psi) plenty of lag

Your auto is the 4sp and the BF that was test driven was a 6 speed. There is a huge difference if you've driven them back to back.

[XR6 Hulk]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Your auto is the 4sp and the BF that was test driven was a 6 speed. There is a huge difference if you've driven them back to back.

Mine is a 4sp auto but theres only 1 or two tenths in it and mine has a 2800rpm converter in it. If you dont load it up with some boost it doesnt really go off the mark. plenty of cars would get the jump on me.

[MITCHAY]

Meh auto. Don't want either! :

But SS-V looks porn!

[kaldek]

Originally Posted by XR6 Hulk

when boost comes, its thank you very much but before that, its pretty ordinary. (I have 14psi) plenty of lag

I think you mean boost threshold rather than lag.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Originally Posted by BeStRaFe

Power: power off the line was FANTASTIC, much more punchy off the line, kicking it sideways a little each time it hit a little water

My 3V does that, even at 80km/h

Don't know about the SS but the VE HSVs have a very nice exhaust note. Surprisingly loud from the outside (I've never been on the inside).

I would prbably pick the XR6T only because I've already got an 8. But honestly I dont want either, I'm a bit bored of late model cars now.

[T3ts50]

Originally Posted by Powdered Toast Man

Don't know about the SS but the VE HSVs have a very nice exhaust note. Surprisingly loud from the outside (I've never been on the inside).

According to HSV, it sounds alot better on the inside. Whether its true or not.....

[Fordoldie]

Originally Posted by T3ts50

According to HSV, it sounds alot better on the inside. Whether its true or not.....

Yeah they are much better now thanks to the exhaust I presume

[Green X]

Originally Posted by Powdered Toast Man

My 3V does that, even at 80km/h

Don't know about the SS but the VE HSVs have a very nice exhaust note. Surprisingly loud from the outside (I've never been on the inside).

I would prbably pick the XR6T only because I've already got an 8. But honestly I dont want either, I'm a bit bored of late model cars now.

The guy next door to us has a VE Club sport the Exhaust isn't that Loud even the stock System on my T is almost as loud as the HSV system, In-fact if i brought a 6 litre V8 and it sounded like that I would Be P***ed

[Disciple]

I'll take an EVO. :P

[Geoff EL 4.0]

Ford 4 litre 6 cylinder turbo over a holden/chev (5.8 or 6.0 not sure) V8 anyday thank you

[GTP owner]

The wife and i went through this question when upgrading our BA series1. Answer was xr6T with 6 speed auto. I do not like to buy the first of a series, so that rules out the ss. We learnt the hard way with our xr6t series 1 - too many bugs that need to be ironed out. But the ss certainly gets up and boogies, whereas the xr needs a tune to get up there. BFYB the xr can go a lot quicker with just a few mods.

[genebaby]

When you say it was far too low in the shopping centre carpark, is that the ride height? All the new Holdens look like RTV's in the suspension department.

[Kryton]

for me personally, if they both cost the same and i had to pick either one, id have to take the SS-V only because its an 8.
if there were other options, id probably consider them first.

[Aeron]

Im thinking about selling my XR6T for an SS-V. Sad but true.

[TZENU]

If both were to remain stock then i would most likely take the 8... Having said that, if the plan was to modify the XR6T in 6spd man would be more fun ... (now i wish i didnt sell the T)

[BeStRaFe]

ride height in the carpark was woeful
i scraped worse then my xt does, AND ITS LOWERED

i drove my xt to the hire place and yes... i was a 6 speed soo bad, so bad infact im looking at a BFmk2 XR6-Turbo and lpg converting it... its only 32 and they offered 14 trade in for mine....

as people have also said, before the rear vision is useless in any VE

[XR6_190]

nice write up man, I think I would take the Turbo, I know it's a bit dated but I don't think I would ever by the first line of a new model (BAMK1, AU1, EA, VE, VT, VN) As most people know it usually takes Holden and Ford 1 or 2 series to get all of the kinks out. That's the same reason I bought an AUII over a BAMK1 and a BF rather than waiting for the Orion. Seeing as the VE is the first in a line of models, I wouldn't risk the possibility of getting stuck with an unreliable $45,000 car. That said with the choice of another car, I would probably go a slightly used 300C HEMI, I know it doesn't have the go or the handling of the other 2 but who can argue with those looks. Not to mention the superior economy (cylinder deactivation) and resale.

[KW XRT]

Originally Posted by XR6_190

nice write up man, I think I would take the Turbo, I know it's a bit dated but I don't think I would ever by the first line of a new model (BAMK1, AU1, EA, VE, VT, VN) As most people know it usually takes Holden and Ford 1 or 2 series to get all of the kinks out. That's the same reason I bought an AUII over a BAMK1 and a BF rather than waiting for the Orion. Seeing as the VE is the first in a line of models, I wouldn't risk the possibility of getting stuck with an unreliable $45,000 car. That said with the choice of another car, I would probably go a slightly used 300C HEMI, I know it doesn't have the go or the handling of the other 2 but who can argue with those looks. Not to mention the superior economy (cylinder deactivation) and resale.

You could always upsize to the SRT as it would be quiker than the other two.

Don't get me wrong I love the "t" but those 300's a buff as.The one we had at the strip was doing low 13's with 1100 k's on the clock.

I have a dodge charger arriving in Jan/feb but am also thinking of a "C"



cheers kyren

[wados]

turbo all the way, im sorry love the sound of a v8 but love the performance of the turbo, the turbo might be slower of the line but when the boost kicks in its just a rush. also cheaper to mod the turbo over the 8

[Jock260]

Do you expect to get an un-biased opinion on FORDforums.com.au???

[wados]

you will always get your die hard ford fans but i think most will buy whats best or what they think best suits them at the time, im more biased to turbos then 8's, im sure there are alot out there that would prefer the 8 over the turbo.

My choice when i bought the xr6 was not between holden and ford it was between an r34 nissan and xr6 turbo, took the xr6 because it was a better day to day driver, if i wanted to go the racer style i would have bought the 34

[Xitdxr]

Nice write up, i test drove a SS-V the other week, but im shocked u liked the handling on it. I felt it was sloppy and the seats were too big and didnt hug u enough. Dont get me wrong, the one i drove was manual, and it bolted when u stuck the foot down, but i was left wanting more from a suspension point of view. On the upside, i liked the layout inside, and the exhaust note when u were up it. I hated the gearbox, i have driven plenty of fords 6 speeds and they are not anywhere near as notchy as the SS's, but the clutch in the SS was much better than the fords. All in all i was left wanting more from the SS, it didnt deliver on what my expectations were, or what the magazines had made it out to be. Once the Orion comes out, i will test drive an XR8 to compare.

[Fordoldie]

Originally Posted by Xitdxr

..... but i was left wanting more from a suspension point of view. ....

Thats a surprise. I drove one as a company vehicle for a year and it was very well planted on the road. For track I would lower and stiffen it perhaps so I dont know how and where you drove it - and it certainly out handles the XR8 with ease IMO. Apart from design, its the single biggest improvement they have done with VE, I believe.
Manual box is little notchy but I stuck to an auto

[Choca]

XR6 Turbo

XR6t, because the new commodore is ugly as sin

[tex]

Can't agree with some of your comments, but a good write none the less.

Exhaust sound from the three VE 6lt cars I go in regularly is crap. Sorry, no other way to describe it, it is crap, you can hear more mechanical thrash through the firewall than any rumble out the exhaust.

gearbox whine in the two manuals I go in is noticeable, and the clutch take up is near your knee height.

Handling is good for big car, but not as planted as the motoring writers have crapped on about. Ride quality good, noise suspression not so good.... NVH through the firwall I reckon.

They do go like a scalded cat though..... one of them only has 1000km's and the things already been finding the rev limiter EVERY time he drives it! Interesting to keep tabs on this one as he is going to mod it - all the usual bolt ons, plus adjustable suspension, sway bars etc.....

Ride height of the stockers is a joke, they have more air under them than some of the mid sized 'cross over' vehicles.

I have a couple of pics of the three VE SS's sourounding my XR......... they gang up on me all the time the bastards. Will post up later. It is interseting to compare the old with the new, my Falc is nearly 5 years old and still looks ok amongst the Ve's. You could nearly drive my car under the back of the VE's...

Neddless to say the drives to / from work when we leave together have been fun. Just waiting to find who is the first to be sent to jail.

[Xitdxr]

In regards to the handling of the VE SS-V that i test drove, it may not be that its a bad handling car, i just felt like it rolled over worse than a pet dog trying to get his belly rubbed. I have been fortunate enough to of driven a lot of current cars, most of BMW's range, Lexus's range, F6 Typhoon, XR6 turbo, u name it, ive driven it, and only one car rolls over more than the VE, and thats my dads 2001 polo!!!!