Debuting well after the Opel and Vauxhall equivalents, the new ZB Commodore, which has remained at the centre of controversy for doing away with long standing model traditions such as rear-wheel drive and a V8 engine, will be offered in six trim levels, liftback, Sportwagon and raised Tourer bodystyles, three engines and a choice of front-or-all-wheel drive.

Mirroring the Holden Astra, the LT starts the Commodore range off with notable equipment being a seven-inch touchscreen display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 17-inch alloy wheels, reverse camera, leather wrapped steering wheel, cruise control, push-button start, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, Forward Collision Warning Alert, Park Assist, Heads-Up Display and auto on/off headlights.

Building on this, the next step up RS gets 18-inch alloys, a bespoke bodykit, sports steering wheel and seats, Blind Spot Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Side Blind Zone Alert and a boot spoiler. An electric tailgate is standard on the Sportwagon.

Replacing the old Commodore S as the most accessible sporty model, the new RS-V boasts an eight-inch touchscreen display with satellite navigation and DAB+ digital radio, wireless smartphone charger, colour Heads-Up Display, heated front seats, alloy pedals, ambient lighting, an electronic limited slip differential and HiPer Strut suspension and an adaptive all-wheel drive system.

The luxury focused Calais mirrors the RS-V for equipment but adds a 4.2-inch TFT instrument cluster display and a High Ride Suspension on the all-wheel drive only Tourer. The top spec Calais-V, which also replaces the long-wheelbase Caprice and Caprice-V, receives 20-inch alloy wheels, electric sunroof on the sedan only, adaptive Matrix LED headlights, surround view camera system, heated rear seats, a panoramic roof on the Tourer, ventilated and massaging front seats, gear shift paddles and a premium Bose sound system.

Completing the range, the VXR brings to end the SS performance moniker that debuted on the VH Commodore in 1982, and features the same spec level as the Calais-V, but with performance leather sport seats, Brembo front brakes, VXR branded door sills and floor mats and Continuous Damping Control added.

Up front, the previous 3.0-litre and 3.6-litre V6 motors make way for a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder mill, the first on a Commodore since the VN in 1988, that produces 191 kW and 350 Nm of torque. A similarly sized turbodiesel, another Commodore first, can be had on the LT and Calais with a rated output of 125 kW.

An option on the RS and Calais but standard on the RS-V and Calais, the normally aspirated 3.6-litre V6 develops 230 kW and 370 Nm, while in the VXR, and unlike the 2.0-litre turbocharged Vauxhall Insignia VXR and Opel Insignia GSI, the same V6 kicks-out 235 kW and 381 Nm. Another first is the complete absence of a manual gearbox with a eight-speed automatic standard on all diesel models and a nine-speed on the petrol versions.

Despite GM retaining control of Holden following the buyout of Opel and Vauxhall by the PSA Group, it would be interesting to see whether the turbocharged Insignia or indeed the Commodore VXR, badged as a Opel, touches down in South Africa as a replacement for VE Commodore-sourced Chevrolet Lumina if deemed suitable by the Russelsheim automaker's new importer and distributor, Williams Hunt.

PRICING

LIFTBACK

SPORTWAGON

TOURER