Ace of Base: 2020 Holden Commodore Liftback LT

It will not have escaped your notice that The General has deep-sixed the Holden brand in Australia. To the gearhead Aussies within your author’s circle of friends, this amounts to a treasonous action, especially since Holden is as much part of the Oz fabric as kangaroos and Crocodile Dundee. I’m sure it all makes business sense; matters of the heart are rarely cheap on the wallet.

The binning of a brand usually means one thing: deals. This is situation is no different, so let’s see what equipment one finds in a base model Commodore.

Alert readers will have noticed by now that the modern Commodore is a badge job of the stateside Buick Regal, which itself is a badge job of the Euro-market Opel Insignia. As one may expect, the bottom has fallen out of Holden sales since GM announced it is shuttering the brand, chalking up just 1,367 sales in February (its worst showing since 1948). However, local speculation is that dealers simply pushed most of their sales to March when a raft of massive discounts (reportedly between $7,500 and $17,500) are scheduled to appear in an effort to clear out the dead cars walking.

But back to the specific car at hand. The Regal Insignia Commodore you see here is the base LT model, wearing 17-inch alloy wheels and propelled by a 256-horse, 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and nine-speed automatic. Safety kit such as automatic emergency braking and lane keep assist are standard on the entry-level car, along with easily included items like passive entry and push-button start.

Dual-zone climate control permits air conditioning on your side while your significant other cranks the heat to birch-junk levels. That’s a 7-inch color touchscreen handling infotainment duties, one that plays well with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Audio controls are mounted on the steering wheel so you can crank the Commodore Liftback LT’s seven speaker when Bruce decides to play AC/DC or Crowded House.

You’ll make do with cloth seats at this price, mate, as you will with standard headlights (but LEDs do comprise the tail lamps). The exterior mirrors are heated, the tilt/telescope steering wheel is leather wrapped, and a remote start system is included. In all, a well-equipped base model. The shade of Absolute Red shown here is $0.

Will servicing be available down the road? Will the thing be worth much more than scrap value in a couple of years? I’ll leave those questions for minds greater than mine. Pricing for the base Commodore starts at $33,690 in Australia, which is roughly equal to $21,800 on this side of the world. Assuming the largest of discounts are reserved for more expensive Holden vehicles, even the smallest expected blow-em-out rebate slides this well-equipped large car under US$17,000.

Now that’s an Ace of Base win.

[Image: Holden]

Not every base model has aced it. The ones which have? They help make the automotive landscape a lot better. Any others you can think of, B&B? Let us know in the comments and feel free to eviscerate our selections.

The model above is shown with American options and priced in American Dollars. Your dealer may sell for less.