Review
Don't let the Vauxhall badges fool you, the Monaro has been designed and manufactured by GM's Australian arm, Holden. And it's combination of brawny good looks and copious performance are as Australian as weak lager and poor soap operas.
The Monaro's appeal is based around a simple enough mix of style and substance. Beneath the muscular contours of the bodywork sits a slightly downtuned version of the Chevrolet Corvette's V8 engine - with this directing its prodigious power to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.
It certainly looks the part - although the range-topping VXR version's bodykit will be wide of most people's tastes. The cabin is spacious and comfortable, certainly for the front seat occupants, but the trim and materials feel very cheap by modern European standards. Rear space is reasonable, but boot capacity is ruined by the perplexing decision to fit the fuel tank in it (for impact legislation reasons) - taking up a good third of the usable space.
Despite its mechanical simplicity, the Monaro drives very well. Despite their large swept capacity both 5.7 litre and 6.0 litre V8 engines lack much in the way of low-down torque - but from about 2000 rpm onwards there's a massive, swelling urge to call on, accompanied by a snarling soundtrack from the loud exhaust. Performance is rapid - even the less powerful 5.7 takes just 6.0 seconds for the 0-62 mph benchmark. Under road use the Monaro offers reasonable grip levels, good steering and a reactive chassis. And if you find a test track with a big enough run-off area the Monaro is happy to be persuaded into truly epic tailslides.
The downside is running costs - which are massive, especially if you routinely drive it hard.