Vauxhall Maloo gives new meaning to the expression ‘fast worker’
<em> Look what happens when Australia meets the pick up.</em> <br /><strong>The Maloo, which really is a pick up, has a V8 under the bonnet. Expect 60 in under 5 seconds, and a hefty fuel bill!</strong><br /><br
Vauxhall Maloo pick-up
Pick-up review: DAVID WILKINS What is it? The Vauxhall Maloo is the latest in a long line of imported high-performance Australian Holdens rebadged as Vauxhalls. After the Monaro coupé and the VXR8 saloon, the Maloo is a pick-up, or as the Australians have it, a ‘ute’, which is short for utility vehicle. The Maloo shares with its predecessors the appealing recipe of an American V8 engine combined with a rear-wheel drive chassis but whereas the first Monaro was a bit of a bargain with a sub-£30K starting price, shifting exchange rates mean that Vauxhall now has to charge more than £50,000 for its latest hot Holden, which it expects to sell only in limited numbers. There’s a choice of six-speed manuals or automatics. It certainly makes an entertainingly different pick-up from the standard Nissan Navarra or Mitsubishi L200 – at a price, of course.What’s hot?
- The Maloo is like nothing else on the road – Vauxhall calls it the only performance pick-up on sale in the UK, a description that rather undersells its dramatic appearance and electrifying levels of thrust
- The Maloo’s performance comes from an appealingly traditional American GM V8 that delivers a whopping 431 horsepower with a terrific burble that stands out all the more in an age of down-sizing in which even many high-performance cars have to make do with dull-sounding small engines
- The Maloo is nothing like as crude as you’d expect an Australian pick-up to be – its drivetrain and suspension have been fettled with performance parts, and the cabin is surprisingly well trimmed as well
The Maloo isn't anywhere near as crude as your might expect from an Australian pick-up and the cabin is surprisingly well trimmed - Equipment includes Bluetooth, a rear reversing camera, eight-way adjustable leather seats, USB input, MP3 hard drive, 20-inch alloy wheels and a tyre-pressure monitoring system
- The rear flatbed offers a generous 1,208-litre cargo area and has a well-designed remote-lockable top – even if very few buyers are going to use the Maloo as a load-lugger
- Although it is imported from Holden, the Maloo still enjoys Vauxhall’s lifetime warranty package, although this is not transferable when the car is sold on
What’s not?
- The Maloo delivers only 21mpg in the official combined cycle test; there’s no other way to put it – it’s a gas guzzler
- CO2 emissions of 320g/km and Group 50 insurance also make the Maloo a business-unfriendly proposition
- Previous rebadged Holdens sold here as Vauxhalls have had a big price advantage over European performance cars but a strong Australian dollar means the Maloo costs as much as some highly rated models from the German premium brands
- While the Maloo provides a much more polished drive than you might expect, it still lacks sophistication compared with fast European cars if you’re thinking of substituting
- A limited dealer network – only five dealers are authorised to sell the Maloo and only a further 25 can carry out servicing
Business Vans Verdict
The Vauxhall Maloo is a fundamentally likable machine – and a lot of fun too. For most buyers, though, that won’t be enough to offset its high price or its poor fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, all of which will punch a big hole in your pocket. Against that is the fact you could run this pick-up through your business and only pay £50 a month company van tax if you’re rated at 20%.
Vauxhall Maloo – the low-down
| On the road price: | £ 51,500 |
| Kerb weight | 1,831kg |
| Benefit in kind 2011/12 to 2013/14: | £3,000, £3,000, £3,000 |
| Engine: | 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 petrol |
| CO2 Emissions: | 320g/km |
| Power/torque: | 431PS/550Nm |
| 0-62mph/top speed: | 4.9 secs/155mph (limited) |
| Economy (official): | 21mpg |