Holden Commodore Wades Through Water Like A Pro: Video

The VE Holden Commodore is a very Australian car, and in the video below, we see a daring example in none other than the outback of Australia. Specifically, Cahills Crossing, which is a section of the East Alligator River in the Northern Territory of Australia.

We’ll preface this with a “don’t try this at home” warning, but behold, as a seemingly stock Holden Commodore wades through a river crossing and actually makes it out the other side. Unfortunately, the channel owner has disabled embedding the video, so you’ll have to follow this link to see the whole video on Instagram.

The Commodore dips into the river nice and slowly and goes deep enough to almost submerge the front grille of the car. In addition to getting through the lower grille, it’s very possible that water entered the engine’s intake. We can’t help but wonder if the car encountered any problems shortly after this video was shot or if it’s been trouble-free since then.

At least two people are in the car. The driver and front passenger both express enthusiasm over the successful crossing by waving and making thumbs-up gestures upon completing their quest. Although this wasn’t an advisable use of a Holden Commodore, we applaud the driver for keeping it slow and steady without coming to a complete stop or going too fast.

This particularly adventurous Holden Commodore hails from the VE generation, which ran from 2006 to 2013. Notably, it was the first Commodore designed in Australia rather than using an Opel-sourced platform like previous generations. It was underpinned by the GM Zeta platform, and American enthusiasts know this car as the Pontiac G8 marketed in North America for the 2008 and 2009 model years. It also served as the basis for the Chevy Caprice PPV police car.

The next phase of the Holden Commodore was the VF, which came to the United States in the form of the V8-only Chevy SS muscle sedan. To the disappointment of Australian enthusiasts who loved rear-wheel-drive, V8 sedans, the final ZB generation of the Holden Commodore was a warmed-over Opel Insignia, the same one that North America got as the final Buick Regal.

Speaking of which, maybe a Buick Regal TourX AWD wagon would’ve been better suited for an Australian river crossing adventure (again, don’t try this at home).