Now used almost exclusively as hire or government cars (or so it seems), we decided to take the latest Statesman back to its roots - when this type of Aussie car seemed to be driven mainly by people on the land. We took the 3.6litre V6 Statesman through a wide range of driving conditions to the edge of the outback in northern NSW

It was a great chance to try out one of GM's more comfortable models and, as expected, the ride was armchair soft all the way whether on freeways, minor highways or the dirt roads we couldn’t resist along the way.

There's no doubt the General still builds cars for Australian conditions and the Statesman is no exception. These days however, manufacturers of large cars like Statesman have to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions to entice buyers.

The Statesman's V6 drives a 6 speed automatic transmission which we found hard to fault. The engine, putting out a respectable 210kW with 350Nm of torque, boasts the new SIDI fuel management system. With this, direct to the combustion chamber, fuel injection system Holden claims to produce fuel savings of 1.2litres per 100km over previous models. This translates to a quoted (combined) 10.3litres/100km (we averaged a touch under 10 for our predominately extra-urban driving). CO2 emissions are quoted at 245g/km.

Holden has earned an impressive 5 star ANCAP rating on the Statesman with airbags front and side for driver and front passenger plus full side curtains. There is of course Electronic Stability Control with ABS, EBA, EBD and Traction Control.

Inside, one finds all the luxurious touring features you'd expect. Leather seats with 8 way electric adjustment for the driver and 4 way for front passenger. Dual zone air conditioning and a 6.5" multifunction LCD screen and park assist. Steering wheel controls, cruise control and heated exterior power mirrors plus auto headlights and windscreen wipers. For entertainment there's an MP3 compatible 6CD Blaupunkt audio system and lots of storage to make this an ideal travelling vehicle. We also had the benefit of the optional Sat Nav.

The only negative with the storage inside is the terribly small centre console and glove box – the latter compromised by the Sat Nav DVD player - which was annoying in an otherwise generously proportioned vehicle. The boot however is simply cavernous.

Our plan was a 4 day trip from Melbourne to Bourke on the edge of outback NSW and return. Our first night was spent in Wagga Wagga and day two saw us headed North West for Bourke via West Wyalong, Parkes and Nyngan. We stopped for the night at the incredible Bourke Riverside Motel perched right beside the Darling River. This ancient all-suite motel is an absolute treasure, filled with priceless antiques, superb gardens and friendly dogs - not to mention the best breakfast in the outback!

The Darling was in flood and expected to peak in the next few days. We’d intended following one of our all time favourite roads, from Bourke to Wilcannia (350kms of clay and gravel along the southern bank of the Darling), but it was closed 99kms downstream at Louth so on day three we headed south 160kms on the sealed Kidman Way to the mining town of Cobar. Another 250kms south found us in Hillston faced with the choice of staying on the bitumen for the next 170kms into Hay or taking a short cut (13kms less) by getting off into the gravel and heading for Booligal. Booligal was made famous in 1896 by Banjo Patterson in his poem "Hay and Hell and Booligal" so our choice was clear! This road took us through a number of large stations and through swarms of locusts (as we had on the way into Bourke the previous day). We learned later that locust & rabbit plagues were also a problem in the 1890s and doubtless influenced Banjo Patterson when he penned his poem.

The Statesman handled the gravel, potholes and cattle grids surprisingly well at speed and only threatened to understeer on sharp bends where drifts of gravel were piled up and we should have known better anyway.

From Booligal we headed for Hay down the Cobb Highway driving through an amazing, treeless landscape of saltbush – aptly named One Tree Plain. This area is famous for its 360° skyline, amazing sunsets and starlit night skies.

The Statesman is a robust luxury vehicle and did everything we asked of it, comfortably and with style. We didn’t try fitting a sheep in the back seat, but reckon you could fit a couple quite comfortably if you needed to. For buyers who like room to move and a vehicle with plenty of power, Statesman fits the bill. Oh, and importantly when you're out where we were, it's comforting to know it runs happily on standard unleaded fuel and the tank holds a comfortable 73 litres.

RRP for the V6 Statesman is $63,990 (plus on roads). Our optional Sat Nav added a further $1,990.

Tested April 2010
Vehicle supplied by GM Holden Ltd