seadog 0 Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 well as the title says i got my first drive of the new astra vxr last nite and hav to say its unlike anythin i`ve ever driven or been a passenger in!!! my mate picked his up a few weeks ago, he got the fifth 1 on uk roads, arden blue wi the 19inch wheels . had the priveledge of bein passenger a few times now and even from the passenger seat the car is astonishin!! the levels of grip the car has are almost unbelievable, over the netherley road in the soakin wet the car won`t slide unless drivin like a total baffoon then the toys pull it all back into shape. also the traction control actually lets u put power down on corners in most gears!! he also finds himself usin mostly 4th round town as the low end grunt in awesome! ! to giv u an idea of the back road pace n comfort we went from stoney to aberdeen(stopped for grub), inverurie, kemnay, alford, strathdon, lecht, passed tomintoul, got lost for a bit, back over lecht, ballater, drove a crazy road that was like a rally stage then aboyne, banchory n home. around 170 miles of mad b roads all the way that took around 4 hours n that included stops every now and then for munchies n a fag. when we got out we could both quite happily do it all over again! as for top gears review it wasn`t a proper vxr, it was the 240bhp engine used in the sports hatch chassis which caused the insane cornerin and torque steer, in the real world it has none! unless ur switch all the electric toys off and just don`t hold the wheel. i got a small shot from aboyne to banchory (bout 10miles just so he could feel what its like from the other seat, the whole combination of small chunky wheel, big ass recaro seat and seat position makes the car feel awesome, its stupidly quick through all gears without even tryin, almost effort less, then u turn sport mode on and everythin changes, steerin tightens up, throttle map changes to b way more aggressive. for example its way quicker from 40 to 120 just usin fourth than my car usin all the gears! its really to hard to describe how awesome and unbelievable this car is, theres is not a single flaw, okay u die hard dubbers will moan its not german but all vsrx are built in germany!! also i cannot think of anyother car for under 20 grand thats capable of what that car does. it manage an 8min 37 sec round the ring in the soakin wet n fog on the drivers 2nd lap and once ur in it its easy to see why!! if u get the opportunity to drive 1 take it, and try get it onto a road like the south deeside (a crazy b road) ie bumps different cambers tight corners and you`ll also be totally astounded!! my god i think i`m in love wi a vauxhall Link to post Share on other sites
ukdub 0 Posted December 26, 2005 Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 "as for top gears review it wasn`t a proper vxr' date=' it was the 240bhp engine used in the sports hatch chassis which caused the insane cornerin and torque steer, in the real world it has none! unless ur switch all the electric toys off and just don`t hold the wheel."[/quote']Do you actually think that Vauxhall would give Top Gear a car that wasn't right? I mean Clarkson is hard on anything Vauxhall at the best of times. I am sure the car Vauxhall gave top gear was the real thing. All the major car mags, are saying the same about the vxr, that the torque steer is bad. Link to post Share on other sites
badboyV6 4 Posted December 26, 2005 Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 unfortuantely the focus st is a much better car.... Link to post Share on other sites
seadog 0 Posted December 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 "as for top gears review it wasn`t a proper vxr' date=' it was the 240bhp engine used in the sports hatch chassis which caused the insane cornerin and torque steer, in the real world it has none! unless ur switch all the electric toys off and just don`t hold the wheel."[/quote']Do you actually think that Vauxhall would give Top Gear a car that wasn't right? I mean Clarkson is hard on anything Vauxhall at the best of times. I am sure the car Vauxhall gave top gear was the real thing. All the major car mags, are saying the same about the vxr, that the torque steer is bad.it was a preproduction model that they gave top gear and it was a german opc car, which doesn`t hav the lotus tuned chassis. Link to post Share on other sites
seadog 0 Posted December 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 unfortuantely the focus st is a much better car....what makes u think that? it costs more and is slower? Link to post Share on other sites
purple highline monster 0 Posted December 26, 2005 Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 "as for top gears review it wasn`t a proper vxr' date=' it was the 240bhp engine used in the sports hatch chassis which caused the insane cornerin and torque steer, in the real world it has none! unless ur switch all the electric toys off and just don`t hold the wheel."[/quote']Do you actually think that Vauxhall would give Top Gear a car that wasn't right? I mean Clarkson is hard on anything Vauxhall at the best of times. I am sure the car Vauxhall gave top gear was the real thing. All the major car mags, are saying the same about the vxr, that the torque steer is bad.it was a preproduction model that they gave top gear and it was a german opc car, which doesn`t hav the lotus tuned chassis. pre production or not! fast it maybe? quality it sure isnt!!! imo its still a vauxhall ashtray and will go down in the echelons of history along with its booted cousin the chavalier widely regarded as the best car for bilking petrol and bulk shoplifting getaways!!!!! i would still rather have the new golf as vauxhall have obviously set that as their benchmark to beat, i have seen the " gti beating" bill boards, the VW is still gonna have a better residule value and still be a great car even in ten years time! if i was gonna spend that sort of money on a car the badge would be of higher quality than that griffin thing! i would rather have a 10 year old porsche 911 in my drive!! now as most know they are f ing quick!!! Link to post Share on other sites
badboyV6 4 Posted December 26, 2005 Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 yeah for that kind of money there would be a lot of different cars i would want- and the vxr wouldnt be in the list... It may be fast, however all the magazines have driven it, and a lot of other performance hatches- the focus st seems to be the pick at the moment. Not my preference;- id rather have the golf gti- but i would be biased as im a vw man.... Link to post Share on other sites
Col_M 0 Posted December 26, 2005 Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 I like the VXR the only thing that could be said against it was it is bonkers, good enough reason to but it in my books Also i've had experience of fords and vauxhalls, ford's interiors always feel like they came from a kinder egg. Link to post Share on other sites
purple highline monster 0 Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 just look at it this way.... vauxhall produced this....and VW produced this........ Link to post Share on other sites
Col_M 0 Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 lol that is quite dire, but all manufacturers make ugly, slow, god awful heaps at some point, even VW! I still like the VXR Link to post Share on other sites
Eat this 2 Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 should be rwd hehe ps i sooooo want a monaro before i die Link to post Share on other sites
apd 0 Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 i have seen the 'gti beater' posters too.was tempted to climb up and write-'but not with a charger on!'LOL. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts