VAUXHALL VXR8 Road Test Reports and Car Reviews

Vauxhall VXR8 2007

Vauxhall. Just mention the name to me and it sends a horrible shiver down my spine. But hold on a second, Vauxhall has been on a roll since the VX220, and now that the Vectra is gone, the only turd in the range is the Meriva. Vauxhall has always been associated with people who couldn’t give a stuff about cars, had next to no imagination whatsoever and you would NEVER invite a Vauxhall owner to dinner. Oh how have things changed. The soon to be replaced Astra was a million times better looking than anything else in the family hatchback market and not a bad steer either. The Corsa was funky and had grown up considerably without sacrificing fun, the Zafira is pretty fun to drive (especially in VXR form), and the Insignia is millimetres behind the Ford Mondeo in terms of being the consummate all rounder. The Monaro was a snarling beast of a thing, especially in VXR500 trim, and how I cried when it was killed off. I was wondering what kind of idiot in the marketing department decided it would be a good idea to drop the Monaro, but good news came in the form of the VXR8. What a monster. Mine was black and it was a glorious looking thing. Those 20" alloys filled the arches with a real purpose, the front end looked mean and moody, the rear ’afterburner’ style lights looked menacing, and the rear wing looked slightly ridiculous. No matter. As a package, it looked magnificent. It’s not pretty mind you, but pleasant enough to look at. Who said that the Australians didn’t have a sense of humour? Inside, the sporty and menacing theme continued. Huge sofas made by Recaro hugged you intimately (and I’m a pretty small guy), the steering wheel was wonderful to hold, the pedals were well placed, and the quality of the materials used were pretty good, considering it cost ’only’ £35,000. Spacious too. The boot will easily hold a few bodies, if that’s your kind of thing. I was starting to feel pretty good about the car, until I started it up....then I gurned in excitement. Good Lord it sounded good. The 6 litre V8 jumped into life and rocked the entire car on its suspension. I didn’t want to believe what I felt, so I switched it off and started it again. Oh yes. I was gonna have me some fun here. Performance figures speak for themselves. 0-60mph in 4.7 seconds, over 400bhp, and a top speed of over 170mph. Lovely. The one thing that immediately hit me was how docile it was. You could easily pootle around in town in 4th gear at 30mph all day long, and it’ll never kick up a fuss. Just a distant little V8 rumble in the background, being soothed by the wonderful climate control, with Sade coming through the Blaupunkt stereo system. Nice place to be really. Jump out of town and head to the motorway, and it’s still wonderful. Quiet, refined and comfortable. Not bad for a car they claim would rip your head off. I wasn’t scared at all, until I decided to take it onto a country road. Traction control off, 2nd gear and a bootful of throttle, followed by the sound of tortured tyres, a lion being tortured through an amplifier from the exhaust, and a 26 year old man screaming like an 8 year old! Last time I got this sensation from a big car was back in 2001 when I had the pleasure of driving an E39 BMW M5. So it’s got speed. Lots of it. (of course I’m not going to tell you how quickly I was going. I’m not that stupid) Handling on the other hand, I’m afraid to say, is wonderful as well. It’s not quite as razor sharp as an M5 but it’s always willing to have a play. Be reckless with it and it will most likely spear you off the road at illegal speeds killing you in the process, but treat it gently and it will reward you massively. Oversteer is only but a toe twitch away and winding on opposite lock is as natural as tying your shoelace. It’s wonderfully composed, if a little crude in it’s execution. The gearbox is a little dimwitted in its action, quite clunky and over heavy. Cannot complain about the brakes at all, which are huge. They will easily whip the car from 60 - 0 in the claimed 2.8 seconds, and take your internal organs with it. Braking is a rather painful experience in this motor, which isn’t a bad thing at all. As far as reliability and costs go, this is where it falls down ever so slightly. Fuel consumption is pretty bad averaging about 24mpg on a good day, and closer to 14mpg on a playful day, which one can argue is also a good day. I had a couple scares with the engine management light coming on every so often, but the diagnostics showed nothing. Servicing isn’t too bad either, costing me about £250 - £350 per service. The amazing thing about this car is that it only costs £35000, but offers M5 levels of fun. My only regrets are not opting for the Walkinshaw Performance packs, which make the car sound even harder and go even better. No matter. I still fell in love with this charming beast and I never thought I would say that about a Vauxhall. If you were to ask me about which I would choose between an M5 or a VXR8, I wouldn’t be able to give you a straight answer. The M5 is Muhammed Ali, the greatest ever, moves like no other, and is a bit of a showoff and pretty. The VXR8 is Mike Tyson, brutal, scary, menacing and would probably lose his temper and bite your ear off. I love both cars to be fair, but the M5 is a better car plain and simple, because BMW are masters at making fast executive saloons. The VXR8 is just a copy, but as far as copies go, it’s a pretty impressive one. Would I recommend it? Oh hell yes! £35000 for a Corvette engine, in a comfortable 4 door executive saloon, that will keep an M5 honest . It’s a no brainer really.