There is a good deal of truth in what Dave says. Anyone who knows Dave and Carolyn will also know that they are not afraid of spending a bob or two on their cars. The succession of Scoobs that D & C have had is testament to that.

I will admit that the Vauxhall badge doesn't normally get mentioned in the same breath as Lotus and I can't help thinking they would have had more success if they had used the European name for the VX220 - the Opel Speedster.

Looks are a personal thing - I will also admit to not be a massive fan of the VX220 looks (however, anybody owning a Scoob cannot take the moral high ground for driving a 'good looking' car ), but it is pretty unique, will certainly get you noticed and the performance from the Turbo model (the one Dave is getting) will blow away just about anything this side of a Noble M12 or 911 - not bad for 25 grand.

Dave has obviously bought the car for its performance and handling not just for posing in (well not too much ).

Chris

[Edited by Chris L - 5/2/2003 8:57:04 AM]

 

Each to there own then

I see quite a few VX's and Elises, and the Elise is definetly better to the eye, but totally agree with the build issues, I have seen some dahn bad condition Elise's for sale in my search, with less than 10000miles on the clock.

Boy hood dream into a reality for me thou, which a Vauxhall will never be. Vowed never to buy a Vauxhall the way they treated me when i used to run events for them, mud sticks as they say.

David you must have a very large garage now



[Edited by Type R - 5/2/2003 2:43:32 PM]

 

This is the question.

 

£19745 otr in the Vauxhall summer sale which ends 2nd June.

Got to be tempting...

 

I bought one a few weeks ago, as have about 5-6 other guys from the Evo forum IIRC.

Not stupidly fast in a straight line, but handles like a go-kart.

Recommended for summer fun.

Better engine, build quality and dealer support than an Elise too (oh and about £7K cheaper)

 

Are they still doing 0% tick?

 

I ordered a VX220 Turbo on 26 March, it was built last Thursday, should be wending its way to the dealer any time now

Quick as a STi PPP, and no Impreza yob image downside

 

Dave

The only reason for the yob image was because of holigans like you Drop us an email when it arrives!

Chris

 

Dave T-S, did you have the opportunity to drive one before ordering ?

I compared my N/A VX to a VXT back to back and found the VXT to be a bit heavy, soft.

Either way, you're going to love it !

 

I'm driving a N/A one this weekend if I can find one..all the dealers want me to drive the Turbo though
What are the 'essential' options? I wouldn't want leather as it's too slippery, and hot in the summer
I've been offered £2,250 off list for a car produced before 14 Jan, and £1k for a later one. Were there any revisions I should know about? Vauxhall.co.uk have a pretty well specced offer as a 'Special edition'..but again it's pre-Jan03 build.
Rgds
Cman

 

Chris
I'll be in touch

David
Yep, drove the turbo and the n/a - IMHO more tweaking potential with the turbo than the n/a

Chuck
I've only specified leather with mine, and a hard top for the winter.

Popular opinion seems to be leather makes them more desirable on resale. It's only on the seat facings, not sides, anyway.

I haven't bothered with any radio at all for it - currently looking at rortier exhaust options

From memory, there aren't any spec changes for the cars Vauxhall are trying to shift, it's just a bit of a (in relative terms) stockpile they had. By all accounts there aren't many left, and most of them are in silver. Once the stock ones are gone, they'll then go back to factory order, 4 - 8 weeks delivery


[Edited by Dave T-S - 4/30/2003 7:51:28 PM]

 

Dave wanna watch yer old back getting in and out of that at your age
On a serious note though would love to see it or if possible have a ride.........Enjoy it mate
Cheers
Colin

 

I just don't like the way it looks, and always wanted a Lotus, and that dahn ugly V grill......

Sounds Good VFM thou, but I prefered the Elise, and paid the premium , just need to get another 30BHP and I will be happy

 

stood next to a vx220 & s2 elise at recent knockhill outing and i have to say the elise just looks better. on track the vx seemed nothing special. think i would rather pay the extra for a car with a lotus badge rather than a vauxhall one.

 

PMSL at this bit of blinkered badge snobbery When Lotus first started building the VX several years ago Vauxhall were horrified at the build quality and quality control, and totally stopped production, and put their own quality control inspectors in the factory. It still takes longer for a VX to get out of the factory rather than a Lotus because of Vauxhall's standards.......

If i'd thought the Elise was a better car on merit, not badge, I would have bought one rather than a VX. I didn't

Still, each to their own

 

Give Crownhill Vauxhall a call, (Wayne 01908 569999) he had a pre-registered showroom car with just 25 miles on it for £18K, can't be bad. He'll even drive over to wherever you are in the country to give you a testdrive. Top bloke.

This is true ! If I didn't have my 270bhp Exige I may be swayed more. It's just the soft suspension, weightiness I had a problem with.

You'd pay more, just for a badge, even though it's essentially the same car, other than it has worse build quality, a crappier engine, and awful dealer support. Wow ! It wasn't for financial reasons I chose a VX over an Elise, it was because Lotus dealers are utterly crap, and the K-series engine is pretty weak.

 

I've now been offered a fully loaded car (paint/stereo/leather(which I dont want but need to make it saleable later) and mats) 'official' OTR £24,500ish for £19,195 new OTR.. they are desperate to get rid. TBH the S2 elise doesn't look 'right' to me..side is a bit girly...the VX looks better..each to their own though eh?
I really have to get a few drives out of the way as need to decide between 3 garages :
1 - 22B, '03stipp and VX220/S2000 (£20k outlay, got the first 2)
2 - 22B, Noble/TVR/993variant, Mondeo (£25k outlay - test drives next weekend)
3 - GT3(old)/C4S/Noble 'R', Mondeo (£15/25k outlay no testdrive)
In reality 1 is the most probable as most useable (got 2 kids and like to be able to go on driving holidays) and most fun day to day.
If the VX is as much fun as I hope then will probably just go with that as my secret to a happy life is to avoid sampling the superlative experiences as they ruin everything else.
Luckily the 22 still gives the most fun per mile of any coupe/saloon I've driven so I'm not driven to change that. On the other hand in the past 3 years my 'second' car has changed from :
Mondeo->S4->WRX->S3->STI8PPP
Chuck

 

I bought a n/a VX just over a month ago and am extremely happy with it.

It's my everyday car and although a little impractical () it's pretty much been faultless.
My only problem has been the drivers window not wanting to fully go up.

I personally prefer the look of the VX to either of the Elise's but then again it's totally subjective. I even had a middle aged fella come up to me in a car park and ask how much my Ferrari cost - he was shocked when I replied "it's just a Vauxhall".

The comment on the VX being nothing special around the track is utter tosh! I recommend you drive one in anger - you're guaranteed to leave with a bloody great on your face.

Pics of my car are here: http://www.evoposters.net/cars/andym172s-VX220-Capri

Andy.

 

nice pics andy, the VX looks good as well!

 

QUOTE: The comment on the VX being nothing special around the track is utter tosh! I recommend you drive one in anger - you're guaranteed to leave with a bloody great on your face.

Why ??? when i got an elise to smile at....

Another point: Just seen one in dealer forecourt for £16k, car is less than a year old, aint holdin much resale value, check the equivalent elise resale value and then think how much money you'd be throwing away.

Must admit the vx is definatly heading in the right direction with the turbo charged version, comments about the rover k-series are only to true unless you go tweaking it yourself with some aftermarket goodies costing around 4k for 190 bhp.

 

How long until the VX Turbo's honeymoon period ends, and people realise that (a) it's bloody heavy for a 'lightweight', (b) it's been softened too much, taking it into the middle ground between Elises and Boxsters, and (c) turbo engines just don't suit this sort of car (presumably why they softened it into a different sort of car then).

 

Along the same lines as above..why buy an Elise when you can get a Caterham/Westie/Exige?
Basically it's a compromised class of car(Elise/VX)..VXT tending more towards road and occasional track use now...thats another reason I prefer the VX..ABS for wet leafy lanes, airbag for brain-fade situations and torquier engine for lazy fat wbankers
C

 

QUOTE: Along the same lines as above..why buy an Elise when you can get a Caterham/Westie/Exige?

If i'm reading your point correct, Caterham/Westie are great cars but there's bugger all space and are more impracticle than the elise, the exige is specifically aimed at track use, it's noisy and not ideal on bumpy british roads, plus, you dont get that open roof feeling on a nice day.

the elise is far more practical than you would expect and has ample boot space for weekends away. also drives comfortably on road and wickedly on track.

 

Having tried an Exige after owning my S2 Elise for 15 months, I was surprised how similar it felt. No less practical (though I tried it on a track day so didn't check the boot space!) and didn't really feel different except the more revvy engine. So choosing an Elise over an Exige is more down to whether you want a roof. There's no way I'd change because they're too similar.

The Elise isn't really a compromised version of a Caterfield, any more than a Caterfield is a compromised Rocket or a Rocket is a compromised motorbike/single seater racecar. The VX220 Turbo though has a completely different type of engine to the Elise philosophy and is much heavier. So it compromises the basic design principles of the chassis. Why do you think Lotus don't do a turbo'd Elise? It's not like they don't have the experience to do so...

 

Chris

True mate....i'll run over and give you a spin in it when its run in - probably the first weekend (should be ready for me to pick up next Saturday)

Been talking to Courtenay, and they do a phase 2 pack for it, flash remap al la EcuTek type thing, colder plugs, 234bhp, and, wait for it, 270 ft/lb - £680 fitted - bargain

Proven over the last couple of years on the Astra turbo.

Looks like I shall be heading off to Norfolk in the near future

Oh, and they do a replacement precat/turbo up pipe for £279, another 8-10 bhp

 

BTW - David mentioned Wayne at Crownhill - I don't know him personally but he has a VERY good reputation on www.vx220.org.uk

 

Doesn't mean you can't appreciate the VX...

This isn't aimed at anybody in particular, but I cannot understand why you'd let badge snobbishness (have I just invented a new word?!) get in the way of driving an excellent car (Evo 5 star car). True, it's a Vauxhall, but a Skyline is a Nissan, an NSX is a Honda and a 22B is a Subaru.
I could have afforded to buy a new Elise but I didn't because I was bowled over by the VX when I drove it (after having driven a few Elise's).

Another plus side for me is the rarity of the VX - they haven't sold well but that doesn't bother me, I have a car that very few people have which is quite cool IMO.

Andy.

 

Just to say I see the same amount of VX's than Elise, mind you living near Bedford Autodrome I tend see quite a few of every type of car

I don't think there is much in the drive except down to personal opinion, I think the Elise is better , hence why I bought one.

 

IMHO, the VXT is the car the Elise (and the VX) should always have been!! If I was in the market for a new car, and didn't finally actually *NEED* a 4/5 seater with a boot, I'd be buying a VXT!!! (driven Elise's too and they are nice but not IMO in the same league as the VXT).

Matt

 

quote:
Boy hood dream into a reality for me thou, which a Vauxhall will never be

Lotus Carlton.