Vxr Test Drive

[chrissn89]

Well today Nico and I went for a test drive in a 2008 VXR demo with 18xxkms on the clock. The cars looks the goods, gotta love the body shape, styling and wheels. The interior grew on me and the seats, well there bloody amazing (no more holding on to the hand brake).

The test drive was okay. I really thought the car would of went harder, in all honesty my astra (SRi-T 2003) 'feels quicker' (could just be the softer suspension). When changing gears the syncros felt like they were grabbing/catching every gear change into 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The exhaust note was a very nice raspy sound and you could just hear the turbo spooling up. The ride quality was good and defiantly not harsh. When pressing the sports button you could notice, the steering, throttle and dampers stiffening up but still not affecting ride quality overly much.

The salesman drove the car out of the dealership to a quiet street and then i jumped into the drivers seat. On the way we had to stop at a few lights and stop signs. To my horror :yikes: the salesman did not know how to drive a manual car properly. The few lights and signs we stopped at where on inclines. Instead of coming to a complete stop and letting the car idle with your foot on the brake, the HSV salesman was holding the car with the clutch ie, in first gear riding the clutch with the revs running from just above idle to 2,500rpm doing this for the duration of the lights sometimes for over a minute :eek:. I also thought the lack of performance could be from not running 98octane in it, i forgot to ask him what type of fuel it was running. Also the constant flogging from new could have something to do with it, with a price tag/asking price of $38,990 i thought it was a little high for this example.

My conclusion, the VXR is a bloody awesome car, but i think ill be keeping my lil astra till i can afford a F6 Typhoon FG and till insurance doesnt cost an arm'n'leg.

Thanks for reading guys and of course comments most welcome.

Chris

[Neeko]

every word chris mentioned is true :)

whats also true is that we went to court today with our friend for moral support. Before he was called up to the desk in court, a man was granted his special hardship order after accumulating over 50 demerit points. :angel::angel:


btw i loved the vxr too. Looks, feels, sounds and smells amazing lol

[Calibrated]

over 50! holy crap, i thought i was bad for accumulating 33.

on topic. i drove a vxr last year, and wasnt overly impressed. but then again, i did get out of a modded turbo cali... so my perception was slightly warped

[Wraith]

Well today Nico and I went for a test drive in a 2008 VXR demo with 18xxkms on the clock. The cars looks the goods, gotta love the body shape, styling and wheels. The interior grew on me and the seats, well there bloody amazing (no more holding on to the hand brake).

The test drive was okay. I really thought the car would of went harder, in all honesty my astra (SRi-T 2003) 'feels quicker' (could just be the softer suspension). When changing gears the syncros felt like they were grabbing/catching every gear change into 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The exhaust note was a very nice raspy sound and you could just hear the turbo spooling up. The ride quality was good and defiantly not harsh. When pressing the sports button you could notice, the steering, throttle and dampers stiffening up but still not affecting ride quality overly much.

The salesman drove the car out of the dealership to a quiet street and then i jumped into the drivers seat. On the way we had to stop at a few lights and stop signs. To my horror :yikes: the salesman did not know how to drive a manual car properly. The few lights and signs we stopped at where on inclines. Instead of coming to a complete stop and letting the car idle with your foot on the brake, the HSV salesman was holding the car with the clutch ie, in first gear riding the clutch with the revs running from just above idle to 2,500rpm doing this for the duration of the lights sometimes for over a minute :eek:. I also thought the lack of performance could be from not running 98octane in it, i forgot to ask him what type of fuel it was running. Also the constant flogging from new could have something to do with it, with a price tag/asking price of $38,990 i thought it was a little high for this example.

My conclusion, the VXR is an bloody awesome car, but i think ill be keeping my lil astra till i can afford a F6 Typhoon FG and till insurance doesnt cost an arm'n'leg.

Thanks for reading guys and of course comments most welcome.

Chris

Great right up...

I could echo alot of what you said when I test drove one shortly after they were released, I too was surprised the one I drove didn't go any or much harder than my TS turbo vert with a re-map...

Is that price you've listed above on road or just base price ??? either way, it's too much, you can get one on road at a few dealerships for around 36k and that's brand new, not ex-demo or such...

Your other choice there of an F6 Typhoon will certainly satisfy your power/performance urges, but it's a totally different car, all depends on what you really want/need :)

[GreyRex]

I tend to agree with all the previous comments

I drove one for an entire night with a mate within a couple of months of them being released; was both passenger and driver

GREAT looks, but there seemed to be something missing from how it drove

[Senor Ed]

I test drove one as well as the Sri-T.

My main observation from the test drive was it wasnt as loud as the Sri-T.

It was definately more powerful....acceleration was savage and it rode harder, but it wasnt as loud

[chrissn89]

Great right up...

I could echo alot of what you said when I test drove one shortly after they were released, I too was surprised the one I drove didn't go any or much harder than my TS turbo vert with a re-map...

Is that price you've listed above on road or just base price ??? either way, it's too much, you can get one on road at a few dealerships for around 36k and that's brand new, not ex-demo or such...

Your other choice there of an F6 Typhoon will certainly satisfy your power/performance urges, but it's a totally different car, all depends on what you really want/need :)

Yes the $36k was drive away for the ex-demo, and he was also trying to sell me a brand new arden blue vxr for $43k lol what a joke i thought. One other thing the speedo is a tad hard to read at first, im sure you'd get used to it quickly though.

Im still very happy with my SRi-T im just keeping an eye out for what my next car maybe. When the times come ill have changed my mind 5 times over by then.

Arh the joys of being a car enthusiast



GREAT looks, but there seemed to be something missing from how it drove

Yeah it was just missing that wow factor. But nothing im sure a re-map and bigger intercooler cant fix ;)

[CNBLU]

Yes the $36k was drive away for the ex-demo, and he was also trying to sell me a brand new arden blue vxr for $43k lol what a joke i thought. One other thing the speedo is a tad hard to read at first, im sure you'd get used to it quickly though.

Im still very happy with my SRi-T im just keeping an eye out for what my next car maybe. When the times come ill have changed my mind 5 times over by then.

Arh the joys of being a car enthusiast



Yeah it was just missing that wow factor. But nothing im sure a re-map and bigger intercooler cant fix ;)

you hit the nail on its head. you cant really compare a stock car to one that has been modded.

[Wraith]

Yes the $36k was drive away for the ex-demo, and he was also trying to sell me a brand new arden blue vxr for $43k lol what a joke i thought. One other thing the speedo is a tad hard to read at first, im sure you'd get used to it quickly though.

Im still very happy with my SRi-T im just keeping an eye out for what my next car maybe. When the times come ill have changed my mind 5 times over by then.

Arh the joys of being a car enthusiast



Yeah it was just missing that wow factor. But nothing im sure a re-map and bigger intercooler cant fix ;)

LOL so true, I think we all change our minds when it comes to cars a few times every month... :)

I too said exactly the same thing nearly 2 years ago after driving one, it was missing the 'wow' factor and didn't float my boat driving the thing, walked away never looking back at it, different story with some other new cars I've recently driven - you know it's good when you can't get it out of your mind after driving the thing :eek1:

I'm surprised some are still asking well over 40k for a VXR considering how stagnant GMH sales are ATM, although it must be said even that's a much better price than when they were 1st released, you couldn't get one below around 45k on road and if you got one through finance at full pricing over 5 years, it'd end up costing you between 50-60k :eek: far out I'll bet those people are doing this :mad2: ATM :lol:

36k is a good and fair enough price for a new or very low km's example IMO, leave it till later this year and they might be even cheaper still ;)

[mania]

On the way we had to stop at a few lights and stop signs. To my horror :yikes: the salesman did not know how to drive a manual car properly. The few lights and signs we stopped at where on inclines. Instead of coming to a complete stop and letting the car idle with your foot on the brake, the HSV salesman was holding the car with the clutch ie, in first gear riding the clutch with the revs running from just above idle to 2,500rpm doing this for the duration of the lights sometimes for over a minute :eek:.

That bit really made me cringe. All those manual HSVs he must drive... you'd think he'd have some clue.

[tomtom]

That bit really made me cringe. All those manual HSVs he must drive... you'd think he'd have some clue.

I'd have given him kudos for that 'cause I love the smell of clutch :p

On a serious note though, when i went to look at the nurburg @ petersmith, they got a "HSV expert" to come out and talk to me. He didn't know very much for an expert. Didn't even know the size of the wheels and oh, "I THINK its a 6 speed". Hahha oh well.

[mania]

I'd have given him kudos for that 'cause I love the smell of clutch :p

On a serious note though, when i went to look at the nurburg @ petersmith, they got a "HSV expert" to come out and talk to me. He didn't know very much for an expert. Didn't even know the size of the wheels and oh, "I THINK its a 6 speed". Hahha oh well.

I don't know what's worse, that style HSV expert, or the other kind which tells you with a straight face all the mods HSV has done to the Astra. I had the latter.

[Shaun]

They become quicker with more KM on the clock. I love driving mine and giving it some now i have Stage two and Milltek fitted.
It was still great when it was stock

[Neeko]

They become quicker with more KM on the clock. I love driving mine and giving it some now i have Stage two and Milltek fitted.
It was still great when it was stock

how much quicker is yours compared to stock shaun??

[Shaun]

how much quicker is yours compared to stock shaun??

Alot quicker now.

[gman]

Also got to remember that a VXR is heavier than an 03 SRi-T so it may feel slightly "slower".

But the bigger brakes, extra rubber width and slightly wider track means is would likely be better through the corners while the extra torque and power would mean it likely be as quicker or only marginally quicker than the lighter car. But if you increase the power, the extras mean it handles it a little bit better.

[USC]

The VXR may feel slower than a TS sri-t but it is not. The car is heavier, hence it sits on the road better giving the impression that it is not actually going fast.
0-100 for TS Sri-T: 7.2 Secs
0-100 for VXR: 6.33 secs

PS: Those times are for stock models.

[chrissn89]

Also got to remember that a VXR is heavier than an 03 SRi-T so it may feel slightly "slower".

But the bigger brakes, extra rubber width and slightly wider track means is would likely be better through the corners while the extra torque and power would mean it likely be as quicker or only marginally quicker than the lighter car. But if you increase the power, the extras mean it handles it a little bit better.

My thoughts exactly the VRX does feel solid and would be able to handle lot more power.


The VXR may feel slower than a TS sri-t but it is not. The car is heavier, hence it sits on the road better giving the impression that it is not actually going fast.
0-100 for TS Sri-T: 7.2 Secs
0-100 for VXR: 6.33 secs

PS: Those times are for stock models.

I understand that USC, my SRi-T is slightly moded, and felt faster than the VXR demo i drove, which could be rooted, or as Shaun said they do get faster with more KM's.