New Astra VXR gets 0-62mph time

[TW]Fox;21898204 said:
But SDK said it will have stuff like DAB etc etc as standard? Was he... guessing?
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People making up there own stuff all over the place.
At no point did I say I was predicting the Astra spec. It was a general statement about cars of this type; the Focus, Astra, Megane, etc etc....

Looking at the actual spec it's pretty close :)
 
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The only unexpected standard feature on that list appears to be DAB Radio. Everything else is as you'd expect for that sort of car.

Still not seeing £27k but then by the sounds of it, it wont actually cost £27k anyway if Broadspeed are anything to go by.
 
Lashout_UK said:
Cruise is standard.

That may be subject to change but that's at least what you get on the majority of higher-spec GTCs anyway, so you won't get any less than that.

I think xenons are part of the Sight and Light pack (I think it's called that) but that may well come as standard.

Joe T may well know more.
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Indeed. GTC Sri has Sight & light Pack (auto lights, auto wipers, auto dimming rear view mirror) as standard, so I would imagine these will also be standard on the VXR. Cruise is standard on virtually all Astras now.

I think Xenons (i.e. Adaptive Forward Lighting - they do all the turny stuff and adapt to conditions) will be optional.

Fox, I believe that the current policy is that whenever Vauxhall launch a brand new model it will have DAB as standard across the range (GTC, Zafira Tourer, etc). I think other manufacturers may be doing this now too. :)

Also, Fox the examples you picked for list prices not going up seem to have been picked deliberately to make your point, rather than as being typical or representative (you do this a lot :p). Hasnt a 530d (M) Sport gone up nearly £7k since 2003 for example? I'm sure we could find examples to prove any point anyone wants to make! :p. To be fair, VX list prices have gone up more than most.

The reason this car is more expensive than the outgoing version is the huge amount of improvements to:

- power
- handling and brakes (think HiPer strut, LSD, Brembos. The standard GTC drives very well indeed, and the VXR should be a hoot to drive)
- build quality (both generally, and expecially the interior)
- kit (including things like Flex-ride, DAB, BT, 19" wheels)

All this stuff costs money. :)

Its 10x the car (slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean!). :)
 
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Joe T said:
Also, Fox the examples you picked for list prices not going up seem to have been picked deliberately to make your point,
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Not at all - the 528i was picked as the original road test of the E39 is available on the Autocar website giving price, so it was really easy to find. I then picked a random other car from the range for balance.

Having said that, the 530d does indeed seem to have gone up in price by a higher margin. When released the E60 530d Sport was £36.2k with leather, the F10 530d M Sport with leather is £42120. So an increase of £6k.

I could attempt to justify it by saying that loads of stuff is standard but as I'm arguing against this very point I'll concede that one, however its only gone up by as much as an Astra VXR has despite being far more expensive in the first place, so in percentage terms... ;)



The reason this car is more expensive than the outgoing version is the huge amount of improvements to:

- power
- handling and brakes (think HiPer strut, LSD, Brembos. The standard GTC drives very well indeed, and the VXR should be a hoot to drive)
- build quality (both generally, and expecially the interior)
- kit (including things like Flex-ride, DAB, BT, 19" wheels)

All this stuff costs money. :)

Its 10x the car (slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean!). :)
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But with the exception of power these are all areas where the original VXR was inferior to all of its competition. So to fix all the stuff wrong with the old car but then end up charging a bucket load more cash than the competition and justifying it because 'its got more power' (Because turning up the boost costs lots, right? It's a 2 litre turbo just like all the competition, its not like it costs more because they slipped a twin turbo six under the bonnet) just seems kinda wrong to me.

Even if the VXR is now built like a Golf and equipped like a Focus thats great but it now costs more than both the Golf GTI and the Focus. As I pointed out it's almost 370Z money and thats a full-on RWD 320bhp Coupe!

What we both know will happen is that VXRs will not cost £27k+. There will be deep, deep discounts available but to be honest I don't really understand why they do this. Why not just charge £23k for it and be stingy with the discounts rather than ask £27k and then go 'but psst, you can have £5k discount under the counter!?

At £23k - the price the brokers already seem to think they can do it for - it's actually a fairly good buy. At £23k it offers a more powerful but cheaper alternative to a Golf GTI. Which is exactly what it should offer.
 
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The problem is Vauxhall customers are used to getting a "deal". Getting them off that 'drug' is incredibly hard and will in many cases lead to a lower overall transaction price (i.e. if list prices were dropped, they would still expect the same discount). :(
 
It also screws them over on the fleet market as the P11d value from which BIK is derived is based on list price. Not that the VXR is a particular fleet favourite but I doubt the diesels are cheap either, list price wise.
 
[TW]Fox;21900306 said:
It also screws them over on the fleet market as the P11d value from which BIK is derived is based on list price. Not that the VXR is a particular fleet favourite but I doubt the diesels are cheap either, list price wise.
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Indeed. Thats why the new Tech Line models (Astra & Insignia so far, with more to come) have been launched. The kit that the fleet guys want (satnav, bluetooth), and a much lower list price (with lower discounts to match). :)
 
That has surprised me, sounds like it is MUCH better than people are expecting it to be. Glad to see Vauxhall aren't just chasing headline figures.
 
I'm still sceptical. Just that historically they've been so far behind the competition. But i'd be happy to be proved wrong. Don't think i'd buy one mind, like Nath they're not my cuppa tea at all.
 
Generally speaking I find anything that GM spews out with a vauxhall badge on it to be just 'meh'. I'm going to have a go at getting a test drive in one of these though, they look like fun!
 
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