astra/corsa VXR

Begbie said:
Has everyone who has slated them, acctually driving them?

Or is this just the standard OcUK response to Vauxhall? Yes there may be better cars, but they're not a 'bad' hot hatch. Far from it infact, frightnely quick, pretty decent handling in stock guise and not bad to look at.

Resonibily cheap to maintain and pretty reliable from what I've heard too.

Not that I'd ever buy one mind.
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I have to agree, Ive driven a corsa arctic, It was about on a par with my gti-6 power acceleration wise. It actually felt very similar in power delivery
handling is similar and its not quite as stiff as people will have you believe.
Brakes are probably a bit more assisted but similar too.

Granted mine hasnt been overhauled yet but its not a bad car at all, and raises lots of smiles when you change gears and it pops like a shotgun.
This was a arctic though so not the base model.

Outside of this forum ive seen people say that the astra is better than a focus in the handling stakes too? How true that is i dont know as i havent driven either.
 
FTM said:
I am also from the North East but am perfectly capable of writing in English, and not ending every sentence with 'lol' or 'haha'.
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i dont know how you people can judge some1 on how they type. in this feed there is a lot of rage for no reason i haave found that in this OCUK fourm and i am sad to say thinking about leaving
 
Eliot said:
I have to agree, Ive driven a corsa arctic, It was about on a par with my gti-6 power acceleration wise. It actually felt very similar in power delivery
handling is similar and its not quite as stiff as people will have you believe.
Brakes are probably a bit more assisted but similar too.

Granted mine hasnt been overhauled yet but its not a bad car at all, and raises lots of smiles when you change gears and it pops like a shotgun.
This was a arctic though so not the base model.

Outside of this forum ive seen people say that the astra is better than a focus in the handling stakes too? How true that is i dont know as i havent driven either.
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As much as I love the Astra VXR and I owned a heavily modded one for nearly 3 years it's NOT as good handling as pretty much any of it's rivals. In stock form anyway. Mine had a rear anti roll bar and an LSD so was pretty good. It wasn't too fond of uneven surfaces though as people will tell you when I took them on passenger rides at meets. Epic power in straight line though, such a shove.
 
Eliot said:
I have to agree, Ive driven a corsa arctic, It was about on a par with my gti-6 power acceleration wise. It actually felt very similar in power delivery
handling is similar and its not quite as stiff as people will have you believe.
Brakes are probably a bit more assisted but similar too.
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Even the last production gti-6 was 10 years ago. You would think cars have improved in 10 years not be "on par"


VXR's are not good cars, regardless of the "Jemery Clarkson" reference made earlier. The only people who buy a VXR are those who want one, and those who have no clue whatsoever (#barry boys). See Rybo89 for a perfect example, even during the honeymoon period of his VXR he has realised it's **** poor
 
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rossk26 said:
Even the last production gti-6 was 10 years ago. You would think cars have improved in 10 years not be "on par"


VXR's are not good cars, regardless of the "Jemery Clarkson" reference made earlier. The only people who buy a VXR are those who want one, and those who have no clue whatsoever (#barry boys). See Rybo89 for a perfect example, event during the honeymoon period of his VXR he has realised it's **** poor
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To be fair thats when my suspension was made too. It should walk all over it as of next month when I put my 1.3k of suspension parts on it :o

Im not sure your right though, I see no reason for handling to improve over that much at all?

Engine power and effiency yes. But handling not as much.
Dont forget a 172 was out at the same time. And the DC2
 
Begbie said:
Has everyone who has slated them, acctually driving them?

Or is this just the standard OcUK response to Vauxhall? Yes there may be better cars, but they're not a 'bad' hot hatch. Far from it infact, frightnely quick, pretty decent handling in stock guise and not bad to look at.

Resonibily cheap to maintain and pretty reliable from what I've heard too.

Not that I'd ever buy one mind.
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Talk to Shoes... He seems to "know" a lot about them.

Yet he hasnt even driven one!
 
DAIR said:
Talk to Shoes... He seems to "know" a lot about them.

Yet he hasnt even driven one!
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It is important to drive cars before giving strong opinions.

Earlier this month I drove an RX8 and S2000. With the S2000 universally praised and the RX8 slated.

In reality I found the opposite to be true (for me at least), the RX8 was the superior car in my eyes.

If I hadn't test drove both I would still be a firm believer that he S2000 was the better car just because it is what i read on the internet lol.
 
rossk26 said:
See Rybo89 for a perfect example, even during the honeymoon period of his VXR he has realised it's **** poor
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Pro's:
Silly fast
Very good MPG
Comfy Recaro seats

Cons:
Awful gearbox
Likes throwing a wobbler (like a typical women)
Cops automatically think you have robbed it (if you are young)
Power is to big for the chassis

Had mine 3 months and it has cost me £700 in new parts and 600 in consumables up to yet. Fortunately for me I have quite a bit put away for rainy days, so be sure you put some money aside for when it breaks. You only have to go on VXR online and roughly 20+ threads a day go on where someone's Astra VXR has broke (normally the poo M32 gearbox).

Certainly not the best handler but it can be a lot of fun if you don't mind killing your self. I like going for a Friday night blast after work and it really is fun. I don't get people trying to race me all the time like when I had my old ST, I tend to show them up though if someone does and when I am in the mood :p

Would I ever buy a Vauxhall again? HELLLL NO! Would a recommend a Astra VXR? No...

Think I hate Vauxhall more for the fact that they will not admit there stupidity of putting a 320nm box in a car that already has 320nm as standard. Reason why boxes are failing left, right and centre between 15k-40k miles.
 
NathWraith said:
It is important to drive cars before giving strong opinions.

Earlier this month I drove an RX8 and S2000. With the S2000 universally praised and the RX8 slated.

In reality I found the opposite to be true (for me at least), the RX8 was the superior car in my eyes.

If I hadn't test drove both I would still be a firm believer that he S2000 was the better car just because it is what i read on the internet lol.
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I owned an RX8 for little over a year back in 2007 (iirc). Decent car.. Bad on fuel. Anyway, I wouldve though the s2000 wouldve been a far better car to drive (in terms of handling and outright fun) for exactly the same reason lol!
 
Rybo89 said:
Pro's:
Silly fast
Very good MPG
Comfy Recaro seats

Cons:
Awful gearbox
Likes throwing a wobbler (like a typical women)
Cops automatically think you have robbed it (if you are young)
Power is to big for the chassis

Had mine 3 months and it has cost me £700 in new parts and 600 in consumables up to yet. Fortunately for me I have quite a bit put away for rainy days, so be sure you put some money aside for when it breaks. You only have to go on VXR online and roughly 20+ threads a day go on where someone's Astra VXR has broke (normally the poo M32 gearbox).

Certainly not the best handler but it can be a lot of fun if you don't mind killing your self. I like going for a Friday night blast after work and it really is fun. I don't get people trying to race me all the time like when I had my old ST, I tend to show them up though if someone does and when I am in the mood :p

Would I ever buy a Vauxhall again? HELLLL NO! Would a recommend a Astra VXR? No...

Think I hate Vauxhall more for the fact that they will not admit there stupidity of putting a 320nm box in a car that already has 320nm as standard. Reason why boxes are failing left, right and centre between 15k-40k miles.
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Wow... I thought my engine going pop was bad!

In the three years I had mine I only had to change a caliper and hand brake cable (both of which were done this year before getting rid of it in Feb).

I never got much attention from police.... I got loads from the younger drivers though :(
 
Rybo89 said:
Pro's:
Silly fast
Very good MPG
Comfy Recaro seats

Cons:
Awful gearbox
Likes throwing a wobbler (like a typical women)
Cops automatically think you have robbed it (if you are young)
Power is to big for the chassis

Had mine 3 months and it has cost me £700 in new parts and 600 in consumables up to yet. Fortunately for me I have quite a bit put away for rainy days, so be sure you put some money aside for when it breaks. You only have to go on VXR online and roughly 20+ threads a day go on where someone's Astra VXR has broke (normally the poo M32 gearbox).

Certainly not the best handler but it can be a lot of fun if you don't mind killing your self. I like going for a Friday night blast after work and it really is fun. I don't get people trying to race me all the time like when I had my old ST, I tend to show them up though if someone does and when I am in the mood :p

Would I ever buy a Vauxhall again? HELLLL NO! Would a recommend a Astra VXR? No...

Think I hate Vauxhall more for the fact that they will not admit there stupidity of putting a 320nm box in a car that already has 320nm as standard. Reason why boxes are failing left, right and centre between 15k-40k miles.
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It was rated to 320nm of constant torque so the Astra VXR peaking at 320nm isn't the issue. It's mostly down to lack of mechanical sympathy, mine was running 309 bhp and over 300lb/ft of torque but I never had issues with the 56000 miles that were placed on mine. Don't nail it like a spakka in 1st and 2nd and you'll be fine.

The issue with the handling I had wasn't so much the understeer which IMO wasn't any worse than it's rivals. It was the skittish back end. Went light far too often.
 
DAIR said:
I owned an RX8 for little over a year back in 2007 (iirc). Decent car.. Bad on fuel. Anyway, I wouldve though the s2000 wouldve been a far better car to drive (in terms of handling and outright fun) for exactly the same reason lol!
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The only thing I found with the S2000 was that the steering rack was ridiculously quick. It was a pre facelift 02. I thought the RX8 was better balanced and I preferred the engine too.

Not to rib on the Honda boys as I only had a test drive but I honestly can't see what all the fuss is about with the S2000, it seems a very overated car in my eyes. On the flip side the RX8 is very underated due to the constant "lol rotary and lol fuel" you hear about which no doubt puts people off.
 
NathWraith said:
The only thing I found with the S2000 was that the steering rack was ridiculously quick. It was a pre facelift 02. I thought the RX8 was better balanced and I preferred the engine too.

Not to rib on the Honda boys as I only had a test drive but I honestly can't see what all the fuss is about with the S2000, it seems a very overated car in my eyes. On the flip side the RX8 is very underated due to the constant "lol rotary and lol fuel" you hear about which no doubt puts people off.
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You missed "LOL OIL"

but in fairness oil usage is a bit silly
 
NathWraith said:
The only thing I found with the S2000 was that the steering rack was ridiculously quick. It was a pre facelift 02. I thought the RX8 was better balanced and I preferred the engine too.

Not to rib on the Honda boys as I only had a test drive but I honestly can't see what all the fuss is about with the S2000, it seems a very overated car in my eyes. On the flip side the RX8 is very underated due to the constant "lol rotary and lol fuel" you hear about which no doubt puts people off.
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Meh... If you're able to look past those two issues you can have much fun bouncing off the limiter!
 
NathWraith said:
It is important to drive cars before giving strong opinions.
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You've only just realised that actually driving a car is better than taking on board what people on here say.

Motors is progressing on even more than I first thought.

Peerzy a typical modern hot shopping trolley will be around 30MPG quoted manufacturers combined figure, regardless its still perfectly normal to ask if the figure is realistic, what its like around town, on a run etc
Every performance car thread where the OP mentions MPG someone mentions "You shouldnt be looking at this type of car" it grinds with me a bit, especially when newer cars have surprising MPG figures for the performance its a perfectly normal question to ask
 
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