vectra vxr
- Thread starter R0Z4G
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
The Vectra is a blunt instrument. It goes really fast in a straight line but thats pretty much its only talent. Your Mondeo is slower but drives better in every possible way bar straightline performance.
If you wish to upgrade from a Mk3 Mondeo ST then a Vauxhall Vectra is not the way to go about it.
If you wish to upgrade from a Mk3 Mondeo ST then a Vauxhall Vectra is not the way to go about it.
EDIT:
Gah, youtube embed is broken
If thats the Top Gear review then its a load of Baloney. They pulled the fuses for the ESP. Turning the ESP off using the button still keeps some degree of TC so it wouldn't of carried on going straight in the corners.
[TW]Fox;17594465 said:
Its not about a decent chassis its the limitations of front wheel drive. You put your foot down in a 280bhp front wheel drive car, apply about 90 degrees of lock, with all forms of traction control / esp / active suspension turned off and yes it will understeer woefully for the cameras.
Shock horror as 280bhp fwd car can be made to understeer on camera.
Back in the real world, where you dont go into corners on full power with all the aids turned off on a public road, its not really a problem.
Exactly. It's FWD, which ruins the whole thing.
It should have been 240bhp, a bit quicker than the Mondeo, but able to handle its power. But they knew they'd never, ever match the Mondeo so set about just making it super fast instead. Mind you 240bhp would probably have been too much judging by the Astra VXR, the single most annoying performance car I have ever driven.
It should have been 240bhp, a bit quicker than the Mondeo, but able to handle its power. But they knew they'd never, ever match the Mondeo so set about just making it super fast instead. Mind you 240bhp would probably have been too much judging by the Astra VXR, the single most annoying performance car I have ever driven.
I owned one for 18 months
I loved mine, even to this day i dont regret owning it. Was great fun to drive and the kick from the turbo will have you grinning from ear to ear.
Right, first running costs
Unless you get a very early 2005 55 plate car, they will be £400 + a year to tax. Most of them run 19" alloys which take tyres at £100 a corner. Keep the original continentals on and its more like £150 + a corner. Fuel ? you'll average about low 20s. My trip computer regularly read about 24mpg, sometimes as low as 22.
Insurance is pretty heavy being a group 19, and being a VXR its the thieves favourite. Being a thieves favourite VXR, it also attracts a lot of attention, especially in red or blue. If you want discreet, make sure you get a black or silver one that at first glance look just like any other vectra.
Reliabiltiy wise, they arent great. In my 18 months i went through 1 gearbox (stopped selecting 6th) before it was tuned, and after it was tuned i also went through a clutch as well. Once remapped the standard plugs arent up to the jobs, requiring NGK iridium cool running spark plugs from a tuner every 2 years or so. The remap really gets the temperatures up, so you'll suffer overheating in the summer with prolonged used of the power. Water radiator and intercooler upgrades come recommended if you want prolonged use in the summer with a remap.
If you dont intend to remap it, there are few things to make sure it has done - make sure it has the expansion tank recall, which can crack and drop coolant everywhere as its just two pieces of plastic glued together. Also need to watch out for leaking shock absorbers - these are electronically controlled IDS+ items that are £500 + for a front set, likewise for the back. The few that have had them fail, have found it cheaper to upgrade to adjustable suspension from KW.
Also make sure all the electrics work - mine had a nasty habit of the interior alarm sensor bypass not working, not a problem as i never left a dog in the car, but others have reported various little niggly things, including some that throw up random errors for no apparent reason. latter is resolved by clearing the fault codes every few months by disconnecting the battery.
Being a turbo of course, theres more to go wrong in the long run. Turbos to fail etc.. Plus the cars are reasonably rare, so the dealers dont have a clue what to do with them. I got fed up of waiting around for dealers to try and figure out what was wrong with it at times, and when they did it was never quick.
So summed up
Pros:
+ Great Turbo tick, pulls hard and great low rev rang response due to twin scroll turbo
+ long legs, can do 120mph and still not run out of breath. Very easy to do stupidly illegal speeds in it.
+ not much else in this sort of bracket that comes close for straight line speed. Only things that come close for the same money are Impreza / Evo
+ Being a vectra is very practical. Lots of room in the boot / rear seats etc. Great recaro half leather seats as standard.
+ remove the centre silener and it has a lovely V6 growl. Pete was enjoying sitting behind mine at the last MM it went to
Cons:
- Expensive to run, even more so than an ST220 needing 19" tyres, £400 tax, and poor fuel economy
- Not the sharpest handling car. As said already, try to use full throttle with the T/C off in a corner and it will just understeer
- not reliable when tuned (average reliability compared with competition when standard)
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EDIT:
Gah, youtube embed is broken
Chives, that's how you do youtube links
Find the ="code" and copy the code into the forum brackets
He currently owns a Mondeo and was asking about a Vectra, chances are a Leon would be too small? Plus they are less powerful before tuned and not everyone wants to tune.
Leon's aren't bad for space,. I've had 4 in confortably on long journeys and everyone was pleasantly surprised at how nice the interior was, and the legroom in the back. It isn't as big as the Mondeo...but then, I have no idea why he has totally ruled out the ST220. He like's Mondeo's, he likes space, he wants power...
I wouldn't go near the VXR with a bargepole. I would reccomend him having a gander at the Leon's or maybe a Skoda Octavia VRS?