RAJ27

Vauxhall VXR8 | First Drives | Car Reviews | Auto Express

Extras on offer include a supercharger to boost power to 534bhp and £2,500 20-inch alloy wheels.

Healthy bargain competition for the M5?

martyrobertsdj

iTrader: (1)

I like that a lot.....it looks a bit like someone has gone mad on a Vectra and tried to make it look a bit EVO X ish, but I still like it. I saw a red one on the TV and it looked smart.

It's no M5....that is in a different league, but so it should be for about another £30k.

Has anyone actually seen a Monaro on the road? I haven't.

richs2891

Does look good that - and yes seen two Monaro's on the road. Do like them but fuel consumption put me off and more so the thought of having to take it to a vauxhall dealer for a service !

Richard

Andy M3

I can't see the pics without signing up, [is this it>http://www.rsportscars.com/foto/06/monarovxr05_01.jpg] but I think BMW is a different league and cannot be compared. However, it would be interesting to pitch it up against 10 of the best around the ring

Overall, not my bag, would much rather have half the power in something a lot nicer.

Scott W

Andy, no it's not. This is a new car and you should be able to view pictures here.

Andy M3

Damn google search

That looks like a more practical alternative to the coupé. I will take back some of my last comments, and wait for the reviews.

monkeysan

i'd get one simply to be different - not a lot of them seen about compared to the faceless, sheeplike germans

Scott W

I had actually been there earlier on in the day as I saw this car out in Australia and I do like the look of it!

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

I'm seriously considering this as my next car - once its 3 years old and has depreciated to my price level

Scott W

Well prices for a new one can be found for 8k off list already on Pistonheads!

sti-04!!

Looks good. Would consider one with a S/C as a toy

martyrobertsdj

iTrader: (1)

Yep....definitely looks better in red!

wrxcraig

a new holden commadore, lovely cars and wouldnt mind one as i love vx, but i think it would depreciate, but still a very good car for the money

v8voodoo

Check out my mobile phone pics on page 6 of the pistonheads thread.

VXR8 Preview........

Nice car, feckin huge though. You could fit three bodies in the boot easily..!!
Interior plastics were a bit low rent, fantastic seats like bloody sofas, nice gauge layout, the back lights look superb (really!)..... Loads of Wortec upgrade goodies available already. But it drinks like a fish and I should think they'd be "interesting" in the wet as I heard of so many Monaros getting pranged.....

Nige

RAJ27

At least Vauxhall are going down the right track unlike Subaru's pathetic Impreza attempt.

I'm surprised Ford hasn't bought over the Falcon range from OZ too. The XR6 that I hired in Feb in Cairns was a great car.

LG John

Maybe but in relative terms its not as bad a prospect as you think. It might drop to £15k in 3 years for a loss of £20k but you'll lose that on a new M5 in just over a year/year and a half if purchased new and you'll probably lose the entire value of the VXR8 on an M5 if you keep it for 3 years.

pin777

i enquired about these with 3dealers in my area and all of them said they dont sell them and never will.

apparently the tool kit to service them costs £25,000
and thats why

Probein

They reviewed that on fifth gear... The guy who reviewed it said it was just too powerful for it's own good... proper muscle car. I saw one IRL a while ago (with a WOMAN driving it!) and they do look/sound fantastic (even thoug hthis one didnt even have sports exhausts). TBH I think I'd rather have one over an M5, it's just more aggressive.

Shark Man

Too powerful.. If they haven't changed the tune of the 6.0 LS3 engine since the monaro, then it is "reigned in" below 3000rpm...something called "torque management".

Basically it won't give full throttle when you want it, regardless of traction control setting First thing I noticed when I drove it was the lack of instant throttle response and somewhat disappointing low end grunt for a 6.0 400lbft engine; it can be remapped and disabled though which makes it much more "interesting" (if you like smoking tyres, that is).

Handy feature to have in the wet though

Probein

Just saying what I saw... here's the vid!


YouTube - Fifth Gear - Vauxhall Monaro RIP, Tom Ford

Mind you this isn't the VXR8.. VXR500

Matteeboy

Well I like the look of it very much.

Just think it needs bigger roads than we have in the UK.

RRH

Forgot where I got this quote from, but it describes the Monaro perfectly...

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

There are a few Monaro's driving around here in Norfolk..

As for that - and they say Imprezas look like they should have ASBO's.. - I would imagine that as a sensible large saloon to get from a-b.. its terrible..

But terrible in a really really really fun way..

scoobieslikeme

That would be a tough deal to break!



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Shark Man

Each to their own....Basing my view on the Monaro:

Rear leg room is huge (more than a 5series).

MPG round town is 20mpg (scoob in same situation was 22mpg). 25 to 26mpg on a run (vs 28mpg of the Impreza).

Extremely flexible engine: pick a gear any gear, it doesn't matter it'll shift like clappers in most of them at any speed - be it 2000rpm or 7000rpm.

Ride is very comfy - cross between a Jag XK and a 5 series sports, firm enough to keep on the road without wallowing everywhere, yet not so stiff as to chip your teeth...essential on our appauling pothole infested B-roads.

All the creature comforts (cup holders FFS )

And it DID have a giant boot until they moved the fuel tank into the boot on the VXR to please the Americans ...I'd pay £500 to the first company who can relocate it back under the boot again where it originally was on the older model. However I believe the VXR8 now has a full sized boot again

So barring the boot and traction in the wet (Pirellis+wet road..never a good thing), and the fact its so big you can't park it anywhere, what is there to make it a terrible A-B car?

Its a slightly lardy and unsophisticated E39 M5. And the e39 M5 is a hell of a benchmark

RAJ27

Another good review from Evo

Vauxhall VXR8 | evo Car Reviews | Car Reviews | evo

" So who is the VXR8 going to appeal to? Well, those Monaro owners that aren’t hell-bent on having a coupe will love the new car and Vauxhall is also hoping to tempt Impreza and Evo owners into something a little different. With the option of an automatic it may even lure the odd AMG owner. owners into something a little different. With the option of an automatic it may even lure the odd AMG owner."

NotoriousREV

The pics in Top Gear make it look awful, I wasn't impressed at all. I thought it looked a little desperate and incoherent. I'd be interested to see if it looks as bad in real life.

RAJ27

I live in Sydney and have seen a handful around. It does look very very good and sounds bloody awesome.

Could look at getting one of these over here.....considering it's 45p a litre for petrol

KiwiGTI

You'd be surprised. This was tested in the Australian car magazines and it was on par with the M5 for laptimes.

Shark Man

Hmmm,
That would be interesting. As it would be a big improvement over the Monaro if it were the case....

Where it is very good handling, but the chassis is a bit too flexible and the suspension has a tad too much compliance, so doesn't give the driver a feeling of an assured road feel. Not thats a bad thing, as it makes the ride quite comfy. But it can be disconcerting when pushing hard. Bit like when pushing an old Jag XJ hard...it handles superb, but in the process it still feels like a barge. Which is quite different to pushing an M5 hard (Current Monaro is about on par with a fresh SE spec 5 series IMO).