VX220 turbo vs Elise R / Exige 189bhp (plus VXR220?)

[duckson]

I have recently been considering an Elise R or Exige S2 around 56-07-57 plate (£20-21k) which has the Toyota 189bhp engine but i'm interested how the VX220 Turbo or the VXR220 stack up against these cars?
Although i appreciate the VX's and Lotus's will handle far in excess to what i've been used to (Astra VXR Nurburgring, Focus RS, Civic Type R, Focus ST225 etc) i am worried the n/a Lotus's wont be quick enough in a straight line up to 100mph (over 100mph dont matter to me) and i cant afford the supercharged examples so thats out.
So has anyone owned both and can give me a fair comparison for raw performance on the road?
Any good websites with accurate performance stats?
Does the VX have 3yrs warranty as standard (as Lotus is 2yrs) and will any main dealer service it and do warranty work?
What year was the VX220T made up to?
What is the difference between a VX220 Turbo and the VXR220?

The car would be my full time car and live outside (well a bit), a hard top would be nice for colder weather....if the car doesnt come with one where is the best place to buy them and how much are they and i've noticed they seem to be just in black, correct?

[vxsmithers]

If you're after straight line speed you're kind of missing the point of these cars....

but as I'm bored, out of the box I think a turbo will do 0-100 in about 13 secs, although i've never tried it. Doubt there are many left with warranty now though as they only went to 56 plate.

vxr is an uprated turbo version, more sought after etc etc

the advantage over the elise is price, there are some bargains out there at the moment (both lotus and vx)

always hankered after an exige, but to be honest it wouldn't offer me anymore than I already have, or currently use it for.

best advice is to drive them, then see which you prefer, and ignore the badge. Vx offers better value for money, but if you're a badge snob I doubt you'll even set foot in one

as for comparison, I haven't owned an elise/exige, but on the numerous runs i've been on with them it is down to driver rather than the car as to which is quicker.

some cars seem to suffer in extreme cold snaps over long periods with bubbling of paint on the clams, but apart from that they are perfectly fine to sit outside, although mine is garaged. Mine was also a daily driver for about 18 months, but to be honest I retired it to a weekend / fun car as I lost the excitement of going for a drive in it. Perfectly comfortable, but a pita when you're doing 100 miles a day in traffic and commuting - just got boring, so now much more of an occassion when going for a blat.

they do cost a lot more to run than the previous cars you have owned unless you are handy with a spanner. not huge cost, but they are a labour intensive car to work on if something needs doing compared to a normal car

eta - colours are normally blue, silver, yellow, red. but there are a few others including the best (moonland), black, mandarin, petrol blue.

see vx220.org.uk for better browsing

Edited by vxsmithers on Monday 2nd March 09:09

Edited by vxsmithers on Monday 2nd March 09:12

[TankRizzo]

Duckson,

To add to what smithers said:

The VXR220 was a limited-edition run of 65 cars, and as such they command a higher price. Main differences were a power hike to 220bhp/210lb torque by way of a slightly different engine and turbo and a different map. It also wears (IIRC) 17" rear and 16" front black Speedline wheels whereas the Turbo had 17" all round, and has a black windscreen surround and various other black-coloured bodywork parts. The VXR also has uprated dampers. They only come up for sale now and again, so if you are in a hurry to get one, you may be better off going for a Turbo and then upgrading the components as you like.

The VX is no longer made, so you won't get a factory warranty unless it's one of the last off the line (unsure about when they stopped but it may have been 06). However, if you buy through a Vauxhall dealer then you can get them with a 12-month Network Q warranty which is well worth it in my opinion - I used mine to get all the little niggles done FOC. Not all Vauxhall dealers are allowed to work on, or even supply parts for, the VX - only those which have been approved as official VXR dealers by Vauxhall. However, the majority of owners use specialists like Plans Motorsport or Back On Track to look after them once the warranty has run out, as they are quite expensive to service through a main dealer.

The VX is built by Lotus and uses much the same chassis as the S2. In effect with the Elise you are simply paying more for the badge on the front.

Regarding hardtops, the VX didn't come with one as standard; it was a factory option that not everyone went for as it was very dear for what it was (over £1000 from Vauxhall). You can still buy them direct from Vauxhall, but most owners either buy second-hand examples from eBay for £500-600, or buy a replica from somewhere like Thorney Motorsport or 'Muncher' on the VX220 forums. Hardtops come in most body colours and can either come lined or unlined depending on what model of VX it is for. One roof fits all so no worries about the fitment. The roof fits onto the existing soft-top fitments and secures via four screw-down captive bolts. The roof should come with three trim panels which bolt on to hide the fixing points, but it's not a big deal if they don't.

[Steve Maund]

I bought a VXR last year and have also driven the Exige S2, the Excige was great to drive apart from you are having to keep it in the power band to make it go. I have just had the VXR mapped to stage 2 which is 255BHP with 300lbs torque.

The VXR is a great car and the power comes in from 2000rpm onwards.

At the end of the day, you pay your money and makes your choice.

Steve

[Wantanewnoble]

Bought one of the last 12 or so of the VX220 Turbo in March of 2006 (06 registration) for my wife.

[R60EST]

I had a 2001 VX220 N/A for a very short time around November last year.The plan was for it to replace my sports bike as a safer option, and something that didn't need to be stored away 3 months of the year like a bike. I had read up on them and thought I knew what to expect. The reality was somewhat different. I knew it would be a very basic stripped out 'drivers' car but in the end, for me, it was a step too far. The suspension / road noise is amplified by the aluminium tub , the heater / demister is fking useless. It does feel planted in the corners if you know the road , but if you are on an unfamiliar b road , you will be so low down even the slightest crest in the road will leave you guessing which way to turn. If you do venture above 100 mph ( on the autobahn obviously) it becomes very skittish and does not inspire confidence. There is NO graceful way to get in or out .In short I hated it , I know loads of people love them but not me. I had it for 10 days and sold it on ( luckily broke even on price ). If you are used to the hot hatches with a modicum of driver comfort you should try and get an extended test drive and do a good cross section of open a /b roads and traffic commuter routes along with a top speed run on the "autobahn"

I have since got a Honda S2000 which is much more what I was expecting the VX to be

[vxsmithers]

true - not for everyone, although it sounds like your geo needed setting up. Mine was way out when I bought it, and inspired a lot more confidence once it had been sorted. no getting away from the difficulties of getting in or out if you are tall/fat/old/all of the above! though

definitely no frills motoring though

[R60EST]

vxsmithers said:

true - not for everyone, although it sounds like your geo needed setting up. Mine was way out when I bought it, and inspired a lot more confidence once it had been sorted. no getting away from the difficulties of getting in or out if you are tall/fat/old/all of the above! though

definitely no frills motoring though

does 5'9" pass for tall, if not 2 out of 3 ain't bad

[vxsmithers]

i've mastered the 'falling in' technique, although weirdly i now find it harder to get in with the roof off....

[Joe-turbo]

Just to add a couple of things, the engine in the vxr and the vxt are identical. The turbo in the vxr is the same unit as in the vxt, its just been slightly tweeked. The performance increase on the vxr mainly comes from the diff tyres it wears with its 16F/17R setup (and obviously the increase in power from the map, uprated turbo)

quoted figures from vauxhall were

n/a 0-60 in 5.8
vxt 0-60 in 4.7
vxr 0-60 in 4.2

Vauxhall originally sold the Hard tops for the n/a only in silver and I dont think they were lined with any material. Its only when they started selling the vxt that they started selling body coloured hard tops (at around £1300 i think)

[Denno B]

If your not bothered about the badge an you want straight line speed then the vxt is the one to have.Probably only slightly quicker to a 100mph than the exige and 111r in standard guise but so much more tuning options being a turbo.A stage 2 tune(full exhaust system and remap)would leave the other two for dead to 100mph.And plenty of more options for bigger power but at a price!Id save yourself £8k and buy a vxt but then again im bias!

[cheeky_chops]

i had a elise R for 3 months - couldnt wait to get back into my VXR220 beast. Ohlins, 888's, 290bhp, 340lbft. It feels like the millenium falcon going into hyperspace - the blurrr!!! Just found ragging the nuts off the toyota tiresome. Out in the stick was better, but use mine to get to work occasionally and the toyota didnt appeal/make easy work of it

[steveavxt]

If speed is your thing, on the road VXT will be quickest. On a track however a 111r will be the faster (down to weight, and powerband driving). VXR220 will be faster than both cars in both settings.

Edited by steveavxt on Monday 16th March 09:34

[stevenandalex]

steveavxt said:

If speed is your thing, on the road VXT will be quickest. On a track however a 111r will be the faster (down to weight, and powerband driving). VXR220 will be faster than both cars in both settings.

Edited by steveavxt on Monday 16th March 09:34

This is on a standard car. With little spent on a vxt you can wipe the floor with an elise r and sc.

[Jon VXT]

Agreed, a VXT with fairly basic mods could be pushing 245-250 brake and with a good torque curve too. Spemd a bit more and some of the guys have seen 300bhp in a car that weighs about a ton!

(i'm biased too, but bang for buck the VXT is brilliant (and rarer than an elise!))

[RonnieP]

Standard cars an Elise is far, far superior to any VX - watch 'em on a trackday or in the Elise Trophy - the market dictates prices and Elise is at a premium

VX's I think are the biggest bargain sportscar at the moment out there and are certainly better built than Elises, but performance wise there is no comparison. yep aftermarket you can improve both significantly. Both are poor compared to a S/C Honda or Audi engined modded S1 Elise

IMHO of course

[snoopstah]

RonnieP said:

Standard cars an Elise is far, far superior to any VX - watch 'em on a trackday or in the Elise Trophy

Funnily enough, VX owners constantly wonder why Elises are so slow on trackdays

Driver makes a much bigger difference, I've driven both and the difference is very, very small. Yes, the VX is set up more conservatively than the Elise from the factory, but you don't need fancy suspension or wheels to sort that out, just a simple geo.

Oh, and if you're including the Elise Trophy then you'll no doubt be aware of what won one of the modified class races at Silverstone last month - a Lotus Europa, which shares virtually the entire running gear with the VX220 Turbo. I also believe it was one of the heaviest cars on the grid which just shows that it's the driver that makes the most difference.

RonnieP said:

VX's I think are the biggest bargain sportscar at the moment out there and are certainly better built than Elises, but performance wise there is no comparison.

Again, depends what you mean by performance - in a straight line the VX is quicker than the equivalent Elise it launched against at the time due to having a higher power-to-weight ratio and more torque.

In the bends, yes, an S1 Elise should have the slight edge due to the lower weight, but there are so many other factors to consider that make a hugely bigger difference than that, as above. We're certainly talking fractions of a second with decent drivers -- see above!

When you're looking at S2 Elises or Exiges the weight difference is far smaller. Personally I think the S1 Elise is just too much of a compromise for an only car, what with the comedy roof design and heater that's even worse than in a VX. It falls into the Caterfield category for me, in that I'd need a normal car as well, whereas a VX or S2 Elise I can live with day-to-day.

RonnieP said:

IMHO of course

Certainly a brave post!

Edited by snoopstah on Friday 1st May 18:49

[steveavxt]

If you watch the fifth gear test on youtube at Anglsey with std VXT vs 111r the 111r wins over a lap but by less that 0.5 sec.

This is not IMO, this is fact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z9DvoriKAE

With the extra money you spend on the 111r you can have a set of sticky tyres, some Nitrons and a remap on the 220. Bye bye Lotus.

[chrisobrien54]

I cant really add much, but the VX just works better on the road.

If you're out to impress the Lotus badge has the edge.

If you're after lap times.... buy something else. Like a track-only Radical. Chasing 10ths on the road isnt what driving is about.