Vectra VXR estate - am I mad??

[Woody]

Guys,
Will soon be in the market for a replacement car (loss of company one.... grrr) and have been toying with a few cars inc Skoda VXR estate and Mondeo Titanium X Sport estate.
However, I keep being drawn to the Vetra VXR, had thought of the 150bhp SRI CDTi - but just kind of like the idea of a 280bhp estate

I remember the curly-haired-one from topcog doing a review of the Vecra VXR and saying it was rubbish compared to the Mazda MPS and something else.

Is it really as bad as Clarkson made out?

Are they fun to drive?

Thanks in advance.

Chris

[dannytherev]

Er in a word no they aren't as bad a J.C said, not driven an estate VXR but the hatchback is a good drive note they must be good as several Police forces use them in SRi spec with the VXR engine

[Woody]

Thanks, will see if I can sort a test drive out for one.

[Goochie]

EVO magazine had one on long-term test and they really liked it.

[CatherineJ]

I had a hatchback when they first came out. It was pretty much standard apart from 19" wheels and metallic paint. I did 10,000 miles in 6 months and it was a really great car.

There were 2 versions, with later models having more bhp. I "think" they were up to around 270 bhp, with the original cars around 250. I might be a little bit out on those figures, but won't be a million miles off.

[Goochie]

You have to consider that almost any FWD car will understeer like the VXR on Top Gear - Particularly if you drive it like a knob.

Our company Mondeo Titanium X's will understeer if you try hard enough and the motoring press love those. Having said that you can get the back end out into lift-off oversteer if you try

[Defcon5]

I was told on top gear they test all the cars with the driver aids off, but on the Vectra you can do that without taking the fuse out - which also turns off the active suspension

[HellDiver]

The standard Continental tyres fitted at factory are pants too, which doesn't help.

The police here have the SVO spec Vectras - SRI with the 280hp VXR running gear, but they run 17" wheels. They handle fine on the standard 215-50-17 Eagle NCT5 tyres, and they're nowhere near a high performance tyre.

[Dino D]

Goochie said:

You have to consider that almost any FWD car will understeer like the VXR on Top Gear - Particularly if you drive it like a knob.

Clarkson drove it like a proper tool - you can any FWD car do that, even a 1,2 Micra (ok if it was on a skid pan). Top Gear is largely for entertainment value only.

Could be a good candidate for LPG conversion if you do big miles - I did it to my 330i but the only gripe was the small (45l) gas tank that would fit into the sparewheel well. On something like this you could probably get a decent sized one in...

[parapaul]

I may get flamed for this, but if you originally considered the CDTi, why not look at either the 1.9 or the V6 CDTi with a remap?

I went from a remapped 1.9 to the 2.8V6 (albeit in a Signum, not a VXR but the same engine) and while it was noticeably smoother and a bit quicker, it didn't feel 50% more powerful. Consumption dropped from 42 to 25 for the same journeys, and in total honesty, the diesel torque was more useful in everyday driving.

[exigepete]

Another article in Evo this month on their long termer, they like it a lot.

[Zeonalarm]

exigepete said:

Another article in Evo this month on their long termer, they like it a lot.

Isn't that the Insignia VXR they've got now? The Vectra VXR is going back a couple of years.