S2 Elise V's VX220
Discussion
Help,
I am sorry to say that my baby may have to be sold due to buying a new house
!
The 6 months i have had the car have been great(even though it's only been sunny once, roof has never been off), The car is modified i.e. Exh, Induct & some trick interior mods - and it's great... however nagging girlfriend would like a new kitchen, bathroom bla bla bla......in the new house (wants me to grow up)
Then I realised - I have clearly 2 options
1,purchase a VX220 - but what are they like, an early one is worth about 6K less than my current car. Will it make me smile like my Elise
2,new women
Any head to head info will be handy, over to the experts.....
I am sorry to say that my baby may have to be sold due to buying a new house
! The 6 months i have had the car have been great(even though it's only been sunny once, roof has never been off), The car is modified i.e. Exh, Induct & some trick interior mods - and it's great... however nagging girlfriend would like a new kitchen, bathroom bla bla bla......in the new house (wants me to grow up)
Then I realised - I have clearly 2 options
1,purchase a VX220 - but what are they like, an early one is worth about 6K less than my current car. Will it make me smile like my Elise
2,new women
Any head to head info will be handy, over to the experts.....
Depends on how you feel about Vauxhalls, I suppose. I've not driven an S2, but compared to the S1 the VX220 was better, IMHO. Steering was less light and fidgety at high speeds whilst retaining all the feel of the S1's.
The brakes felt like a regular car so that depends on how you like your pedal feel, I suppose. The roof arrangements for the VX and S2 are similar (and may be identical, depending on whether your S2 has the revised, hard-top-capable roof).
I'm off to look at a VX220 this weekend - depends on the trade in I get offered against the MX-5 as to what happens!
Edited to add: the VX isn't selling well, so you should get a blinding deal on one - Vauxhall dealers 'should' be desperate to see the back of them! When last looking for a car I tried out the VX, and the price of the new one in the showroom dropped by 3k in about 30 seconds worth of talking to the salesman, and he kept calling for a week afterwards improving the deal. The downside is that when you trade it in, you'll get hammered.
Dan
>> Edited by DanL on Friday 31st January 11:21
The brakes felt like a regular car so that depends on how you like your pedal feel, I suppose. The roof arrangements for the VX and S2 are similar (and may be identical, depending on whether your S2 has the revised, hard-top-capable roof).
I'm off to look at a VX220 this weekend - depends on the trade in I get offered against the MX-5 as to what happens!
Edited to add: the VX isn't selling well, so you should get a blinding deal on one - Vauxhall dealers 'should' be desperate to see the back of them! When last looking for a car I tried out the VX, and the price of the new one in the showroom dropped by 3k in about 30 seconds worth of talking to the salesman, and he kept calling for a week afterwards improving the deal. The downside is that when you trade it in, you'll get hammered.
Dan
>> Edited by DanL on Friday 31st January 11:21
Option 2 is close !
But regarding the Vauxhall badge - this does not bother me however it should.
I forecast Maintenace spend on every car in the market, and my experience of the 2.2 lump is something to be desired
However could this be different due to Lotus casting the wond over this car.
Handling, performance, upgrades etc, do they compare to the Elise? and whatcar (whatever they stand for) have given the VX220 the roadster of the year
But regarding the Vauxhall badge - this does not bother me however it should.
I forecast Maintenace spend on every car in the market, and my experience of the 2.2 lump is something to be desired
However could this be different due to Lotus casting the wond over this car. Handling, performance, upgrades etc, do they compare to the Elise? and whatcar (whatever they stand for) have given the VX220 the roadster of the year
spining-v-grid said: Handling, performance, upgrades etc, do they compare to the Elise?
Very similar. Differences can be felt when really pushing it.
Make sure to get a VX aligned and set to the Elise geometry settings for the suspension.
That should make it more interesting to drive.
Performance of the standard VX is similar to the standard Elise. It does have a slightly higher top speed because of the higher HP, but it's added weight makes it a little slower in acceleration.
Upgrades..
Cosmetic stuff can be found for the Speedster in Germany.
Engine tuning is of course tricky, like on any post-2001 car (closed ECU, self-testing, on-board diag), but possible.
Not that much available for the 2000-and-later 2.2 Ecotec engine yet (in any Vauxhal/Opel model), but there may be more people working on cracking this ECU than on the Lotus K4 unit in the Elise.
It's quite similar to the Elise, but also just a little different..
Bye, Arno.
Seems to me there is a third way...
If the decision is really to go for Vauxhall to save money, it seems like a false economy, as I suspect a VX220 will depreciate much further than a Lotus, which tend to level out after a few years.
Why not buy an S1? I just sold mine for 12k (it was about as early as they come), and I've never felt there is another commercially available car that I could replace it with that would better it (I'm spending the money on a Fisher Fury kit, so you may want to reassess my credibility/sanity). In terms of fun/pound there can't be much to match it...
An S1 would solve the money issue, and as it is almost certainly a better financial bet from a depreciation point of view, you also get brownie points for being more "grown up". Also, you'll have loads more options available to you to modify it etc once you've done the house thing (I can recommend Ikea kitchens as an excellent way of liberating money to spend on cars)
Best of luck,
Will O'Brien
[yes it's only been a week and I miss my Elise!]
If the decision is really to go for Vauxhall to save money, it seems like a false economy, as I suspect a VX220 will depreciate much further than a Lotus, which tend to level out after a few years.
Why not buy an S1? I just sold mine for 12k (it was about as early as they come), and I've never felt there is another commercially available car that I could replace it with that would better it (I'm spending the money on a Fisher Fury kit, so you may want to reassess my credibility/sanity). In terms of fun/pound there can't be much to match it...
An S1 would solve the money issue, and as it is almost certainly a better financial bet from a depreciation point of view, you also get brownie points for being more "grown up". Also, you'll have loads more options available to you to modify it etc once you've done the house thing (I can recommend Ikea kitchens as an excellent way of liberating money to spend on cars)
Best of luck,
Will O'Brien
[yes it's only been a week and I miss my Elise!]
Thanks for the advice,
There are a few otions, S1 sounds good however build quality is a worry to me. I am a fanatic at resolving unjustified rattles etc. They drive me mad
(so I'd rather not spend all weekend searching for a self tapper that has fallen off....somewhere?)
Regarding the Residual Values, most vehicles after the 3rd year have depreciated the most so purchasing an early model may not be that bad.........but who knows, the crystal ball for setting 2nd values can on most occasions let you down
Perhaps option 2 is the only way, now I have fitted by gorgeous shiny Hurricane
SPV
There are a few otions, S1 sounds good however build quality is a worry to me. I am a fanatic at resolving unjustified rattles etc. They drive me mad
(so I'd rather not spend all weekend searching for a self tapper that has fallen off....somewhere?) Regarding the Residual Values, most vehicles after the 3rd year have depreciated the most so purchasing an early model may not be that bad.........but who knows, the crystal ball for setting 2nd values can on most occasions let you down
Perhaps option 2 is the only way, now I have fitted by gorgeous shiny Hurricane
SPV
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