VX220 Turbo v Elise...

[Esprit]

VX brakes are horrid. The only way I could ever consider owning a VX would be to bin the servo, bin the ABS and retrofit the Elise brakes. Other than that, there's not a lot to count against the VX if you like the look of them.

[Herman Toothrot]

Esprit said:

VX brakes are horrid. The only way I could ever consider owning a VX would be to bin the servo, bin the ABS and retrofit the Elise brakes. Other than that, there's not a lot to count against the VX if you like the look of them.

Or simply plug in an Exige ABS ECU. AP295 discs on plans bells, Pagid RS4-2 pads and an Exige ECU on the VX and brakes are brilliant.

[Gnits]

Forgot about the ABS, had to take the fuse out while doing sprints!

[TIPPER]

Gnits said:

At sprints all times for all classes are displayed so you can compare across groups. VXT and VXR are both forced induction so run in a different class to NA. In reality of course the thing behind the wheel makes the most difference.
I thought standard Elise suspension was rather good straight out of the box, definitely much better than the standard VXT.
Grip in the wet? Behave.

Thanks but I'm aware of how Sprints are run
Elise standard suspension is great for road and light track work. If you are a regular track driver or do any competitive stuff then uprated suspension brings tangible benefits.
As you say its what's behind the wheel that matters most and from there I'll refer you to your comments re wet grip (I initially thought the car was appaling in the wet - but as I learnt how to drive the thing I started to find plenty of grip in the wet - although tyres are a big factor here).

[Bebee]

boobles said:

Agree that the VX220 is quicker but unless you drive like a cun* 100% of the time, you will regret not buying the Elise. You can't help but fall in love with them & they are truely fantastic, not saying that the VX is not fantastic car but it's not an Elise full stop.

Very well put!
The Elise is the only car I've owned that I can't stop thinking about, and I've had a fair few sports cars since 1988.
It's just infectious and never fails to satisfy every drive!

[TIPPER]

Bebee said:

Very well put!
The Elise is the only car I've owned that I can't stop thinking about, and I've had a fair few sports cars since 1988.
It's just infectious and never fails to satisfy every drive!

Silly little plastic car that just gets under your skin. God, I miss mine

[DamienCBR]

I have a Sport 160, a friend of mine has a VXT. He used to have a Sport 160 the and Elise with an R32 engine.

The car he misses....... the Sport 160.

However, the VXT is very quick, at 120mph my Elise was just going into 5th, anyone who knows the Elise knows that 5th is there to cruise and not really pull. He went past me like i was standing still. That was it i wanted one, but i could not get ride of my Elise, i love it to much and he stills states that the best one he had was the 160.

He may well comment on here as he is a member.

D

[rob999]

Logic dictates that bang for buck you'll really struggle to better a VX.
Yes the Lotus interior may be slightly nicer but if the 'bolder' lines of the VX doesn't phase you and you're after a drivers car regardless of brand then I think the 220 is a very wise choice.

Its already been mentioned how with some tweeks ie suspension, brakes and changing the ABS can bring both variants close together. It's up to you how you prefer your power delivery

[doggydave]

hueandcry71 said:

It would be interesting to see the responses to your question should you pose it on the VX site.

Good point.

[boobles]

Bebee said:

boobles said:

Agree that the VX220 is quicker but unless you drive like a cun* 100% of the time, you will regret not buying the Elise. You can't help but fall in love with them & they are truely fantastic, not saying that the VX is not fantastic car but it's not an Elise full stop.

Very well put!
The Elise is the only car I've owned that I can't stop thinking about, and I've had a fair few sports cars since 1988.
It's just infectious and never fails to satisfy every drive!

me too.

I have regreted selling both of mine & can't wait for the day when I purchase another. It will happen.

[fridaypassion]

Esprit said:

VX brakes are horrid. The only way I could ever consider owning a VX would be to bin the servo, bin the ABS and retrofit the Elise brakes. Other than that, there's not a lot to count against the VX if you like the look of them.

VX Brakes are the same as elise brakes though? And most Elises have servos Granted they have a bit of an overactive ABS unit on the early ones. I've fitted cutoff switches on all my cars as ABS is for girls anyway.

But to say VX brakes are horrid in the grand scheme of things is.....well tripe really.

Its sad that theres such a beard stroking largely forum based divide about the VX and the Elise. Essentially they ARE the same basic car but either way the Elise and VX are both the best all round sports cars you can buy. Whichever one you choose your not likely to be disappointed about it.

[HVAC MATT]

I like my Elise. simples

[otolith]

fridaypassion said:

VX Brakes are the same as elise brakes though? And most Elises have servos Granted they have a bit of an overactive ABS unit on the early ones. I've fitted cutoff switches on all my cars as ABS is for girls anyway.

VX brakes are the same as Toyota engined Elises, I think. Rover engined Elises have no brake servo and feel completely different to use.

[Moospeed]

DamienCBR said:

I have a Sport 160, a friend of mine has a VXT. He used to have a Sport 160 the and Elise with an R32 engine.

The car he misses....... the Sport 160.

However, the VXT is very quick, at 120mph my Elise was just going into 5th, anyone who knows the Elise knows that 5th is there to cruise and not really pull. He went past me like i was standing still. That was it i wanted one, but i could not get ride of my Elise, i love it to much and he stills states that the best one he had was the 160.

He may well comment on here as he is a member.

D

Yep, as D says for that 100% precision, driving dynamics then my Sport 160 has the edge over the VXT but then again I'd be surprised if it were any different. The VXT is supposed to be a bit more "GT" isn't it?

Then again, I've heard similar seloc arguments between S1 and S2 - never had an S2 so can't comment with any authority, as opposed to an uninformed armchair opinion like some do...

I think he was delusional about that 120mph, I've never been over 71mph. But out of roundabouts, junctions, corners, etc. we were both booting it and I'd have to back off (excellent chance to take in the buzzing bee exhaust note though). Reminded me a bit of when I had a 1.6 escort and my mate had a 1.3.

Considering the fact that mine is near-stock (just a sports exhaust) it's definitely got an impressive turn of speed as standard and I applaud Vauxhall for commissioning it. Only reason I'd want to tune it up with a re-map would be to get rid of the disgraceful torque up-down-up curve on the stock mapping. I don't want for any more power (well... maybe a teensy bit)

For me, this car is more a case of ticking off the "must-have" boxes. Out of the three elise derivatives I've had so far I'd pick the S1 160 if I could pick between them when looking for a sports/trackday car. But that's just me.

If it was a question of having it more as a daily car, doing more motorway miles, more touring round europe or even if looking for crazed power to rip cats-eyes out the tarmac on a tighter budget then you'd have to be a badge-snob or hate the VX styling to at least not consider one.

I quite like upsetting the occasional forum egos. Can't decide at the moment whether to badge the VX as a Lotus or my next Elise as a Vauxhall

[kambites]

otolith said:

fridaypassion said:

VX Brakes are the same as elise brakes though? And most Elises have servos Granted they have a bit of an overactive ABS unit on the early ones. I've fitted cutoff switches on all my cars as ABS is for girls anyway.

VX brakes are the same as Toyota engined Elises, I think. Rover engined Elises have no brake servo and feel completely different to use.

This is a significant part of the reason I bought a 111S not a 111R or VX220. I really didn't like the brakes on the VX or 111R.

Ultimately the answer to this question is that the the VX220 is an Elise (with a bit of effort, you can even switch the body panels over, if you really want to). When comparing any two versions of the Elise, there are plus points and minus points of both cars - the VX220 is no different in this. You need to go for a decent long drive in all the cars you're considering and see which you prefer. I went out fully expecting to end up buying a VX220 turbo and it ended up bottom of the list after I'd driven them (behind even the N/A VX220).

Edited by kambites on Monday 27th June 10:19

[motorheadman]

Hmmm...this is more complicated than I thought!

One thing's for sure, I love the look of an S2 Elise - that wins hands down for me against the VX. Initially I was looking for a more exhilarating drive with brutal acceleration. I'm not interested in blowing people away on carriageways etc. (I’ll leave that to the boy racers) That rollercoaster feeling of leaving your stomach behind as you accelerate hard up to legal speeds is what I'm craving. I will try both cars and I probably will be surprised at how quick an Elise does accelerate. I must admit, I saw a black VXT with a wing on the back the other day and it looked pretty damn mean!

Thanks for you opinions guys.

MHM

[kambites]

If you're after straight line speed, the VX220t will be better than any standard N/A Elise bar perhaps the Sport190 which is very rare. If you're after straight line speed, though, there are plenty of better cars available for the money than any Elise.

[otolith]

kambites said:

If you're after straight line speed, the VX220t will be better than any standard N/A Elise bar perhaps the Sport190 which is very rare. If you're after straight line speed, though, there are plenty of better cars available for the money than any Elise.

Although, there isn't actually that much in it, going by the AutoCar tests. The Elise 111R actually has a slightly better peak power to weight ratio, but is disadvantaged at lower revs. To my mind, the reason to go for the VX220T if you want straight line speed is less that it is substantially quicker out of the box, but more that it's a lot cheaper to get more power out of it.

	111R	VX220T
0-30	1.9	1.8
0-60	5.1	4.9
0-100	13	12.6
30-70	4.9	4.7
0-400m s	13.8	13.6
0-400m mph	102	103
0-1000m s	26.5	25
0-1000m mph	125	138 (!?)
30-50 in 3rd	3.3	3
30-50 in 4th	4.4	4.7
40-60 in 4th	4.4	4.2
40-60 in 5th	6.1	5.8
50-70 in 5th	6.3	5.5

Not sure about that 0-1000m speed...

[kambites]

otolith said:

Although, there isn't actually that much in it, going by the AutoCar tests. The Elise 111R actually has a slightly better peak power to weight ratio, but is disadvantaged at lower revs. To my mind, the reason to go for the VX220T if you want straight line speed is less that it is substantially quicker out of the box, but more that it's a lot cheaper to get more power out of it.

Yes, but the VX220t is still a bit faster and is quite a lot cheaper plus, as you say, easier to tune for more power.

Of course if you want a car that's fast in a straight line, hunting down a K20 engined car (ideally a supercharged one) is probably the best bet.

[DamienCBR]

Moospeed said:

Yep, as D says for that 100% precision, driving dynamics then my Sport 160 has the edge over the VXT but then again I'd be surprised if it were any different. The VXT is supposed to be a bit more "GT" isn't it?

Then again, I've heard similar seloc arguments between S1 and S2 - never had an S2 so can't comment with any authority, as opposed to an uninformed armchair opinion like some do...

I think he was delusional about that 120mph, I've never been over 71mph. But out of roundabouts, junctions, corners, etc. we were both booting it and I'd have to back off (excellent chance to take in the buzzing bee exhaust note though). Reminded me a bit of when I had a 1.6 escort and my mate had a 1.3.

Considering the fact that mine is near-stock (just a sports exhaust) it's definitely got an impressive turn of speed as standard and I applaud Vauxhall for commissioning it. Only reason I'd want to tune it up with a re-map would be to get rid of the disgraceful torque up-down-up curve on the stock mapping. I don't want for any more power (well... maybe a teensy bit)

For me, this car is more a case of ticking off the "must-have" boxes. Out of the three elise derivatives I've had so far I'd pick the S1 160 if I could pick between them when looking for a sports/trackday car. But that's just me.

If it was a question of having it more as a daily car, doing more motorway miles, more touring round europe or even if looking for crazed power to rip cats-eyes out the tarmac on a tighter budget then you'd have to be a badge-snob or hate the VX styling to at least not consider one.

I quite like upsetting the occasional forum egos. Can't decide at the moment whether to badge the VX as a Lotus or my next Elise as a Vauxhall

Private road......