Friday 18th December 2015

Supercharged Vauxhall Maloo launched

You can throw half a tonne in the back, hit 62mph in 4.6 seconds and claim the VAT back - yes!

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The Vauxhall Maloo is a car we're very big fans of at PH. How could you not love a pick up powered by a V8? And with no weight over that rear axle, the Maloo has established itself as one of the most oversteery vehicles in the known universe. Superb.

Well obviously it needed more power

Now the old Maloo never needed much help in the sideways department, but that hasn't stopped Vauxhall now offering the updated Holden Ute with the LSA V8. So where it used to have 431hp, the Maloo now has 536hp. Torque? It's up from 420lb ft to 495lb ft. Which is quite a lot. It's the same engine as used in the VXR8 GTS and the Camaro ZL1 also. In a pick up!

To deal with this gargantuan power, the Maloo has new spring and damper rates 'to reduce body roll and further improve turn in' plus tweaks to the rear suspension to make it stiffer. Other upgrades are taken from the VXR8, including launch control on the manual and an 'Enhanced Driver Interface'. The styling has been lightly refreshed too, though there's little danger of mistaking the Maloo for anything else on the road.

The new Maloo LSA is available now, priced at £54,500. And if you're a commercial user, the VAT can be claimed back. The four-door VXR8 GTS has been lightly updated too, with new grilles and a subtly different interior. It's priced from £55,500. Tyre fitters everywhere are praying for good sales.

 

[Al U]

If you squint, the front of the is very E92 M3, particularly the picture of the red car.

[richhamer]

Bloody hell.
I'm in Australia at the moment and I was saying last week that I can't be the only Brit to come out here and go home wanting a Maloo. Now I need another excuse to not get one

[Axionknight]

Al U said:

If you squint, the front of the is very E92 M3, particularly the picture of the red car.

How many pints do I drink beforehand?

Can't see that at all, sorry.

[Nally1704]

Having driven a few Maloo's in a previous life in Oz, i can confirm it would be much more fun than an M3 though, not as refined, safe, well built or appreciated by the fairer sex but definitely more fun.....until it all went wrong at least!!

[R8VXF]

Erm, the yellow one is two generations older at least...

[mikEsprit]

I like the old Pontiac grills. I like the new Ford grills.

Why not make it with both?

[DS197]

Are these really as tail happy as I think they are with the rear end being so light?

[coppice]

Interesting that the burbling V8 pickups I saw everywhere in N Carolina and Tenneesee were impossibly cool but this thing looks deeply tragic.It won't look right in the UK-maybe Essex ?

[Baryonyx]

What a disastrous looking thing.

[VK2YJS]

These (including the Holden and HSV versions) are not a pick-up, but perhaps the only Coupe Utility, or "Ute" currently manufactured, even if the term is used incorrectly for Ford and other products which use separate metal for the tray. The Maloo end of the scale are really about a light-weight high power vehicle, rather than carrying stuff. These should also qualify for green plates in Norway.
The one problem is that were a 3 cylinder Škoda to race one between two motorway services, with both complying with all road rules, the Škoda, with type approval M1, would beat this as it has to drive at 60, being N1 (assuming it is N1 like private import Holden Utes)...

[coppice]

I thought you were going to say the daft thing would have to stop every few miles for petrol ...

[R8VXF]

coppice said:

I thought you were going to say the daft thing would have to stop every few miles for petrol ...

Range of about 300 miles driven sensibly.

[s m]

Al U said:

If you squint, the front of the is very E92 M3, particularly the picture of the red car.

I see more a hint of new Jag XF and MGF crossed if I'm honest

I do like these but prefer the looks of the yellow one. A 4-door would be best for me though

[Pesty]

s m said:

I see more a hint of new Jag XF and MGF crossed if I'm honest

I do like these but prefer the looks of the yellow one. A 4-door would be best for me though

Mgf and Mercedes

[Garynogrip]

Totally impractical, hideously expensive on fuel, where do I sign?

[405dogvan]

I don't get this at-all - the last couple of facelifts have uglified it beyond imagining and I don't get pickups at the best of times (most pickups are owned by the sort of men who believe in the Lynx Effect)

The older "pre nostrils and constrasting snot" VXR8 which smokes around locally gets better looking every time I see it tho

[Tango13]

I'll show this to the directors tomorrow morning, maybe they'll trade the Fiesta van in for one?

[R8VXF]

405dogvan said:

I don't get this at-all - the last couple of facelifts have uglified it beyond imagining and I don't get pickups at the best of times (most pickups are owned by the sort of men who believe in the Lynx Effect)

The older "pre nostrils and constrasting snot" VXR8 which smokes around locally gets better looking every time I see it tho

The model referred to in the story is the red one, the Gen-F2. The yellow one is an E3. The lazy tt of a journalist who wrote this story needs taking out back and taught some proof reading...

[mfp4073]

I would love the yellow one, but the style of the latest model is....not the best! and as for the price £55K, is it me or is that an awful lot of cash?
I cant argue with the mechanics though.
Best I keep my old Monaro after all.

[Mr2Mike]

mfp4073 said:

I would love the yellow one, but the style of the latest model is....not the best! and as for the price £55K, is it me or is that an awful lot of cash?

It's an insane amount of money for a pickup, even a very quick one.