RE: Vauxhall brings back the GSI!

[Jimmy Recard]

s m, do you have the rest of that road test? I'd love to read it

[SidewaysSi]

I like it and would much rather drive most Vauxhalls than an Audi for instance.

[AmitG]

Nickbrapp said:

...good on Vauxhall for pressing on with petrol engines in this segment, I'm sure it won't sell many, but i saw a standard insignia and it looked great

I reckon Vauxhall have made a canny move by having a full petrol line-up just as Europe is turning against diesel.

VW have just announced that they will start selling petrol Passats in the UK. Until now, it was diesel or hybrid (very expensive) only.

[BricktopST205]

SidewaysSi said:

I like it and would much rather drive most Vauxhalls than an Audi for instance.

The great thing about events like the FOS is one minute you can be sitting in a top spec Insignia Tourer then the next minute in a Audi Q5. I really struggled to see what was so much better in the Audi. The Vauxhall has all the soft touch plastics and digital dash like the premium brands and can be specified with all the bells and whistles, 4WD and a decent petrol power plant. A comparable Audi would most likely be a bottom of the range 2.0TDI with adblue.

[aaron_2000]

This could be the first Vauxhall I'd actually buy over a Ford. In 3-4 years time, this'll be one hell of a used deal.

[SidewaysSi]

BricktopST205 said:

SidewaysSi said:

I like it and would much rather drive most Vauxhalls than an Audi for instance.

The great thing about events like the FOS is one minute you can be sitting in a top spec Insignia Tourer then the next minute in a Audi Q5. I really struggled to see what was so much better in the Audi. The Vauxhall has all the soft touch plastics and digital dash like the premium brands and can be specified with all the bells and whistles, 4WD and a decent petrol power plant. A comparable Audi would most likely be a bottom of the range 2.0TDI with adblue.

Very true. And the Vauxhall will inevitably be better to drive.

[Rich Boy Spanner]

Would be great to pick up one of these a few years old with the likely depreciation. Also good to start seeing good Vauxhalls again, I loved them in my teens and 20's, the Astra GTi's, Carlton GSi's etc, I managed to get from Manchester to Gatwick overnight in a time I will never ever be able to match now in a '97 2.0 Astra Sport (great seats and high speed stability - not actually fast) then they became forgettable. Sadly most of these Insignias will be company cars and with the obscene 2-3% annual BIK increases and the diesel city bans it would have to be a hybrid. Still owners can look with envy at a rare GSi as they sit in their tax and politicslly correct car 😳

[Wacky Racer]

FN2TypeR said:

Garbage cars primarily owned by tramps and wastrels, I'd rather st in my hands and then clap than own a modern Vauxhall.

Thanks for your contribution to the thread.

[SidewaysSi]

Wacky Racer said:

FN2TypeR said:

Garbage cars primarily owned by tramps and wastrels, I'd rather st in my hands and then clap than own a modern Vauxhall.

Thanks for your contribution to the thread.

I love it when people make these big statements but they drive something really quite st. The FN2 is pretty crap - probably the worst Type R ever made.

But I love that our friend feels he can talk about Vauxhalls with such knowledge.

[kuro]

SidewaysSi said:

Wacky Racer said:

FN2TypeR said:

Garbage cars primarily owned by tramps and wastrels, I'd rather st in my hands and then clap than own a modern Vauxhall.

Thanks for your contribution to the thread.

I love it when people make these big statements but they drive something really quite st. The FN2 is pretty crap - probably the worst Type R ever made.

But I love that our friend feels he can talk about Vauxhalls with such knowledge.

Spotted that earlier, completely stupid comment.

[aaron_2000]

kuro said:

Spotted that earlier, completely stupid comment.

By someone who's probably never set foot in one. I've never been into Vauxhalls, I've always seen them as a little too dull and generic, but this Insignia honestly looks fantastic, way better than the Mondeo. If you've seen the interior then you'll know it's even better in there.

[pacdes]

I had a corsa GSI back in the day. Liked the car until it hit 50k.

Required an engine rebore due to the alloy used to cast the engine being defective. Went to Vauxhalls for inspection where the serivice history they had requested to see - disapeared. Cost me a fortune and then the garage a fortune as they did not replace the conrods in the first instance which resulted in the pistons disintegrating and a new block needed. When I eventually collected the car for the last time after over 6 months in for repair, they had a few Vauxhall Tigrer's in for repair with exactly the same problem. At the time the Tigra was a popular car and then all of a sudden you did not see anymore.

As a consequence I would never touch another Vauxhall again.

[ZX10R NIN]

Ford/Vauxhall are making some really good cars we've just got a Mondeo Vignale in to replace the old Mondeo as a pool car & I have to say that it's definitely a step up from the Titanium Model (our car was late) we had on loan whilst not up to Audi levels but you wouldn't feel short changed, but I think there's one area where Ford are going wrong they need to bring their 3.5 V6 TT engine into the range as they do in other countries.

This is where for me Vauxhall could steal the march on them now they have the GSI as the stepping stone they could go all out on & make it a proper rival to the S4/340i but cost around the same as the 330i the last VXR had the performance but not enough of a step in interior quality people buying these type of cars want more of a distinction from the engine & interior.

[popeyewhite]

kuro said:

SidewaysSi said:

Wacky Racer said:

FN2TypeR said:

Garbage cars primarily owned by tramps and wastrels, I'd rather st in my hands and then clap than own a modern Vauxhall.

Thanks for your contribution to the thread.

I love it when people make these big statements but they drive something really quite st. The FN2 is pretty crap - probably the worst Type R ever made.

But I love that our friend feels he can talk about Vauxhalls with such knowledge.

Spotted that earlier, completely stupid comment.

My ladyfriend, who is neither a tramp (well, maybe a little bit) or a wastrel, owns a 'modern' Vauxhall. It performs no worse/the same as a Hyundai hire car I had in Spain. Suspension just OK, interior passable but nowhere near as solid as a German and a perky but weak engine that would cruise at 50 in 6 on the motorway but would only go up a decent incline in first screaming in protest. In short, pretty st. Vauxhall will have to pull their thumbs out to properly re-introduce the GSi, which in reality, all those years ago, was really no better than the competition.

[s m]

Jimmy Recard said:

s m, do you have the rest of that road test? I'd love to read it

Indeed I do, if I can retrieve it from PB I'll send you a link

The old 'Stig' in Revs magazine was quite smitten with the old Vectra GSi ( as were a few mags of the time )

[kuro]

popeyewhite said:

kuro said:

SidewaysSi said:

Wacky Racer said:

FN2TypeR said:

Garbage cars primarily owned by tramps and wastrels, I'd rather st in my hands and then clap than own a modern Vauxhall.

Thanks for your contribution to the thread.

I love it when people make these big statements but they drive something really quite st. The FN2 is pretty crap - probably the worst Type R ever made.

But I love that our friend feels he can talk about Vauxhalls with such knowledge.

Spotted that earlier, completely stupid comment.

My ladyfriend, who is neither a tramp (well, maybe a little bit) or a wastrel, owns a 'modern' Vauxhall. It performs no worse/the same as a Hyundai hire car I had in Spain. Suspension just OK, interior passable but nowhere near as solid as a German and a perky but weak engine that would cruise at 50 in 6 on the motorway but would only go up a decent incline in first screaming in protest. In short, pretty st. Vauxhall will have to pull their thumbs out to properly re-introduce the GSi, which in reality, all those years ago, was really no better than the competition.

I'd take that back. Even the bog standard Corsa courtesy car I had the other week with a 5 speed box performed much better than your description. It was also surprisingly well equipped with a nice quality interior.

[LuS1fer]

kuro said:

I'd take that back. Even the bog standard Corsa courtesy car I had the other week performed much better than your description and was surprisingly well equipped with a nice quality interior.

No, I have had a few Corsa hire cars and they are extremely unexceptional and left me wanting less. No character at all.

As for GSi, it possibly has something on a Carlton GSi but is fairly meaningless to me. GTE...maybe....

[anonymous-user]

my brother has a bmw, some bits are finished nicely but the dash was hard cheap plastic. Are they really still the drivers car considering people buy them for the diesels and suvs.

vx has lost its way a bit but a proper gsi introduction could bring it back to the fore, some people don't want the top model car.

[soad]

Phase 1 Astra GSi still looks good!

[popeyewhite]

kuro said:

popeyewhite said:

kuro said:

SidewaysSi said:

Wacky Racer said:

FN2TypeR said:

Garbage cars primarily owned by tramps and wastrels, I'd rather st in my hands and then clap than own a modern Vauxhall.

Thanks for your contribution to the thread.

I love it when people make these big statements but they drive something really quite st. The FN2 is pretty crap - probably the worst Type R ever made.

But I love that our friend feels he can talk about Vauxhalls with such knowledge.

Spotted that earlier, completely stupid comment.

My ladyfriend, who is neither a tramp (well, maybe a little bit) or a wastrel, owns a 'modern' Vauxhall. It performs no worse/the same as a Hyundai hire car I had in Spain. Suspension just OK, interior passable but nowhere near as solid as a German and a perky but weak engine that would cruise at 50 in 6 on the motorway but would only go up a decent incline in first screaming in protest. In short, pretty st. Vauxhall will have to pull their thumbs out to properly re-introduce the GSi, which in reality, all those years ago, was really no better than the competition.

I'd take that back. Even the bog standard Corsa courtesy car I had the other week with a 5 speed box performed much better than your description. It was also surprisingly well equipped with a nice quality interior.

Quality is obviously subjective, but really "nice quality interior" compared to what? Something agricultural? The interior is no different to countless other Euroboxes out there, and I wonder what you're comparing the drive to! Please, no long list of cars you've driven/fantasise you've driven in a reply, I'm happy to accept your opinion differs from mine!