RE: Vauxhall VX220: PH Used Buying Guide
Discussion
DanTVR said:
If I remember rightly the VX was given a lotus type number (116?) and was used as a test bed for the S2 which is type 117.
It seems the hostility from outsiders appears to be they believe the VX dilutes the heritage of lotus. I think had vauxhall not written lotus a massive check to develop the new chassis to pass additional crash testing brought in around the year 2000, lotus wouldn't have been able to continue manufacturing the elise at all. Then what would we be buying?
Don't think dilution of heritage is an issue here is it? What about the Carlton etc?It seems the hostility from outsiders appears to be they believe the VX dilutes the heritage of lotus. I think had vauxhall not written lotus a massive check to develop the new chassis to pass additional crash testing brought in around the year 2000, lotus wouldn't have been able to continue manufacturing the elise at all. Then what would we be buying?
Here’s mine, a 2.2 with a few mods, bought deliberately cheap as a fixer upper. It drives well now but after £3k on a complete suspension overhaul this winter it’ll be 
I fancied a Lotus but the difference in price was the clincher..... that and it fits with the rest of my GM filled garage
I fancied a Lotus but the difference in price was the clincher..... that and it fits with the rest of my GM filled garage
SidewaysSi said:
Don't think dilution of heritage is an issue here is it? What about the Carlton etc?
People seem to be fond of the Carlton, even though it had less to do with lotus the the VX. I personally don't think it's an issue no, but I think thats why people take the line.. it ain't a lotus etc. But will happily welcome the Carlton into the family. DanTVR said:
SidewaysSi said:
Don't think dilution of heritage is an issue here is it? What about the Carlton etc?
People seem to be fond of the Carlton, even though it had less to do with lotus the the VX. I personally don't think it's an issue no, but I think thats why people take the line.. it ain't a lotus etc. But will happily welcome the Carlton into the family. So why buy a car that's 90% of the Elise (both in good and bad ways)? Seems to make little sense to me. I do however get the Turbo as it offers something different.
And is there as many tuning bits available for it? I have a Quaife 'box and LSD in my Lotus and it has transformed it. It was great before but now it is bloody brilliant!
entwistlecymru said:
Here’s mine, a 2.2 with a few mods, bought deliberately cheap as a fixer upper. It drives well now but after £3k on a complete suspension overhaul this winter it’ll be
I fancied a Lotus but the difference in price was the clincher..... that and it fits with the rest of my GM filled garage
Thats a handsome looking motor .I fancied a Lotus but the difference in price was the clincher..... that and it fits with the rest of my GM filled garage
SidewaysSi said:
My issue with the VX is that it isn't as focused as the Elise. And I prefer the K to the VX engine.
So why buy a car that's 90% of the Elise (both in good and bad ways)? Seems to make little sense to me. I do however get the Turbo as it offers something different.
And is there as many tuning bits available for it? I have a Quaife 'box and LSD in my Lotus and it has transformed it. It was great before but now it is bloody brilliant!
I understand your point but there are good reasons for choosing either. The 2.2 on the VX isn’t as sweet as a vvc k series but it is more robust as well as being easier and cheaper to get lots of power if you so wish. VX is heavier than an early k powered Elise but similar to a Toyota engines one. Looks are subjective but I prefer the Elise. However the bit that really make it fun to drive, i.e chassis is virtually identical save a few geometry tweaksSo why buy a car that's 90% of the Elise (both in good and bad ways)? Seems to make little sense to me. I do however get the Turbo as it offers something different.
And is there as many tuning bits available for it? I have a Quaife 'box and LSD in my Lotus and it has transformed it. It was great before but now it is bloody brilliant!
The main thing you’re ignoring is price. To get an Elise in similar condition you need to spend a lot more, and they also costs much more to insure than even a VX, turbo included. If cost this wasn’t a factor I’d probably have bought an Elise, but to me the VX represented much better value for a very similar experience. It’s still fantastic to drive.
SidewaysSi said:
My issue with the VX is that it isn't as focused as the Elise. And I prefer the K to the VX engine.
So why buy a car that's 90% of the Elise (both in good and bad ways)? Seems to make little sense to me. I do however get the Turbo as it offers something different.
And is there as many tuning bits available for it? I have a Quaife 'box and LSD in my Lotus and it has transformed it. It was great before but now it is bloody brilliant!
The K series Elise is Lighter than the VX of course if that what you mean by "focused" again it is the same chassis so it's essentially the same but yes the K series is a classic engine for sure tiny little unit which is pretty good if left alone apart from the dreaded head gaskets of course. So why buy a car that's 90% of the Elise (both in good and bad ways)? Seems to make little sense to me. I do however get the Turbo as it offers something different.
And is there as many tuning bits available for it? I have a Quaife 'box and LSD in my Lotus and it has transformed it. It was great before but now it is bloody brilliant!
The K cars have their own following but they are getting to be quite old cars now and the VX is probably an easier thing to look after as you don't have any engine things to consider. As mentioned already though. Price. Compare a 20k 111S if you can find one it will be £19000. A 20k 2.2 VX220 will start at 14 to 15k and be a rarer car at that as well. As for tuning options well the options wipe the floor with what you can do with a Lotus. Supercharger conversion at about £3k gives 100 reliable BHP. All the shocks etc from a Toyota car fit the VX so you have access to all the Ohlins/Nitrons. There are options to have a bigger harrop supercharger and go for 4-500 BHP all of it costs less than tweaking a Rover or Toyota Lotus to the same power and they are much more reliable as well.
Its a shame the argument has to be so polarised the Elise and VX220 are both great cars that any petrol head needs to have owned at least once. The big battle you will have with a VX is you just won't find a decent one. Most of what is out there is a bit rough and will need work but then again that's the same of the older Lotus stuff these days as well with very few clean Rover K or early Toyota cars around.
I love the fact lotus owners say the engine in the elise are better than the vx engines. (Rover and toyota compared to the Lotus designed GM unit ). So the best bit is the none Lotus bit?
Great value for money, my turbo was £15k in 2008. First NA was £4750 in 2013, now a supercharged race car and the other NA was £4k in 2015. Impossible to have more fun in any lotus at those prices.
). So the best bit is the none Lotus bit?Great value for money, my turbo was £15k in 2008. First NA was £4750 in 2013, now a supercharged race car and the other NA was £4k in 2015. Impossible to have more fun in any lotus at those prices.
fridaypassion said:
Its a shame the argument has to be so polarised the Elise and VX220 are both great cars that any petrol head needs to have owned at least once.
i haven't read many polarised views on this thread (i guess ph regulars aren't here).some informed comments about the differences but respect for both is what i'm reading.
It's a shame that VXs have mostly become quite ratty, hopefully that will change now the numbers have dwindled and that they'll be more like the lovely ones above. Given their age the design is looking good.
Vimes said:
I always loved the vx220 and knew I had to have one... bought a 2.2, fitted a supercharger, met a great bunch of people through the owners club and regularly showed owners of the ‘superior’ Elise and Exige that it’s on track pace was decent.
Here’s how it compared the it’s lotus cousins at brands hatch:
https://youtu.be/zWi_XVSoI8k
Had to sell it to fund the next adventure but will be back in a vx220 one day! Great under appreciated cars!
Geat fun. If the v6 was driven by a decent driver you would not keep with it.
Here’s how it compared the it’s lotus cousins at brands hatch:
https://youtu.be/zWi_XVSoI8k
Had to sell it to fund the next adventure but will be back in a vx220 one day! Great under appreciated cars!
Geat fun. If the v6 was driven by a decent driver you would not keep with it.
johnwilliams77 said:
Vimes said:
I always loved the vx220 and knew I had to have one... bought a 2.2, fitted a supercharger, met a great bunch of people through the owners club and regularly showed owners of the ‘superior’ Elise and Exige that it’s on track pace was decent.
Here’s how it compared the it’s lotus cousins at brands hatch:
https://youtu.be/zWi_XVSoI8k
Had to sell it to fund the next adventure but will be back in a vx220 one day! Great under appreciated cars!
Geat fun. If the v6 was driven by a decent driver you would not keep with it.
I assume a decent driver has never bought one then?
Here’s how it compared the it’s lotus cousins at brands hatch:
https://youtu.be/zWi_XVSoI8k
Had to sell it to fund the next adventure but will be back in a vx220 one day! Great under appreciated cars!
Geat fun. If the v6 was driven by a decent driver you would not keep with it.
I assume a decent driver has never bought one then?
Roberty said:
I had one and would not recommend one at all!
Having previously had an Elise I thought this would be a great alternative to upgrading to an S2. Having the same chassis but a better engine thought I t would be fun. Turned out to have all the issues of any Elise and more and without the same levels of fun to compensate.
The lack of reliability, poor build quality, awful service and inflated parts costs from the main dealers together with its complete lack of practicality meant it had to go. The Elise is also entirely impractical but it’s such good fun to drive you can forgive it. In the VX the Poor build, reliability brought the lack of practicality into sharp focus taking the fun out of it.
The 2.2 Vauxhall Engine is far more powerful than the S1 Elise's old Rover lump but lacks the character the K-series has and is no where near as good as the Toyota VVTLi unit in the newer Elise S2's.
Mods can Sharpen the handling and add power but at far to high a cost for my liking. Osmosis of the GRP bodywork is a real serious issue and costs a fortune to solve properly. Many thought it was a kitcar.
I wouldn't recommend one over an Elise, in fact I wouldn't recommend one at all possibly one of the worst cars I've owned.
I had one of these as well, 2.0 litre turbo 2004, most troublesome, unreliable car I ever owned, used as a daily driver unfortunately, would never ever have another of these terrible terrible cars ever again.Having previously had an Elise I thought this would be a great alternative to upgrading to an S2. Having the same chassis but a better engine thought I t would be fun. Turned out to have all the issues of any Elise and more and without the same levels of fun to compensate.
The lack of reliability, poor build quality, awful service and inflated parts costs from the main dealers together with its complete lack of practicality meant it had to go. The Elise is also entirely impractical but it’s such good fun to drive you can forgive it. In the VX the Poor build, reliability brought the lack of practicality into sharp focus taking the fun out of it.
The 2.2 Vauxhall Engine is far more powerful than the S1 Elise's old Rover lump but lacks the character the K-series has and is no where near as good as the Toyota VVTLi unit in the newer Elise S2's.
Mods can Sharpen the handling and add power but at far to high a cost for my liking. Osmosis of the GRP bodywork is a real serious issue and costs a fortune to solve properly. Many thought it was a kitcar.
I wouldn't recommend one over an Elise, in fact I wouldn't recommend one at all possibly one of the worst cars I've owned.
Edited by Roberty on Thursday 15th November 06:42
Roberty said:
I had one and would not recommend one at all!
Having previously had an Elise I thought this would be a great alternative to upgrading to an S2. Having the same chassis but a better engine thought I t would be fun. Turned out to have all the issues of any Elise and more and without the same levels of fun to compensate.
The lack of reliability, poor build quality, awful service and inflated parts costs from the main dealers together with its complete lack of practicality meant it had to go. The Elise is also entirely impractical but it’s such good fun to drive you can forgive it. In the VX the Poor build, reliability brought the lack of practicality into sharp focus taking the fun out of it.
The 2.2 Vauxhall Engine is far more powerful than the S1 Elise's old Rover lump but lacks the character the K-series has and is no where near as good as the Toyota VVTLi unit in the newer Elise S2's.
Mods can Sharpen the handling and add power but at far to high a cost for my liking. Osmosis of the GRP bodywork is a real serious issue and costs a fortune to solve properly. Many thought it was a kitcar.
I wouldn't recommend one over an Elise, in fact I wouldn't recommend one at all possibly one of the worst cars I've owned.
I had one of these as well, 2.0 litre turbo 2004, most troublesome, unreliable car I ever owned, used as a daily driver unfortunately, would never ever have another of these terrible terrible cars ever again.Having previously had an Elise I thought this would be a great alternative to upgrading to an S2. Having the same chassis but a better engine thought I t would be fun. Turned out to have all the issues of any Elise and more and without the same levels of fun to compensate.
The lack of reliability, poor build quality, awful service and inflated parts costs from the main dealers together with its complete lack of practicality meant it had to go. The Elise is also entirely impractical but it’s such good fun to drive you can forgive it. In the VX the Poor build, reliability brought the lack of practicality into sharp focus taking the fun out of it.
The 2.2 Vauxhall Engine is far more powerful than the S1 Elise's old Rover lump but lacks the character the K-series has and is no where near as good as the Toyota VVTLi unit in the newer Elise S2's.
Mods can Sharpen the handling and add power but at far to high a cost for my liking. Osmosis of the GRP bodywork is a real serious issue and costs a fortune to solve properly. Many thought it was a kitcar.
I wouldn't recommend one over an Elise, in fact I wouldn't recommend one at all possibly one of the worst cars I've owned.
Edited by Roberty on Thursday 15th November 06:42
coldel said:
I had a massive barny on the forum years back when I dared question the price of the cars. I got a load of abuse and then after various abusive posts wrote 'its just a stripped out car with no carpets' or something similar and the forum went wild. One guy called me a number of names, they all said I was a troll.
Anyway, 6 weeks later going to a meet in my newly purchased VX220 met a guy who was in the middle of the name calling, he was shorter, fatter, more wimpy and pathetic looking than me - funny enough he didn't reference the thread or the name calling. Funny how brave people can be on forums!
Yes I totally agree, I was unfortunately a member of the VX220.org forum, and only came across a bunch of overly pretentious agrogant shower, one in particular member I would have liked to meet face to face as he was the stereo typical key board warrior, he need teaching some manners, of which I would have taken great pleasure in doing!!Anyway, 6 weeks later going to a meet in my newly purchased VX220 met a guy who was in the middle of the name calling, he was shorter, fatter, more wimpy and pathetic looking than me - funny enough he didn't reference the thread or the name calling. Funny how brave people can be on forums!
I had a 2004 2.2 NA from new and is still one of my favourite cars I've owned, I had friends with Elise's which all had way more problems, mainly cylinder heads gaskets.
I only ever had a problem with some paint bubbling up after 3 years and Vauxhall replaced both Clams, so ended up with perfect paint again so wasn't a problem for me. I would only let Vauxhall do the main services and took it to specialised when I wanted break pads as they wanted £224 and aftermarket ones where better and £90.
On the look's still think it looks great today and much better looking than the S1 Elise. I just wished I had bought the VXR220 when they had dropped.
If you are in the market for one then I would highly recommend them.
I only ever had a problem with some paint bubbling up after 3 years and Vauxhall replaced both Clams, so ended up with perfect paint again so wasn't a problem for me. I would only let Vauxhall do the main services and took it to specialised when I wanted break pads as they wanted £224 and aftermarket ones where better and £90.
On the look's still think it looks great today and much better looking than the S1 Elise. I just wished I had bought the VXR220 when they had dropped.
If you are in the market for one then I would highly recommend them.
Track_Cit said:
gofasterrosssco said:
coldel said:
Track_Cit said:
Regarding the inability to correlate the Luton reference, i'd assume it's to do with the fact there's a giant Vauxhall factory in Luton? Surely it's not that hard to work out....I have no idea if these were made there though....
My pal has one, and has done for a long time. It's a quick car, and looks good on the road. Although they are and always will be compared to an Elise it ain't a Lotus and therefore will never had the same credence / resale value.
They were all made in Hethel, in Norfolk. The same location as the Elise. I guess if PH are going to do an intro to a buyers guide, some very quick googling is worth 2 minutes of their time!My pal has one, and has done for a long time. It's a quick car, and looks good on the road. Although they are and always will be compared to an Elise it ain't a Lotus and therefore will never had the same credence / resale value.
http://www.vx220.org.uk/forums/topic/105819-pics-o...
https://automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com/focus...
Edited by gofasterrosssco on Thursday 15th November 16:12
They don't have a Lotus badge though do they, so it's largely irrelevant I suppose!
I maintain my point on people being obtuse in relation to the Luton connection...it's the home of Vauxhall innit, made sense to me.
Johni1 said:
Yes I totally agree, I was unfortunately a member of the VX220.org forum, and only came across a bunch of overly pretentious agrogant shower, one in particular member I would have liked to meet face to face as he was the stereo typical key board warrior, he need teaching some manners, of which I would have taken great pleasure in doing!!
That made me LOL the VX forum I must say has calmed down a lot over the past couple of years as Facebook and just the lack of cars has reduced it's relevance but yes the forum always had about the worst reputation and did have abnormally high cock socket ratio. One or two still clinging on. As ever it's 98% great people and just a hard-core group of probably only about 6 or 7 people that really spoilt it. The forum was never really moderated in any way I could ever detect anyway. Bit of a shame really.
Strange comments about the forum. For the ten years I was on it was rather helpful and was a good community.
Granted it had its bores, as did the meets, but that's true for any forum and IME it was the best owner's forum I've ever been on. Haven't been on of late so maybe it's changed.
Granted it had its bores, as did the meets, but that's true for any forum and IME it was the best owner's forum I've ever been on. Haven't been on of late so maybe it's changed.
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