Vauxhall VX220 Yellow
Discussion
Hi All!
I got this car about a year ago now and purchased it completely blind and had it delivered from Wakefield. I had never driven one before as my car before this was my first car and was a Daihatsu Copen!
Anyways, I absolutely love it and its had a few changes from standard. Its the 2.2 model running 170 bhp from the standard 145.
After test driving a couple of Elise S1's and an S2 I preferred the Vx220 for some reason I cant put my finger on!
Thanks for reading and looking!
20170925_174550 by Matthew Macconnell, on Flickr
20170915_164454 by Matthew Macconnell, on Flickr
20170915_153415 by Matthew Macconnell, on Flickr
I got this car about a year ago now and purchased it completely blind and had it delivered from Wakefield. I had never driven one before as my car before this was my first car and was a Daihatsu Copen!
Anyways, I absolutely love it and its had a few changes from standard. Its the 2.2 model running 170 bhp from the standard 145.
After test driving a couple of Elise S1's and an S2 I preferred the Vx220 for some reason I cant put my finger on!
Thanks for reading and looking!
20170925_174550 by Matthew Macconnell, on Flickr20170915_164454 by Matthew Macconnell, on Flickr20170915_153415 by Matthew Macconnell, on FlickrEdited by MattMacc123 on Thursday 11th January 11:40
CrouchingWayne said:
Looks good, I had a very similar one before my current car. I really liked it and would definitely have a VX/Elise again. The main annoyance was the lock freezing closed, that and changing the battery was a right pain!
What has been done to get from 145 to 170bhp?
I absolutely love it! what is your current car? yes the locks freezing is quite annoying, its fairly cold in the winter i found as well but that was expected! Charging the battery is also a pain your right, especially with the battery being directly under the washer bottle at the front! What has been done to get from 145 to 170bhp?
Well its had a list of Courtney motorsport upgrades i believe, 200 cell sports cat, Remap from Courtney, K&N Cone Filter, lighter flywheel, 2-4 manifold and I am not entirely sure what else! i hadn't driven a normal one before so couldn't compare but definitely feels quick enough!
I bought a Z4M so ended up selling the VX. Quite different cars each with their own pros and cons. I quite like the rev happy engine in the BMW.
My battery died on the VX so getting it out from under there was a nightmare. Hopefully you don't need to do that.
For the locks I used a cup of warm water to defrost them. Worked pretty consistently.
170bhp would be nice in it, I'd thought something in that region would be ideal. I did briefly look into supercharging the car, but ultimately never did it. Think that gets it to around 250bhp from memory which would be quite interesting!
My battery died on the VX so getting it out from under there was a nightmare. Hopefully you don't need to do that.
For the locks I used a cup of warm water to defrost them. Worked pretty consistently.
170bhp would be nice in it, I'd thought something in that region would be ideal. I did briefly look into supercharging the car, but ultimately never did it. Think that gets it to around 250bhp from memory which would be quite interesting!
CrouchingWayne said:
I bought a Z4M so ended up selling the VX. Quite different cars each with their own pros and cons. I quite like the rev happy engine in the BMW.
My battery died on the VX so getting it out from under there was a nightmare. Hopefully you don't need to do that.
For the locks I used a cup of warm water to defrost them. Worked pretty consistently.
170bhp would be nice in it, I'd thought something in that region would be ideal. I did briefly look into supercharging the car, but ultimately never did it. Think that gets it to around 250bhp from memory which would be quite interesting!
I do like the Z4m! definitely! Any modifications on the M? ah yes, my battery completely died, just wouldn't hold a charge at all, luckily the car was parked at home, had to replace the full battery which was painful! the engine in the BMW will sound fantastic too I'm sure? My battery died on the VX so getting it out from under there was a nightmare. Hopefully you don't need to do that.
For the locks I used a cup of warm water to defrost them. Worked pretty consistently.
170bhp would be nice in it, I'd thought something in that region would be ideal. I did briefly look into supercharging the car, but ultimately never did it. Think that gets it to around 250bhp from memory which would be quite interesting!
I had a look at supercharging as well, but its the 4-5k price tag that scares me the most and i just don't have that to play with at the moment! I know a few people were going down the throttle body route which upped the power to 200 odd, but again quite expensive.
170 seems okay in it just now!
I have a VX Turbo, mapped to 260hp, and I love it. Great cars.
Re: battery - the cigar lighter is live so if you get a battery conditioner you can get the cigar adapter and hook it up through the window via the ciggie lighter which is way more convenient than popping the clam, and fishing around beneath the washer fluid.
Re: battery - the cigar lighter is live so if you get a battery conditioner you can get the cigar adapter and hook it up through the window via the ciggie lighter which is way more convenient than popping the clam, and fishing around beneath the washer fluid.
MattMacc123 said:
wow! What did you think of the Copen? was it the 1.3? Strange as i have never met anyone else that's had a Copen on here before!
We started with a 54 plate 660cc but the service intervals were a pain so then went to a 09 plate 1.3 bought almost new. We put about 30k on the 660 and 70K on the 1.3. The 1.3 is still in the family as we passed it on rather then sell. What did I think of it. Incredibly underrated. Lots of fun, hugely practical with that massive boot, well appointed for such a small car, a bit rattly with the roof up but the electric roof is down in moments and then it's a different car.
Both cars were pretty reliable. The 660 had nothing go wrong with it, the 1.3 had a thatcham alarm which meant a battery would last 3 years max. The only other pain was changing headlamp bulbs.
Rust was a bit of an issue on the 660 as it needed 2 new rear wings which were replaced under warranty but the 1.3 has much improved protection.
The "new" owner of the 1.3 loves it. It's the first sporty convertible she's had and is amazed how well it handles, how capable it is in town and on motorways.
The VX was also much loved by us but we got too old and too fat to clamber in and out of it.
CrouchingWayne said:
Haha, well maybe you can help me decide what to replace the Z4M with when the time comes? Seems a tricky decision.
170bhp would be about ideal in one of these
There are some cars which have to be enjoyed in "their day" as nothing comes along to replace them. The M Coupe is one of those cars.170bhp would be about ideal in one of these
It probably isn't a great car in the sense that great cars flatter the driver which makes people say how good the car is.
Instead, it's a car that has to be driven with care to get the most out of but is so enjoyable when you get it right.
On my first test drive, the salesman drove it like a plonker and when I drove it, I felt like it was giving me a challenge so bought it. You have to experience it to understand what I mean. The 3.0 Si was much softer and easier but never as rewarding.
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