A class review with VXR8 - pretty esteemed company
Discussion
Hmm, esteemed company and it came in at a thumping 4th, or last, place. With less-than-complimentary comments, other than price.
Quote:
AT A GLANCE:
It's lack of complexity is an asset, but the VXR8 has too many flaws to make an impact against such talented rivals.
Quote:
AT A GLANCE:
It's lack of complexity is an asset, but the VXR8 has too many flaws to make an impact against such talented rivals.
Edited by C8PPO on Thursday 20th September 14:35
Demolition Man said:
What a shite test.
Who goes looking to buy a car and test drives those 4.... no one in their right mind anyway.
Fatally flawed test IMHO
Who goes looking to buy a car and test drives those 4.... no one in their right mind anyway.
Fatally flawed test IMHO
Edited by Demolition Man on Thursday 20th September 19:40
Yeah - 2 coupes and a 2 seater sports car... Hmmm. Thats like for like.
RS4 instead of A5, M5 (or when available) M3 Saloon and Merc CL-55 would be a better test.
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Note - I like the way the VXR8 had the best autocar fuel economy!
Le Sarthe said:
RS4, M3, (well saloon will have four doors but basicallly same car), Merc C63 and new Lexus IS V8 500hp
May be a better like for like but VXR8 is at least £10k less than any of those in real world trims.
10k buys a nice mix of mods....
May be a better like for like but VXR8 is at least £10k less than any of those in real world trims.
10k buys a nice mix of mods....
10k - more like pushing 20-25 (for the M3, RS4 and merc anyway)
Before ordering the VXR8 I looked at an old M3 (pointless with the new one arriving so soon) and an RS4 (mercs were out due to auto-only). The RS4 is without any doubt a stunning car. More fund than the old M3 and a real joy to drive.
the problem? Well they aint making the RS4 anymore so the prices are quite high - after spec'ing what I wanted on the car it came in at 60k! Just insane!
How many other cars can you get 400+bhp for 35k and 500+ for a tad over 40k?
Not that I am biased either, but, what a road test like that can never review is the whole ownership experience. Day to day living, peoples positive reaction to the car, the uniqueness (less than 300 a year). Its not just about the tangibles, its the intangibles that count also, the community etc etc. Just spending a cpl of grand dropping it a few mm and swapping the exhaust gives it way more character than the cars in that test, honest likeable character. JMHO
greens vauxhall said:
Not that I am biased either, but, what a road test like that can never review is the whole ownership experience. Day to day living, peoples positive reaction to the car, the uniqueness (less than 300 a year). Its not just about the tangibles, its the intangibles that count also, the community etc etc. Just spending a cpl of grand dropping it a few mm and swapping the exhaust gives it way more character than the cars in that test, honest likeable character. JMHO
Agreed - just ask an RS4 owner about servicing and you'll get a muffled response back.
It's like the EVO comparison of the VXR8 and a BMW 335m - yes dynamically the BMW might have the edge (it's what BMW's are good at after all) but... it's just a BMW.
The best bits of the review were the boring bits (if I want to know about thrills, I'll consult evo).
They quoted absolute estimated depreciation (i.e. actual quid down the drain) rather than a percentage, which is nice. But they used list price, which is stupid - VXRs come fully specced, whereas you'd spend at least 5k on options for any of the others.
I specced up a new Volvo V70 last week (T6 AWD, not that it makes it much less shameful, but the integrated booster seats would be handy for the sprogs). List price of base model was 35k, after options 45k. So you actually lose almost £30k over 3 years, vs maybe £20k for the VXR8, despite their similar base prices.
"Premium car" just means "bend over and think of the badge".
My review of the VXR8 - "6.0L engine, and the rest is fine. Buy one. Did I mention the 6.0L engine?"
John
They quoted absolute estimated depreciation (i.e. actual quid down the drain) rather than a percentage, which is nice. But they used list price, which is stupid - VXRs come fully specced, whereas you'd spend at least 5k on options for any of the others.
I specced up a new Volvo V70 last week (T6 AWD, not that it makes it much less shameful, but the integrated booster seats would be handy for the sprogs). List price of base model was 35k, after options 45k. So you actually lose almost £30k over 3 years, vs maybe £20k for the VXR8, despite their similar base prices.
"Premium car" just means "bend over and think of the badge".
My review of the VXR8 - "6.0L engine, and the rest is fine. Buy one. Did I mention the 6.0L engine?"
John
Thats what makes including the porker even more laughable...
I know off the top of my head three people who bought Gaymans. All of them went a little mad on the options but when you see what they got there's nothing on there that you'd think was unreasonable (sat nav etc).
In all cases the cost of the extras was just mind boggling - one actually ended up paying more for the spec'd up Gayman than a basic 911.
Audi isn't as bad and I don't know about the new M3 but you do seem to have to need the attitude of spending another 25% on extras when buying German.
The fact that the VXR8 is not only fully spec'd up (apart from the essential exhaust upgrade and sat nav) its amazing that you get what you do for 35k.
I know off the top of my head three people who bought Gaymans. All of them went a little mad on the options but when you see what they got there's nothing on there that you'd think was unreasonable (sat nav etc).
In all cases the cost of the extras was just mind boggling - one actually ended up paying more for the spec'd up Gayman than a basic 911.
Audi isn't as bad and I don't know about the new M3 but you do seem to have to need the attitude of spending another 25% on extras when buying German.
The fact that the VXR8 is not only fully spec'd up (apart from the essential exhaust upgrade and sat nav) its amazing that you get what you do for 35k.
I can't help but think the Monaro prices are related to the fact that people have gone to purchase a VXR8 as it better suits their needs. Brian and Graham, how many purchasers would have had a monaro before they purchased a VXR8? Would imagine it would be a large number.
The thing that I found was that the VXR8 handled I thought about the same as the Monaro, although, I think the monaro was slightly better. The VXR8 is a sedan, not a coupe. The cars they tested against are for different markets. A person who is going to buy a Porsche ain't buying it to put a family or carry passengers. To me, you could compare fairly the VXR8 against a Lexus, Mercedes, Mazda..
The thing that I found was that the VXR8 handled I thought about the same as the Monaro, although, I think the monaro was slightly better. The VXR8 is a sedan, not a coupe. The cars they tested against are for different markets. A person who is going to buy a Porsche ain't buying it to put a family or carry passengers. To me, you could compare fairly the VXR8 against a Lexus, Mercedes, Mazda..
A strange test, linked only by the cars v8 engines.
I did look at a Cayman before I bought my VXR. Beautifully put together, and for the base model, not that expensive (£36220). Not, however, until you look at the options list. Very easy to end up with an extremely expensive car, and very difficult not to spend to spec-up to ensure that you have a re-sale market when you wish to sell. "Leather seats sir? That will be £1897, Oh, sorry sir, you want the natural leather interior (whatever that is), that will be £2670". And the seats are tiny!
Out of all the cars in the test, I thought that the Audi should probably have come top. I looked at the interior photos, and it looked excellent. I then looked at the VXR8 interior, and thought that the seats looked not that much different - have to change that wierd handbrake though...
Perhaps in this company the VXR8 did justifiably come last, but I question just how far it was behind? I still think that in real terms, together with the Monaro, it brings near supercar performance at a price where many can afford to purchase new, rather than secondhand with thousands of miles on the clock
I did look at a Cayman before I bought my VXR. Beautifully put together, and for the base model, not that expensive (£36220). Not, however, until you look at the options list. Very easy to end up with an extremely expensive car, and very difficult not to spend to spec-up to ensure that you have a re-sale market when you wish to sell. "Leather seats sir? That will be £1897, Oh, sorry sir, you want the natural leather interior (whatever that is), that will be £2670". And the seats are tiny!
Out of all the cars in the test, I thought that the Audi should probably have come top. I looked at the interior photos, and it looked excellent. I then looked at the VXR8 interior, and thought that the seats looked not that much different - have to change that wierd handbrake though...
Perhaps in this company the VXR8 did justifiably come last, but I question just how far it was behind? I still think that in real terms, together with the Monaro, it brings near supercar performance at a price where many can afford to purchase new, rather than secondhand with thousands of miles on the clock
The leg room in the other three is marginal to non-existant, at least if you and your passengers are the tall side of 5'6". The other will have the long-term residual advantage of being coupes, however, and I worry the VXR8 would pretty quickly become just a big old thirsty Vauxhall saloon.
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