has any one got a VX 220 ( 2.2 or 2.0 turbo )
what are they like as a track toy / road toy ??
how reliable are they???

 

dont know,but they are a total pain to get in and out of!

 

My housemate had the turbo with a thorney stage 3 upgrade which takes it to 260bhp
Total weapon of a car in a straight line and round corners, really nothing much can touch them as they are so low and so light.

The main problem with them is they are useless in winter as the vents are awful and the windows steam up chronic and also they need an experienced hand at the wheel as they can do a 180 on corners very easily

Easily the best drivers car I have ever driven though. The acceleration is unreal and you feel the road so perfectly. Not a single driver aid apart from ABS as I recall so it's all down to you.

Take a test drive
This was his one, he got standard turbo wheels back on it shortly after as the 18's he bought it with upset the steering

 

A friend of mine bought one about 6 months ago from Pistonheads, lovely car. He loves his trackdays hence buying one of these. He hasnt had it on track but he advises it handles very well round most bends, although he did spin it in the wet!!!!!. He's also munched his way through 2 sets of engine mounts already

Chris

 

I had a n/a one. Great fun on the road, as others have said nothing touches them for handling. But as Nick said they are a pain to get in and out of, they do steam up badly in the cold, you may as well not have a stereo because you can't hear it at speed due to the noise behind your head (although the engines are brilliant) and the view round the car isn't good either, the mirrors are too small, I put blindspot mirrors on both of mine to make it a bit better but it's still not the easiest, especially in the dark. I used it to go down to Peterborough to work and come back in the dark and it's quite scary trying to overtake because you can't see properly.

But on a nice sunny day with the roof off blasting down some twisty country lanes there's nothing that'll give you more of a laugh. It's like driving a high powered go-kart. I let my mate have a go and he said it felt like being on a Play Station, that's what the steering wheel's like.
I must admit I didn't have mine a very long time because the cons ended up outweighing the pros because they're just impractical on a day to day basis. But I bet they're fab on the track.

 

are they rear engined?

 

Mate of mine has one awsome car.

 

Yes

Top Gear review of the VX220 Turbo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g854zkw6BlE

 

ah right cool, i had thought these were front engined/fwd.

 

Drove a standard one and it didn't feel as fast as I was expecting, maybe that was because I was used to a 300bhp cossie powered Mexico (which is a much better choice)

 

Great great cars!

 

practical side depends on you...

i had my 2.2 for just 13 months, managed 34,500 miles in that time! only time it let me down was trying to get an ironing board in it!

if your other half/mum/dad/sister/mate has a hatchback for occassional uses, you're laughing.

difficult to get in and out of? i'm six foot and a wide arsed 15 stone! providing you don't just wheel it out on sundays for a ten minute blast, you'll soon get the knack.

even now i miss mine...

 

Dont they leak too ??, a lad at work has one and has to put a sheet over it in the works car park when it rains !

 

They had revised the roof 3 times by the time my mate got his so yeah clearly a problem there. His didn't leak so I guess they cracked it by then.

 

Cheers for the info, i have driven them at work ( i know how snappy the back end is !! lol )

just looking that if i have to sell the cos , i would have to replace with a track toy!!!

 

a lad i work with had one for a few months, and the rear light clusters had a tendency of filling up with water when it rained

Also, you cant hear the stereo over the engine

I'd prefer the Elise 111R to be honest, i'm ashamed to say it but i really don't like the fact it's a vauxhall, however good it is.

On second thought though, i'd have a Monaro VXR in an instant (and probably have wrote it off twice as quick)

 

engines sound better than stereos, everyone knows that!

and, as clarkson says, you won't find a vaux badge on it! made on the same production line by the same people as elise/exige

 

A VX220 Turbo will piss 12's on the 1/4 with a few mods.

Amazing considering I'd not view that as it's main purpose