We’ve had a Vauxhall VXR8 delivered just in time for the week’s torrential rain.
That wouldn’t be a worry in a normal car, but the VXR8 is a 6-litre V8-engined thundersaloon pumping more than 400bhp through the rear wheels.
And that means driving it can be a little hairy in the wet.
Top Gear fans may remember Hammond and Clarkson testing the VXR8′s predecessor, the Vauxhall Monaro – in both 5.7 and 6-litre guises – and they loved it for its bargain basement price, pure muscle car attitude and the ability to powerslide endlessly.
And it’s more of the same with the Vauxhall VXR8, but this time there’s two more doors, a bigger rear wing and even more of that V8 rumble through the four tailpipes.
Faults? It has a few, namely a cheap-looking interior (although let’s not forget it’s a 170mph-plus sledgehammer for about £35,000) and fuel consumption isn’t for the weak of wallet. I’m averaging 19mpg, which although good for such a big engine, is still expensive. And it insists on only super unleaded.
Check out autotrader.co.uk next week for the full, in-depth review
Auto Trader Blog RSS Feed
James – thank you for your comments. Car reviews on Auto Trader are written using manufacturer’s official figures. While the M5 and M6 are capable of more than 200mph, BMW limits them to a maximum 155mph. Naturally an owner could remove the speed limiter, or improve the car’s performance further using any number of modifications, but in order to maintain a consistency with the car manufacturers, we will quote their official figures. In the case of the M5, this is 155mph.
Regards
Stuart Milne
Deputy Web Editor, autotrader.co.uk
Who wrote the VRX8 review? Clearly they havn’t been watching topgear. Derestricted the M5 can do over 200mph, which is much quicker than the Vauxhall. Basically, you get what you pay for!
Had one of the very first in the uk,complete with the Supercharger/Induction kit by Walkinshaw and Wortec Exhaust/Lowered Suspension by Monkfish.All fantastic modification’s,performance now very serious,gives most things on the road a serious run for there money,most are caught out by the straight line momentious performance.
Sounds like nothing else on the road.Totally recommended,a wolf in sheeps clothing and de-badged no one know’s what it is!