what are the best cars vauxhall has made?

I'd still stick with the late 60s early 70s that put Vauxhall on the motorsports map thanks to the late great Bill Byldenstein and the saloon car driver that was Gerry Marshall. Without either of which we wouldn't have the domineering Viva GT, Firenza and the V8s. Byldenstein was also responsible for the group B Chevette HS and HSR, when the Quattro came along he was working on a 2.6 turbo charged HSR, shame they shelved that! Such was the power of 4WD.

Moving on the Astra GTE and Cavalier didn't harm Vauxhall at all in the BTCC. Then there was John Welch in the xtrac Astra in rallycross. Superb action
 
Vauxhalls not really my thnig but havent driven anything by them bigger than a Vectra (had a couple of Nova's years ago) - but it was crap, 6 months old and extremely underpowered and woolly handling. Mondeo of the same spec was so much better.
Just my choice but this has somewhat put me off Vauxhalls.
 
Re: Vauxhall, Have they ever made a good car?

What about the Insignia? I think it looks great. And I bet it shifts in VXR trim.


Yes,it does shift in VXR trim,but it still feels like a barge.The VXR version is unstable round bends at speed,to the point the back steps out unannounced.The driving experience is like being in a limo,not what you'd expect from a VXR.

For what they cost you could have bought a nice VXR8 Bathurst S.
 
Thrills per mile it has to be CORSA VXR for me.

The latest ASTRA VXR has poor visibility,and very poor fuel consumption when driven vigorously(single figures),VECTRA VXR(fugly).

Most loved: VECTRA GSi. Had mine 3.5yrs and loved every minute of it.Until the wife said it was too expensive to keep.:(
 
Vauxhalls not really my thnig but havent driven anything by them bigger than a Vectra (had a couple of Nova's years ago) - but it was crap, 6 months old and extremely underpowered and woolly handling. Mondeo of the same spec was so much better.
Just my choice but this has somewhat put me off Vauxhalls.

it's interesting you say they're underpowered that cos having driven countless fords and vxs down the years I've always found that in boggo form Fords handled better but VXs had more grunt.

Vectra VXR is starting to look like a performance bargain, plus a simple remap gives 300bhp and 400lbft easily.
 
it's interesting you say they're underpowered that cos having driven countless fords and vxs down the years I've always found that in boggo form Fords handled better but VXs had more grunt.

Vectra VXR is starting to look like a performance bargain, plus a simple remap gives 300bhp and 400lbft easily.


With an INSIGNIA turbo fitted you're looking at 350bhp.;)
 
I did like my 2.5 GSi but with my 2.6 having all 4 G cams plus a couple of other bits, it's way better than my GSi ever was. The 2.6 is definatly a hidden gem for comfort, power and price if you can find a decent one.
 
We had a number of Vauxhalls in our household and we even had a Calibra, and it was rubbish! It was a 2.0 and it spent more time back at Steve Thompson Motors than it did on our driveway...

But the best one we owned was a 1992 Astra GSi (the one with the red top in) in white, that was a quick car for the times.
It got broken into 7 times! but it was never stolen as my father is a skilled electrical engineering so we imobilised it to the eye balls!we owned it from new for 12 years and it was sold to a kid who work with my dad, and last time I check it's with it's 6th owner now. J408NFD is it's reg.

Since then we have had Land Rovers.

Drove a VX220 2.2 and it is an awesome car.
Monaro VXR is a brilliant car so is the VXR8
Insignia VXR is also very appealing...
Also the Astra H 1.9CDTi 150 would make a worthy daily hack especially with a celtic tune in there, from 150 up to 212..... they really know there stuff...
 
Never had a "real" Vauxhall, but the Vectras and Movanos at work are rubbish.

Indeed, the Movanos suffer from chronic understeer - made worse by the fact that they are FWD.


Did like the look of the old models from the 80s/90s though.
 
With the lotus carlton may I suggest theres possibly a clue in the first word and to call a monaro a vauxhall is just daft .
As for the the orange opel when that came out the two companies were not even talkiing to each other.

From reading this thread it would seem a fair few think a GT40 would be a vauxhall if it had a vauxhall badge stuck on it

IMHO vauxhall did make a few interesting low volume production cars but these were usually something not bad with a bigger engine in . But were they good ? - it depends where you put the bar .
To me good is pretty high up so IMHO they probably didnt.

And anyone who says the best vauxhall made was a .............. meaning that makes it good .............remember the best trabant was atrocious
 
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From reading this thread it would seem a fair few think a GT40 would be a vauxhall if it had a vauxhall badge stuck on it

Trouble is, people are very selective with brand snobbery.

My rebadged Honda was always a Rover, yet a rebadged Monaro is not allowed to be a Vauxhall.

You have to see beyond the badge and judge a car on it's merits alone. Most people would write a ZS180 off as a 45 with a bodykit, but those who've actually driven one know it's one of the best handling saloons out there with a sweet V6 soundtrack.

I've driven a fair few Audis in my time through work, mostly A4 2.0TDIs, 140 versioon. A lot of people would love to own one of those, and yep, it was comfy inside, easy to drive and well made. But dear GOD it was dull, dull, dull, dull, dull. And rather slow. I'd take a Vectra VXR over it in a heartbeat because the badge on the outside of the car means nothing to me.
 
VXR8 is an Australian Designed and built Holden Monaro With an American Chev Engine It should Not count as a car made by Vauxhal, but its fare to say it is sold under thier flag in UK
 
Vauxhall, Holden, Chevrolet, (for a time) Saturn, Opel, Daewoo..........blah blah blah all come under the GM brand net, so what is the best car that GM ever made?

and i disagree that the Lotus Carlton wasn't a Vauxhall, it was a Vauxhall shell with some extra Lotus bits bolted to it and sold by Vauxhall in their showrooms,

the RS500 was a Ford shell with some Cosworth bits on it built by Tickford, was it still a Ford? yes it was.
 
Vauxhall, Holden, Chevrolet, (for a time) Saturn, Opel, Daewoo..........blah blah blah all come under the GM brand net, so what is the best car that GM ever made?

and i disagree that the Lotus Carlton wasn't a Vauxhall, it was a Vauxhall shell with some extra Lotus bits bolted to it and sold by Vauxhall in their showrooms,

the RS500 was a Ford shell with some Cosworth bits on it built by Tickford, was it still a Ford? yes it was.

Well exactly, there are so many conglomerates these days, what does a car brand really mean? There's very few high volume single-brand companies any more, VAG, GM, Ford, PSA, all make cars of different brands but shared components and they must cover 90% of all cars sold.
 
it's one of the best handling saloons out there with a sweet V6 soundtrack.

I've driven a fair few Audis in my time through work, mostly A4 2.0TDIs, 140 versioon. A lot of people would love to own one of those, and yep, it was comfy inside, easy to drive and well made. But dear GOD it was dull, dull, dull, dull, dull. And rather slow. I'd take a Vectra VXR over it in a heartbeat because the badge on the outside of the car means nothing to me.

Thing is, what does "one of the best" even mean any more. There are that many cars that are "one of the best" in their class at something that it loses all meaning really. Being in the best 30 or 40 doesn't really cut it in my book.

On the Audi front it seems you're comparing two cars aimed at two entirely different markets. The Vectra XXR's competition is the S4 or perhaps even RS4. I've never driven either so I don't know if one would find an S4 any less dull.
 
Thing is, what does "one of the best" even mean any more. There are that many cars that are "one of the best" in their class at something that it loses all meaning really. Being in the best 30 or 40 doesn't really cut it in my book.

On the Audi front it seems you're comparing two cars aimed at two entirely different markets. The Vectra XXR's competition is the S4 or perhaps even RS4. I've never driven either so I don't know if one would find an S4 any less dull.

An S4 would cost a LOT more money than a Vectra VXR. 6k will get you a 5 year old 50k Vxr or a 10 year old 100k+ S4.

My point really was that most people would write off a Vectra VXR, or a Renault ClioSport 200, and possibly even a Focus ST as being crap, purely from the badge.
 
An S4 would cost a LOT more money than a Vectra VXR. 6k will get you a 5 year old 50k Vxr or a 10 year old 100k+ S4.

My point really was that most people would write off a Vectra VXR, or a Renault ClioSport 200, and possibly even a Focus ST as being crap, purely from the badge.

So, basically what you're saying is that the Vectra VXR is for poor people. I see! Depreciation that is. Good cars hold their value better than rubbish ones. You're not doing Vauxhall any justice here :lol::lol::lol: I'd still have the S4 for £6k, better car end of.

Most people would call a RS Clio 200 or Focus ST crap? Crap compared to what? So what do people looking at a hot hatch for say £8k or less choose instead?

You're taking this brand snobbery too far, I often find that those prone to it are those with poverty spec Audi's|BMW's etc who would rather pay through the nose for a badge than pay the same money for a top spec Ford, or whatever.

Brand snobbery doesn't exist in the circles of real car enthusiasts.
 
The Monaro's chassis was designed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing. Tom Walkinshaw is a British guy FYI lol.

and MA you've hit the nail on the head there mate! Everyone tells me my Peugoet is crap just because it is a Peugeot but the fact is it is a brilliant little car that sold in the millions and even beat the Ford Escort the peoples favourite!

I'm not one for a particluar brand either. I like good cars... the end.... Even if it was a Kia... if it was good then I'd buy it.
 
So, basically what you're saying is that the Vectra VXR is for poor people. I see! Depreciation that is. Good cars hold their value better than rubbish ones. You're not doing Vauxhall any justice here :lol::lol::lol: I'd still have the S4 for £6k, better car end of.

Most people would call a RS Clio 200 or Focus ST crap? Crap compared to what? So what do people looking at a hot hatch for say £8k or less choose instead?

You're taking this brand snobbery too far, I often find that those prone to it are those with poverty spec Audi's|BMW's etc who would rather pay through the nose for a badge than pay the same money for a top spec Ford, or whatever.

Brand snobbery doesn't exist in the circles of real car enthusiasts.

Hmmm, go on any multimake car forum, even those like Pistonheads who give themselves airs about being true car enthusiasts, and you'll hear the familiar uninformed refrain about French cars being crap.

The Vectra isn't cheap because it's rubbish, it's cheap because in the view of the mass public, it's just a Vauxhall and therefore rubbish.

The Cliosports don't plummet in value because they are bad cars, they do so because in the view of the mass public, they're French and therefore crap.

Makes them bargains for those of us who dont judge a car by the badge.

You're right about the pov spec thing tho. I was on a course not so long ago, in the canteen listening to two sales reps discussing the relative specifications of their A3 1.8s. They really thought they'd made it. You know that someone like that will ALWAYS look down on a Ford, or VX, or Renault, no matter what the car actually is, purely because of the badge.

I'd have a low mileage Veccy over a starship mileage S4 because I rather pettily enjoy annoying drivers of "better" cars. Best cars for that were my Clio and ZS180. So many times I'd carry my speed thru the corners and they'd automatically follow me as of course, their car was so much better, and then I'd watch in the rear-view as the ESP saved them from spinning.
 

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