Anyone owned a VX220?

[Sideshowfred]

After driving one through work I have fallen in love with the things. I adore my Clio but I can't help feeling that something mid engined and rear wheel drive is the way forward. Also, there values only seem to be going one way and I worry if I don't get in soon I will never be able to afford one.

I am looking at 2.2's because I think it would be more usable as a daily car then a turbo. Anyone ever owned one and if so, did you daily it? I can't afford two cars so it would have to be a Jack of all trades.

Thanks

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[jont-]

Not VX, but used to own an S1 Elise 160. Was my only car, but wasn't a daily as I used public transport for commuting, and SWMBO had a hatchback for practical stuff.
Let's see, practicalities wise (apart from the obvious of 2 seats, no proper boot) - at this time of year, water ingress and demisting are probably the biggest issues. You can get hard tops (or adjust the roof to help with water tightness), but the demisters aren't great; scraping ice off the inside of the windscreen isn't unknown if you haven't got a garage. You also won't have any electronic aids to help you in shitty weather (eg stability control etc. I think the VX's may have ABS, but the system isn't great - http://www.vx220.org.uk/forums/topic/100898-ice-mode/ ). The right tyres will help to some extent, but light car/wide tyres will always be prone to aquaplaning.

Parts are getting to be an issue for the VX. Jon Seal makes clams, but I think things like lights are no longer available, so a minor bump can cause problems getting it back on the road.

Agree that despite the Clios being epic for FWD, there's not the same balance as a RWD car, and Lotus are very special when it comes to ride and handling. Using it daily through winter might take some of that shine off though.

 

[Foxspeed]

make sure the niggling faults are sorted like water getting in to the spark plugs and the rear hubs iirc were an issue

 

[Sideshowfred]

Thanks for the replies. Nice to hear from someone who owned a similar car. The parts supply isn't so much of an issue to me, (I work at a Vauxhall dealer so am well aware of how little is still available).

From what I found out before the water/spark plug issue was only on turbo's wasn't it?

I just can't think of any other cars that offer some sort of practicality and as pure a driving experience for the sort of money they are going at.

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[Foxspeed]

Thanks for the replies. Nice to hear from someone who owned a similar car. The parts supply isn't so much of an issue to me, (I work at a Vauxhall dealer so am well aware of how little is still available).

From what I found out before the water/spark plug issue was only on turbo's wasn't it?

I just can't think of any other cars that offer some sort of practicality and as pure a driving experience for the sort of money they are going at.

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i cant remember to be honest - i was very keen on getting one a while back so did a bit of research - have a look on pistonheads i am sure they did a buying what to look for

 

[jont-]

I just can't think of any other cars that offer some sort of practicality and as pure a driving experience for the sort of money they are going at.

MX5? Or Mk3 MR2? Both are probably more pleasant spaces to spend the winter.

Then again, one mans practical is another ones insane. I've done 500 miles in a day in the Caterham, and 900 miles over a long weekend to the Isle of Man. So compared to that, a VX is definitely civilised.

Having just had a quick look at VX prices, there's a huge spread (not a surprise). Don't underestimate the cost of getting a tired one up to scratch - suspension (springs, dampers, balljoints) etc can be a couple of £k in parts. If you're buying at the higher end, you're not far off early GT86 money (says the man who's just bought a BRZ as a daily...)

 

[Sideshowfred]

MX5? Or Mk3 MR2? Both are probably more pleasant spaces to spend the winter.

Then again, one mans practical is another ones insane. I've done 500 miles in a day in the Caterham, and 900 miles over a long weekend to the Isle of Man. So compared to that, a VX is definitely civilised.

Having just had a quick look at VX prices, there's a huge spread (not a surprise). Don't underestimate the cost of getting a tired one up to scratch - suspension (springs, dampers, balljoints) etc can be a couple of £k in parts. If you're buying at the higher end, you're not far off early GT86 money (says the man who's just bought a BRZ as a daily...)

I must admit I do like an MX5 but it would have to be a MK1. Then I would be worrying about the age thing with it. Don't like MR2's at all so they are off the cards.

I did test drive a GT86 back in the summer but found it a really dull drive. The seating position was perfect and the steering felt ok but the power delivery was just boring.

 

[p3nn]

MX5? Or Mk3 MR2? Both are probably more pleasant spaces to spend the winter.

Then again, one mans practical is another ones insane. I've done 500 miles in a day in the Caterham, and 900 miles over a long weekend to the Isle of Man. So compared to that, a VX is definitely civilised.

Having just had a quick look at VX prices, there's a huge spread (not a surprise). Don't underestimate the cost of getting a tired one up to scratch - suspension (springs, dampers, balljoints) etc can be a couple of £k in parts. If you're buying at the higher end, you're not far off early GT86 money (says the man who's just bought a BRZ as a daily...)

Definitely say both those cars from stock are much more inferior to the VX220.

I'd bench a VX220 up there with a S2000 rather than the opposite end of the spectrum.

 

[Lou_m]

After my Clio 200 i bought a VX220 Turbo. Had it for 4.5 years. Great performance but I always had a second car to use for the more practical stuff. Then I had an Elise S and now I have another VX220 NA. on the twist stuff they are great, especially with the roof off and the forum is great. Vauxhall are next to useless for getting parts now though. Great as a second car, not so as your only one.

 

[jont-]

I did test drive a GT86 back in the summer but found it a really dull drive. The seating position was perfect and the steering felt ok but the power delivery was just boring.

They can be boring unless you're /really/ on it. Even more so than the 197. There's also a torque dip between 3 and 4k RPM which exacerbates this feeling. Unless you get a friendly salesman or a solo test-drive, you may not really get to explore that range. A friend whose run one from new says it wasn't really run in until 5000 miles, so a tight demo car won't help either. In the wet, you wouldn't see which way a Clio went, but you'd be having so much fun you wouldn't care. Sure, it's not a straight line junkie car, but neither is an S1 elise or an n/a VX really.

Had forgotten about S2k. Good call. Then again, at that point you can drift to looking at Z4 roadsters (M is probably out of reach). None will be quite as rewarding as the VX.

 

[Sideshowfred]

Thanks for more thoughts on this guy's. The test drive I had of a GT86 was with a fairly friendly salesman so I got to explore the higher rev range. It was obviously a quick car (speed was going round more quickly than I thought) but it just didn't feel fast to be in. That's what I enjoy about the Clio, you don't need to be going stupid speeds for it to feel like your absolutely 'on it'.

S2K's are another option I was looking at, but I have read mixed reviews and it's put me off a bit. My other thought was spending a bit more and going for something like an E46 M3 but I imagine the running costs would be in a other league to anything else mentioned in this thread so far

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[///M]

Hello mate. Unless you're thinking of getting a low miles high end M3 don't even consider it. The good ones are climbing steadily and that has a lot to do with there being a lot of cheap knackered ones around.

Inspection Service II is around £8/900 for a start and parts will seem joke expensive next to running a Renault.

Plus anything but the best cars will more than likely have a lot of heavy maintenance waiting around the corner.

They're absolutely fantastic cars (once you've sorted the brakes out) and I'm really struggling to even think about getting rid of mine, but they definitely can't be looked at unless you're confident you can deal with the upkeep.

As for the VX, ok, you work for Vauxhall but wouldn't you be much better off in an Elise? At least there's no trouble getting parts for them. Well, as long as you're not asking Lotus for the parts anyway...

 

[Sideshowfred]

Thanks for the reply, to be honest I ruled out an M3 over the weekend as I did an insurance quote and it was over £1200.

As for an Elise, the only thing that puts me off is how much more expensive they are to buy than the VX. On the VX forum you can pick up a 2.2 that looks half decent for under £8K. The cheapest Lotus I can find that looks any good is over £10K for a series 1 and I wouldn't want to run a series 1 everyday. Series 2's are out of my price range. Although as you say, parts are easier to get hold of.

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[///M]

Understood mate. Either VX or the Elise will be amazing fun. All the Elise based cars are an absolute riot and pretty much unbeatable when it comes to driving experience, no matter how much you spend.

 

[kevlar]

I have been very lucky to have owned an S1 Elise, S1 Exige, S2 Elise and VX220 Turbo - as stated above nice to have as a second car the VX was nice, but the elise just has 'something' about it, yes the vx was quicker, but the elise just got under my skin in some way the vx didnt. In between ive owned a Twingo 133 (loved that little car - lots of fun), R26 Megane F1 (Superb car..loved it) also had a Clio 200 (which i recently bought back) all the RS cars really do deliver the fun without the high price tags and added bit of practicality. That said nothing can replace the top down driving for me...maybe one day I will have another Elise...if i can sneak it past the wife.