Vauxhall Nova GTE 2.0 Turbo Review

Overall Rating

Has turbo appeal and good power output (not 100% useable though!)Lots of mods off the shelf
earlier body shells up to e reg were built from higher quality metal so were less prone to rust!
chicks dig novas and corsas especially modded ones!

Increased weight due to the larger engine and therefore reduced handling oh and of course lag!
body shells from e reg onwards prone to rusting as lesser quality of metal used in manufacture!
steering wheel was squint in all models.

Personally I wouldn't have a 2.0lt turbo in my own Vauxhall Nova that I still own! I would opt for a friendlier 1600 GTE lump with modifications!
I don't know where you guys are getting your info on nova handling but fair enough standard suspension was a bit lame with excessive body roll but have you actually tried a new car the body roll is better but still not superb, handling both the nova and newer cars require suspension upgrades to fit in with the supposed sports car handling! My Vauxhall nova lowered initially 60mm was superb was like a go-kart (bilstien sprintline kit, powerflex poly bushes & also wore yokohama rubber 15" and at this point was a 1.2 and could hold its own on back roads against cars with twice the power!(1.2 = 45hp) Was going to upgrade the engine and box to a 2.0lt 16v lump but when I looked into it I found the weight of the 2.0lt block was excessive for the car for the power output so that killed the thought of even contemplating a 2.0lt turbo lump (although the conversion is relatively cheap compared to other makes of cars conversions) so in the end I opted for a 1600 that could easily have the power output raised to that of the 2.0lt 16v around 150hp also got the 1600 engine blueprinted and now weighs around 800kg with around 180bhp and revs to 10000rpm (with no turbo lag!!)This cost a fraction of the usually new car price (£7000/£8000) my engine built and suspension only cost around a grand including the powerflex poly bushes oh and the yokohama rubber! And the car cost me £1500 4 years ago so work the logic out (I have also replaced all brakes and ball joints through time too and it drives like new).
For anyone buying a nova I would highly recommend one as they are cheap to buy cheap to mod and cheap to run unless you have fitted a 2.0lt 16v turbo and cranked the fuel pressure and the boost up through the roof then it wont be driveable anyway 2.0lt 16v turbos are only good as track day cars as I have had a few friends that have had them in novas and spent a fortune to turn the boost down to gain traction lol!
But a nova is a must for the boy racer!

Members' Comments onSpruceGuy's Review

• neiloakley on 5th Nov 2004

  10,000 rpm? Your not on this planet. You would need to spend a LOT more than £1000 on a C16SE engine to get it to rev that high. You would also need after market management which on it's own will set you back approx £2k.

• herb2578 on 11th Dec 2006

  Sorry chap, but I disagree. Stick a redtop non-turbo in a Nova, apart from the torque steer, it's one of the best cars you can drive, as long as you upgrade the suspension brakes and tyres. Also, the conversions are all easy with a basic knowledge of cars.
  
  PPS don;t go above 16" rims for the handling.