Vauxhall Nova GTE 2.0 Turbo Review

Overall Rating

fun to drive eats saxo vtrs and cheap

Poor ride no room in the back

The same old story you love them or hate them i've never known any one whos said there ok i've had 2 novas a 1.2 and a gsi thats my current car i had the 1.2 cos it was mt first car i got it for the right money and i had lots of fun in it i sold it with 129000 miles on the clock and it never let me down when i had my 1 year no clam i wanted a clio or a 205 gti but i found a silver nova gsi going for good money i trided it out and loved it i agree its not the best looking car around but it goes like hell with a few mods on the engine and its cheap to run yes the rides naff and yes its a bit cramped but im having a great time in it so wot if there a boy racers car as another guy said each to there own

Members' Comments oncol.'s Review

• ritch. on 15th Apr 2003

  nice review im on the lookout for a gsi right now, ive loved novas since i was little and always fancied owning one whilst growing up, now ive had 2 1.2s and have a no-claims bonus im ready for the beast 1.6i engine, its amazing how much the insurance go's down after one year keep it up.

• Chris. on 16th Apr 2003

  Good review. i have a nova with the 2l 16v C20XE lump in it. I've had so much fun in it, just cruisin around and thrashing most things on the road. I have just fitted a NOS system on it with 50bhp increase. It works really well! Performance is great, handling is great in the dry. Definetly a dry weather car in the lower gears if you want to race off the lights. I have had no problems with engine very reliable. Not too bad on fuel until you hammer it for long periods of time then it drinks. it drinks a lot more with the NOS on. Lots of torque steer, especially with the NOS on.

• col. on 21st Apr 2003

  cheers guys i'm thinking of going for a 2.0 litre myself but i'm not sure who to contact if any 1 knows whos the best to do a conversion in birmingham let us know i've just put some koni adjustable shocks on the front and rear ill let you know how they are when i get some miles on them ive also put some clear rear lights on and it looks great well worth the money anyway thanks for the comments guys

• Chris. on 22nd Apr 2003

  I had my 2l conversion in nottingham. A place called Just Novas. They did the whole conversion. They welded up the engine bay, supplied engine gearbox, ECU, drive shafts, cv joints, I had a JR airfilter, full magnex, Avo Coilovers, Astra Brakes front and a rear disc conversion, coswoth bolts, perofrmance clutch It took them 2 weeks to do it. If you want more done to the engine, you might as well get it done all at the same time, i.e. cams, pistons etc. My insurance isn't too bad it is £1500 TPFT from adrian flux. That is with all mods done to my motor. I Have a CAT1 Toad Alarm & Immobilisor. I am 20 and have been driving 2 1/2 Years but I don't have any NCB. No Points. My opinion is that for that sort of power at my age is worth £1500. It beats most cars and keeps up with most turbo's My mate has got a 330BHP 3dr COS and from 40mph to 120mph, I was sitting on his backside I couldn't have overtaken him but, he wasn't even leaving me by an inch.

• col. on 24th Apr 2003

  yeah ive looked then up on the net i think ill give them a call cheers mate ive got a problem after fitting the konis on the rear my near side wheel is scrubing some where and i dont know where as there are no marks on the tyre or under the arch im running on 15s 6 and a half wide i was told that they would be ok it has avo 25mm lowering springs on ive had to put the oe springs on the back to stop it catching anyone got any ideas on how to stop this happening

• Chris. on 25th Apr 2003

  Your wheels could be rubbin on the actual shocks. it is possible if you have the wrong offset wheels. You could probably put sum spacers behind the wheels to put them out a bit, but you have a chance of then making it rub on the outer arch. So you might need to have the rear arches rolled. This will probably cost about £60-80 for the pair or you could grind them off but I rpobably wouldn't advise it. If you do then make sure you dont leave a sparp edge and put underseal on after. this will stop it rusting. I have 17in wheels and lowered 60mm but I have had my rear arches widened by 3/4in each. I have AVO Coilover suspension which is hieght & ride adjustable. They are really good but cost £600. You will get much better handling. I Had Gmax Shocks & Springs on before and I was happy with the handling, but then i put these on and the difference was very noticable. Hope this helps

• col. on 29th Apr 2003

  ive had a look at the shock theres nothing there so wot ive done is sprayed the under arch with white spray ill drive round with it 4 a few days then cheek where it rubed.The wheel misses the outer and inner but its just hitting somethink at the top ive put my oe springs on the back 4 now. the konis are working well a lot better thanks for the help

• Dizzy69rascal on 14th Apr 2004

  Whats up people, I have a 1L Nova and trying to find out if I can drop a 1.6 in without moving any engine and is there any expensive problems any surgestions.