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★★★★☆

“I've owned my Vauxhall VX220 2.2i for nearly 3 years...”

written by NightFire79 on 04/09/2006

Good Points
0-60 in 5 and a bit seconds
Performance of a super car for the price of a Golf
Looks
Leather sports seats
The fact you can take the roof off and on in less than 30 seconds
A fantastically chunky gearbox
Its a Go-kart on speed!

Bad Points
Vauxhall Dealerships
Vauxhall plastics!
Vauxhall build quality
The heaters
The leaky roof
Depreciation

General Comments
I've owned my Vauxhall VX220 2.2i for nearly 3 years and when I first bought it, the feeling I got when putting the pedal to the metal has yet to be beaten. I loved it to bits. Fast accelerating and braking means that I've replaced the tyres brake discs and pads more times than I've ever had to with any other car but you expect this when driving a true sports car.



Everything was great with the VX220 for 2 years especially in summer with the roof off and the wind in my hair, but the grim reality is that these moments are all too fleeting. For these moments of perfection you are left with 11 and a half months of leaky roof, shivering in the car cause the heater doesn't ever get warm and a constant fear of the dang thing being written off.



This last problem came when a woman reversed into my car in a car park (only at 5mph) but caused over 4000 GPB worth of damage. The entire front needed replacing and it was close to being a write off. Worse still I had to wait 7 weeks for a new front clam to be delivered from Germany and what did I get to drive for those 7 weeks? A Corsa 1.1!!!!



Like the other reviewers, the Vauxhall dealerships don't have a clue about the VX220. Its like turning up to their garage with a Renault or Ford. They don't know where to start and everything takes forever to be delivered. Staff are pleasant enough but the mechanics are truly awful.



It's a brilliant car and a true driver's car but after 4 years it's starting to fall apart. The Immobiliser had to be replaced. The rear alloy wheels needed replacing, the heater has never worked properly and all the buttons to work the heater have broken off in my hand. The silver plastic in the interior is looking very worn. The passenger side window has broken and doesn't close to the top, the coolant bottle tank was not UV protected so burst and needed replacing. The most worrying thing about the car though is that the back end steps out now which it never did in the first two years.



The biggest annoyance of all though is the petrol gauge! Once you get to 6 litres it says refill, even though you can go another 40 odd miles. Unfortunately the refill sign does not disappear so you're left guessing how much petrol you have left. If only they let it go down from 6 to 5 all the way down to 1. It would have made my life much easier.



Anyways, after 2 years of pure pleasure I've had 1 year of trouble which has led me to the conclusion that the VX220 is without doubt the perfect summer or second car. Trying to own it as a day-to-day commuting car is difficult and I could only do it for 3 years. Anyway, I'm approaching 30 and don't want to be labelled as having a mid-life crisis, so its time to cash in.



My recommendation is that if you're in your early or mid 20s and want to drive the heck out of country lanes, then buy a VX220 which has done less than 30,000. You won't be disappointed, but cash it in before it reaches 50,000!



PS: Like the other reviewer I too have also experienced problems with kids and teenagers throwing things at my car and hurling abuse. One bad knock on that fibre glass with a Coke Can and your insurance is going to go up!

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