Near embarassment by a Vauxhall Cavalier...

[Jim 1]

Saw a really really standard looking grey one of these approaching the back of my car at speed the other day and thought to myself "Oh yeah here we go..." - he came alongside me at the same time as I heard some kind of turbo dump valve / waste gate 'hiss' so I decided against trying it on... talk about the ultimate sleeper as the car just looked like an immaculate fresh out of the factory mid 1990's Cavalier, and it wasn't until he sailed past and I saw some discreet Turbo badging on the back of it.

 

A quick look on Parkers today tells me that they did indeed make a Turbo version with 204BHP as standard! Never even knew they existed, but i'll be a little more wary of Chavaliers in the future. Gotta be slightly rare though haven't they?

 

Anyone ever seen / driven one of these?

[Guest]

Yeah, drove one for a while when they were new, same drivetrain as the Calibra Turbo so had 4 wheel drive too. About as much fun as crochet - fast in a straight line, about 7secs to 60, 140mph ish flat out but absolutely no fun at all.

Think they sold 500-600 in the UK and probably not many left and those that are are probably Chav'd up now.

[BigTartanJudge 0]

Yeah, have driven one of these before (ok it was boosted to 270 BHP), make no mistake they are quick cars, fast and reasonable handling etc. in fact the plod used to use them as pursuit vehicles, 204 BHP as standard and 4 wd, not very reliable though and 4wd system used to eat transfer boxes all the time. At the end of the day it's still a Vauxhall and not all that exclusive,

 

Cheers,

 

BigEastsidevwg60

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Don't let that put you off Jim.....

 

My MK1 16V used to keep up with Calibra Turbos easily to 90mph.

 

Haven't tried raced one in my VR yet as they're quite rare. Cavalier turbos even rarer!

 

Cavaliers handle like a sack of loose potatoes on a skate board. He may have the bells and whistles but A) it's a Cavalier, B) It's a Cavalier and C) it's a Cavalier.

[M777CUSGTI 0]

i think decent ones are fairly rare mate :lol:

 

oh dear jim,

 

i thought you would have smashed it! :lol:

[Jim 1]

It was nice to see one owned by an 'older' gentleman and it was in pristine condition from what I could see.. I've demolished Rover GSI Turbo's before that kick out 200BHP+ but as i've said before I don't feel the Corrado is all about that. The C Still has the air of mystery that not a lot of people know what they are capable of so sometimes is just as nice to keep people guessing rather than showing them your hand as it were :)

 

Cavalier would be fun though... probably show up a fair few cars - some Barry in his chavved up Zetec-S would be gutted to lose to a battleship grey Cavalier complete with Vauxhall wheel trims and beaded seats ;)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The Lancia Thema 8.32 is my all time favourite Stealth weapon. A natty looking saloon from the 80s, (looks like a MK1 Saab 9000) but had a V8 Ferrari engine under the hood :lol:

 

The Cavalier Turbo is a modern day equivalent..... dull exterior but packs a lot of punch..... ideal for towing caravans :D

[Reggit 0]

Bloke I used to travel to work with got himself a cavalier 4*4 turbo in the late 90's. I just remember thinking that it was quick. He chopped that for an nearly new evo6 (rich git!).

[dr_mat 0]

Cavalier/Calibra turbos had the same engine as the VX220 turbo. Good engines - immensely wide torque curve, not in the slightest bit peaky.

Of course in the notoriously poor gripping FWD cavalier chassis they HAD to have 4x4. The VX220 just drives it straight through the rear wheels anyway.. :)

[G60Jet 1]

my mate had a saloon version of it with massive turbo upgrade f'in fast

[Shilakadaddy 0]

I'm driving around in a cav at the moment (getting supercharger rebuilt)... beware people this monster *ahem* must be pushing out a good 60bhp :lol: I want my G60 back so bad!!!

[Scruffythefirst 0]

Cavalier/Calibra turbos had the same engine as the VX220 turbo

 

Not true, the original 2lt 16v vauxhall engine (20XE or C20XE engine codes) were the best motorsport engine ever (after cosworth mrgreen: ) and the C20LET (cav/ cally turbo) was based on that engine with lower compression and different cams. The VX220 engine was developed from the ecotec that was a very castrated version of the original engine to meet emmision requirements. They are not the same engines at all. The original C20LET engine can be tuned to over 600bhp (C20XE - normaly aspirated is good for nearly 260bhp) and in a rally preped astra or nicely sorted cavalier will munch most simmilarly prepped cars of its age.

[dr_mat 0]

Ok, I didn't know to that level of detail, but I presumed it would be at least a development from the same bits....... :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The XE was a superb unit......I always remember it in the Astra GTE 16V and later the GSI 2.0 16V Astra....rated at 167bhp in the latter car, it always was chomping at the bit and strangled by emissions.

 

We take the pee out of Vauxhall but they got it right with the XE, over-square bore and designed from the ground up to be a proper 16V with a flat torque curve, unlike the VW 16V which was cobbled together in a hurry to compete with the opposition and based on the 1800 8V engine.

 

I love the XE engine.....simple and brutally effective and rock solid reliable..... shame the cars it was initially put in couldn't handle it.

[coullstar 0]

 

Not true, the original 2lt 16v vauxhall engine (20XE or C20XE engine codes) were the best motorsport engine ever (.

 

That'll be the Red Top then? Why are Vauxhall so good at engines but shit at chassis.

[dr_mat 0]

Now you probably think I'm a bit of a Vauxhall fiend, but I also always thought they did make some good engines: I've never experienced peakiness like I have in this VR6 (as standard) before, and when you consider I'm talking about a 2.9 vs even a 1.6 that's a big thing!

[dr_mat 0]

Why are Vauxhall so good at engines but s*** at chassis.

 

Ironic ain't it?

 

Vauxhall have this image - the middle of the road, middle-aged, safe, boring market, plus the odd "sporty" model for the repmobile market. Yet somehow, despite their management's best efforts, the engineers made some damn sorted engines. Unfortunately management got the better of the chassis designers and keyed in so much understeer and so little front end grip that even yer granny could handle that 200bhp 2.0 turbo.. :(

[bcstudent 0]

I was marshalling a round of the BARC pick-up truck racing at Snetterton a few weeks ago and, during a pit-lane jolly, was surprised to see they used the XE engines. They may just be a space frame with a fibreglass body but laptimes in the mid one minute tens is still pretty damn impressive. Good close racing too.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Vauxhall have always made good engines....... but the rest of the cars have always been hum-drum. Almost as if all the excitement factor was deliberately ironed out.

 

And those good engines have always been strangled with over-gearing in order to deliver decent mpgs....

[bcstudent 0]

I'd call 150 (conservative) BHP in a car with a chocolate chassis that detested corners pretty exciting - in an "aaarrgghhhh I'm going to die" kind of way! I really miss my old GTE 16v sometimes.....usually on the straights.

 

The Cavalier GSi was a damn good combination of chassis and engine. I had several years of experience in these and can testify that even a Corrado VR6 would have to be driven by someone a bit handy in order to get away. Shame they're all rotten now.

[dr_mat 0]

That's true they were always pretty exciting in a "not quite sure if we're going to get round the next one" sense. The Corrado just has so much grip you have to get SO silly before you start to even think twice.

Some of the most fun driving I've done has been in the snow/ice. 10mph and almost no grip, and the entertainment factor is huge! You can chuck it around, do stupid things with the brakes, the throttle, rally style steering, all perfectly safe yet not in control.. Great laff.. :)

[bcstudent 0]

I really don't know how many good examples of these cars there are around now. If my mates ropey '93 Calibra Turbo is anything to go by....not many. There's no shortage of 175k mile Corrados, but you don't see many high miler 80s/90s performance Vauxhalls about. Maybe the dodgy bodywork prevented the engines from continuing active service.

 

Living practically next door to Courtney Sport I used to see loads of Mk.2 Astras and similar, but these days it's all new shape stuff and VX220s. Chav-tastic in in most cases.

 

Does anybody know roughly what sort of mileage the XE engines were good for?

[dr_mat 0]

Dunno, but you're right - they rusted to buggery, the lot of 'em!

THAT is the key for VW's reputation for reliability - rustproofing. Now that everyone else has sussed rustproofing, VW's advantage is.. well.. diminished.

But that doesn't stop them playing off it in the ads...

"If only everything in life had so many expensive replacement components as a VW" ;)

[bcstudent 0]

To be honest if I had money to but a new car now, although it may well be from the VAG family, it would very likely not be a VW. I can't but help thinking they're living off their old reputation. Having looked at a few new VWs I'd have to say the quality of my mum's Leon Cupra and my mate's Octavia vRS are definitely higher.

 

Am I right in thinking that VW have been slated in the JD Power survey for a few years running now? In the 2004 survey there wasn't a VW in the top 40, where the Octavia came fourth overall.

[Jim 1]

My next motor would be an Octavia vRS - or the Fabia vRS for fuel economy. Apparently the vRS interior is supposed to be nasty - I had a look this weekend and thought it looked nice, clean, and functional!