Its all wrong..........!!!!!!

[caspy]

Well....put the Meriva VXR demo on yesterday and tooke her for a spin.
Initial thoughts.....looks really cool in Black. Very tight engine, lots of torque...sounds better than Astra VXR with std exhaust!!!
But....handling....is all wrong....it SHOULD roll, but doesnt!! It SHOULD dive under hard braking, but doesnt!! It SHOULD torques steer, but doesnt. It just feels so well planted, sitting relatively high, with steering wheel in more of bus like position, but incisive turn in, tons of grip and the brakes!!!!! I have AP racing 6 pot system on the Monaro, the Meriva's feel more positive, no over servo and the windscreen will have nose prints on it. They feel much stronger than Astra or Vectra (both v good), and this car is out of the box!!!
Credit to the develoment team, and if this is a precurser to the Corsa VXR....roll on 2007!!!

[Catherine]

Good initial review Caspy.
PS You have a pm.

[caspy]

Thanks. No PM though!

[Catherine]

I will try again.

[PJ]

Thanks for the review Caspy. I have just ordered mine this week so expecting delivery around late April early May. The write ups are getting better as time goes on.
Can't wait now,
P.J.

[Catherine]

I have sent the PM again, let me know if you get it. You might have 3 copies, sorry for that.

[Catherine]

Brian, have you any pictures of your Meriva?

[PJ]

Would be interesting if you have. I've only seen the arden one the press had for the test drives.
P.J.

[Sparky]

Had a sit in my local dealers Arden blue. I think it looks so cool. The interior is just right the car looks right in the colour and the side view is way better than the standard car. Still think it should have twin pipes.

[caspy]

Will try and get some pics, havent seen it since i drove it, my salesmen keep stealing it and wont give it back!!!!!
But they will...........he he he.
For any going on Sunday to Brands, it will be there.

[dap]

Drove one last wednesday ,Very good little car , engine is waiting for extra power, so we are looking in to it as an upgrade but wont come quickly. So be patient.
We are still waiting for our replacement Vectra Vxr development car so Hopefully well have The Mummy, Daddy and baby covered by summer sun.

[Hench Inc]

I found that they are very twitchy in 1st and 2nd gear
And as for the price...pretty much VXR Astra prices

[static]

Very nice car, got mine yesterday. I have to say the car feels very good, esp. love the engine - runs very smooth and sounds great, power delivery is very consistent through the rev range and torque is good. Surprinsingly no noticable turbo lag at all.. Can't comment on performance figures yet as the car is yet to run in but I think it already shows more than enough for this kind of car.
Btw, the accelerator calibration is a bit odd at first until you learn to drive it - the trick is to press the pedal very gently in normal driving.. the car starts to pull very eagerly if you press it too much. Still haven't perfected it but after the first day much better now. At first I was like - "****, can I ever run this car smoothly at slow traffic"
Suspension is very good for this kind of car. Like they say it feels like a good hatchback to drive. Not too stiff but sporty enough for relaxed fast driving. It's no track car but then again it doesn't have to be..
I love the blue color and the leather recaros feel great. The rear space is good if you set the seats in 2 seat configuration, otherwise feels a bit cramped if the drivers seat is in back position.

[caspy]

I think sharp throttle action creates an over boost to aid quick over taking. Thats probably what you are feeling when press it harder and quicker.

[static]

I drove it a bit more yesterday and the car just keeps getting better. I put some new 99oct fuel (shell v-power) in and it seemed to make it run even smoother. My friend has a car with 2.0 TFSI engine and he was impressed how quiet the car is at idle compared to his. If you didn't know better you'd think the engine isn't running at all until you press the gas pedal.
I also drove some twisty roads and was surprised how good the car feels in bends. At the same time driving is relaxed even on bad tarmac. The accelerator action is also feeling much better now, power delivery is very linear and the car pulls cleanly from very low revs to red line with no noticable lag, makes you wonder why would you need a supercharger at all if a single exhaust turbocharger can do this..
I guess that 180bhp is not enough for some but I think it's more than enough for this car. Wouldn't want to ruin the driveability with too much power. Oh well, wait a couple of weeks and it starts to feel slow