Apologies to all for this late post - having waited months for delivery, I conveniently went on holiday and the Zafira then spent its first two weeks in the Pink Elephant car park at Heathrow!
First impression is that the VXR is a completely different kettle of fish to the GSI - it's feels slightly larger inside and seems to have greater visibility from the inside but feels to be a smaller overall size outside when seated. It is far more comfortable with the controls all ready to hand - you can reach the gear stick now, but the real noticable difference is the ride and performance.
1st gear is practically redundant and mid range performance is something else. I know my GSI had finally done 60k miles but the ride of the VXR, even on 19's is so much smoother and B road blasts are just that - a complete blast. Cornering is much flatter - hell it's nothing like the GSI. It also has brakes - you need 'em!
The Sport button is an interesting concept and noticably changes the ride and throttle chararcteristic - personal view on this is to never switch it on in town - the throttle response is so sharp and moving your toes results in frequent close inspection of the boot contents of the car in front!
Overall, the VXR is a huge improvement all round compared to the GSI and I'm absolutely delighted with it - well worth the wait. Having owned a couple of M3's and TVR's before having kids, for the size, cost, and did I mention the huge leap in quality over the GSI, I don't believe there is another vehicle on the market to offer so much all round space, load carrying versatility, comfort and performance.
The thing that makes me smile the most is that it is after all a people carrier, but will out-perform a large number of prestige and 'high performance' brands. Now I wonder what a Stage 1 would be like....
If the damn weather improves I'll get some more decent photos posted but at the moment it's filthy - watch this space.
Marc
First impression is that the VXR is a completely different kettle of fish to the GSI - it's feels slightly larger inside and seems to have greater visibility from the inside but feels to be a smaller overall size outside when seated. It is far more comfortable with the controls all ready to hand - you can reach the gear stick now, but the real noticable difference is the ride and performance.
1st gear is practically redundant and mid range performance is something else. I know my GSI had finally done 60k miles but the ride of the VXR, even on 19's is so much smoother and B road blasts are just that - a complete blast. Cornering is much flatter - hell it's nothing like the GSI. It also has brakes - you need 'em!
The Sport button is an interesting concept and noticably changes the ride and throttle chararcteristic - personal view on this is to never switch it on in town - the throttle response is so sharp and moving your toes results in frequent close inspection of the boot contents of the car in front!
Overall, the VXR is a huge improvement all round compared to the GSI and I'm absolutely delighted with it - well worth the wait. Having owned a couple of M3's and TVR's before having kids, for the size, cost, and did I mention the huge leap in quality over the GSI, I don't believe there is another vehicle on the market to offer so much all round space, load carrying versatility, comfort and performance.
The thing that makes me smile the most is that it is after all a people carrier, but will out-perform a large number of prestige and 'high performance' brands. Now I wonder what a Stage 1 would be like....
If the damn weather improves I'll get some more decent photos posted but at the moment it's filthy - watch this space.
Marc
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