This Tatty Vauxhall Astra VXR Is The Sub-£3000 Hot Hatch Bargain You Didn't Consider
I was never too fussed by the old Vauxhall Astra VXR. It’s always been somewhere near the bottom of my mid-noughties hot hatch want list, way behind the likes of the Renaultsport Megane, Ford Focus ST and VW Golf GTI. In fact, I own a Golf GTI, and when buying it, the thought of getting an Astra VXR instead didn’t crop up once.
As with a lot of cars though, the Astra VXR is suddenly much more enticing, because older examples are getting very, very cheap. I’m talking sub-£3000 cheap.
Granted, you probably don’t want to buy one for under £3000. This 125,000 mile example has tatty bodywork, what sounds like some shoddy bodywork repairs (something about paintwork not matching?), and no service history. But hey, the place selling it is a “family business with strong Christian values,” if that sways you.
What this tatty example does do (other than making us wonder if it’d make for an inexpensive track car starting point), is show just how affordable these cars are now. Up the budget to a still very reasonable £4000 - £5000, and you’ll pick yourself up a much tidier example.
You’ll also end up with something very, very quick. 237bhp put the Astra VXR well ahead of its closest rivals at the time, allowing for a 0-60mph time of just 6.2 seconds. For a 12-year-old car, that’s staggering.
237bhp and 236 lb ft of torque is rather a lot to shove through a front end with a conventional suspension setup and an open differential, so it’d be wise to expect torque steer and a reasonable amount of understeer from time to time. But contemporary road tests indicate it’s probably not quite the handful a certain Top Gear test made it out to be. And hey, it’s not that expensive to get an LSD slotted in the front.
Are you tempted to add a Vauxhall-shaped slice of hot hatchery to your life? Let us know in the comments…
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
selling the vauxhall with a ford battery mby underneath its a ford :D
Talking about cheap VXR’s, I just bought this last week. £2400 with 73k Miles
I have always liked something a bit different and needed something with 5 doors, extremely rare too, it’s going in for its remap on Friday, always funny to see people faces when a Meriva out accelerates them
I love them because they are so weird. I live in the hometown of Opel, every 2nd car is an Opel - but I rarely see the OPC ones. I probably only saw 4 of them in my whole life
Time to make a sleeper car!
Its a shame where I live Vauxhall has no presence, Europeans might look at them as meh because they are commom but from my perspective they look as great daily cars, fun and having the option of a sport version is really tempting
Maybe so, but designwise they are the most boring vehicles - and the interior is almost depressing. Quality is okay though. But dont be sad you can’t buy one, trust me, there are 100’s of better hatchback cars out there.
When you live in canada and can’t import because no money
I think every chav this side of Dover already had that idea
Behold, the VXUNDERSTEER.
Picked myself up one last year. And i have been giving newer gen GTIS and STs a run for their money….
“THE CAR RUNS AND DRIVES ALL GOOD MECHANICALLY. IT IS TATTY BODYWORK WISE. THE CAR HAS HAD PREVIOUS BODY WORK/REPAIRS ON THE PASSANGER SIDE. THE FRONT BUMPER AND SIDE SKIRT ARE CRACKED AND THE WHEELS REQUIRE A REFURB. 12 months MOT, No service history, Poor bodywork, Black Part leather interior - Excellent Condition, Tyre condition Good, Metallic Black, IT HAS A SPARE WHEEL AND TOOLS.THE GOOD POINTS ARE MECHANICALLY IT IS ALL GOOD,CERTAINLY NOTHING MAJOR. THE NEGATIVE TO THE CAR IS THE GENERAL BODYWORK.IT IS TATTY WITH FRONT BUMPER AND SIDE SKIRT CRACKED.THERE ARE SIGNS OF PREVIOUS REPAIRS TO THE FRONT AND PASSANGER SIDE.IT DOESEN’T LOOK STRUCTURAL BUT THE PAINTWORK IS NOT ORIGINAL.ALL FOUR WHEELS NEED PAINTING.ALL IN ALL IT IS A SUPERB VALUE 2008 VXR AND WITH SOME CASH AND TLC IT WILL MAKE A GREAT CAR.IT IS FULLY £2000 UNDER RETAIL PRICE!, WE ONLY HAVE 1 KEY. THE CAR IS DESCRIBED ACCURATELY.PLEASE ENSURE YOU READ THE ADVERT PROPERLY IF TRAVELING ANY DISTANCE TO VIEW.”
As the old saying goes you get what you pay for, and I’d say this would be trouble. I do like the VXR’s though even if you have to wear a tracksuit for sit in them :P