A month of VX220 ownership

[Laura]

well a few people asked me to do a bit of a write up on this, so here goes

ive had the vx for just over 4 weeks now, the 1st week i had it it snowed...
that was terrifing, having never owned a rwd car before it was fun haha, but as long as i didnt go above 20mph it was reet

snow = not good
heavy rain = not good

however in the few weeks i think we have had a handfull of dry days ans WOW words cannot describe how much i love this car, i even managed to get the roof off last weekend

the car is a world away from the clio, its only slightly faster in a straight line but corners is now where its at,

living with it day to day isnt practical ill be honest, its cold, its bumpy, its impossible to get out of with any kind of dignity, there is no where to put yout maccys drink as i found out at the weekend as it fell over all over the carpet, you have no glove box or anything like that to store anything at all, but being a girl i always have a bag with me so its nea a problem. but for all the impractibility of it i wouldnt swap it for the world.

so anyway a few pics...
ive changed nothing on it since i got it and the only plans i have for the next couple of months are to change the wheels for summer

before its wash, polish and wax on sat

stuffs

and after poor pic i know but it then rained

 

[theduck]

lovely cars. if i could get in and out of them i'd buy one lol

 

[gaz_5103]

lovely car Laura! quite fancy one of these at some stage.

 

[The Boosh!]

How did you do the top picture it looks immense!

 

[DrR]

Id love one to, don't spose you were in wales on sunday?

 

[fUbAr]

I was gonna PM you yesterday about this but I forgot...

nice brief write up fella.

 

[Laura]

well if you want to know anything more specific let me know lol,
one more point, the fuel tank is stupidly small and the mpg isnt great 150 miles to a full tank

not in wales nope lol
top pic, long exposure, its a bit too orangey tho

 

[fUbAr]

Im interested in the practicality side of things. Getting in and out doesn't bother me, more the heating/frosting up/leaking roof/servicing etc. 150 miles a tank would piss me right off I think... is that giving it some or taking it easy?

tempted with a hard top? I think I would have to have one for the 9 months a year.

 

[B16DOE]

looks nice i would love a turbo one 0.60 in 4s thats a bit of me

 

[M8XY G]

i love them, plans for mods?

 

[Ant1]

I loved my old VXT. Drove it as a daily driver though the whole winter period which was very brave but it was worth it! Nice looker you got there.

 

[Laura]

Im interested in the practicality side of things. Getting in and out doesn't bother me, more the heating/frosting up/leaking roof/servicing etc. 150 miles a tank would piss me right off I think... is that giving it some or taking it easy?

tempted with a hard top? I think I would have to have one for the 9 months a year.

heating?? there is non lol, well there is but its no more than an asmhatic mouse blowing on you , if you have the patience to sit and wait half a hour for it to clear the windscreen in the morning then great lol, although my mate has a remote start which helps somewhat with this, its very cold but hat and gloves and your away, ill be driving a 2nd car in the depths on next winter

i think the frosting up is different from car to car, alot of people report it freezes both sides of the glass but mine never has, just the outside, although ideally you would have a garage for when it freezes and the frost effects the paint and causes it to bubble and crack - something to do with the moisture in the fiberglass

servicing 10k or 12 months , not too expensive i dont think lol

roof needs looking after, they go abit grey and dry looking but mine doesnt leak at all, but as i say, differs from car to car,

150 miles per tank is tootling, i got 110 this weekend to a full tank giving it beans

one thing that annoys me is the lack of guages, you have your rev counter, speedo and a digital number display of how many litres is in your tank and a number that is the temp, thats it lol

saying all that i can live with it fine everyday

 

[sofaboy]

You actually got out of it in quite a dignified way on friday.

As I always say, such a gorgeous car, good to see your enjoying it.

 

[JD]

gay that i have not been out in this yet traylor park!!

text me damn you!

 

[Justin]

I miss mine really, glad your liking it! I'm pretty sure the blue VX with the bling wheels went passed me at the weekend.

I got just under 200 miles to a tank no bother in mine

 

[joebristolgym]

I struggle for much above 100 miles in mine before the dash comes up and says refill - on a run it's better, but normally it's driven flat out most places.

Mine leaks a tiny bit on the drivers side, but apart from that I've found it fine through the worst of winter. I wouldn't bother with the hard top -it's too much of a fiddle to take off quickly, and it doesn't appear any warmer/quieter either. PLus then if you get a rare sunny day you can't just take the roof off, it's a 30 min job with spanners etc.

 

[Ali]

No bad! Good wee cars. I liked the VXT.

 

[fuel_slut]

Wish my girl friend was into cars :-(

 

[Rob_]

100 miles to a tank?

How much fuel does it hold, must be a right pain in the ass using it to go anywhere remotely far away

 

[Justin]

Its not a huge Tank.. 32 litres IIRC?

 

[Bluebeard]

tempted with a hard top? I think I would have to have one for the 9 months a year.

The only problem with that imo, is what if you're 100 miles from home and the weathers nice??

You're fucked, thats what!!

 

[Rob_]

Its not a huge Tank.. 32 litres IIRC?

14mpg forget that!!

 

[McBunny]

laura yours is a n/a is it not and you only get 150 miles from a tank ???

 

[Scutch]

Nice little cars. This was Gemma's a couple of years back :

Yes they certainly are a handful in the wet!

 

[McBunny]

really dont see how you only get 150 to a tank ! this is my old one

 

[Scutch]

You'll easily get more than 150 miles to a tank, especially on a N/A engine.

 

[Christopher]

Glad you're liking it!

 

[Ali]

I thought even the VXT returned 35+mpg?!

 

[Brett]

Glad your engoying it Laura.

Bet you can't wait for summer.

 

[Justin]

I thought even the VXT returned 35+mpg?!

Aye it does. Easily.

 

[Ali]

I still rate the VX as better value for money over the Exige...

 

[Justin]

So does everyone!

 

[Laura]

I miss mine really, glad your liking it! I'm pretty sure the blue VX with the bling wheels went passed me at the weekend.

I got just under 200 miles to a tank no bother in mine

doubt it lol as it was undrivable hehe, he decided to take the seats out, why im not sure, then couldnt get them back in

 

[Laura]

Aye it does. Easily.

i sit in traffic all week, so mpg = shite i got 157miles brfore it said refill (6 litres left) to 157 miles to 26 litres

and other than that im kicking the crap out of it so again mpg not good, really doesnt bother me in the slightest tho tbh, a full tank will last me near 2 weeks of just going to work n back

 

[Justin]

Ah right, was definately a blue one with aftermarket wheels.. Think it was on Friday or Saturday night

 

[Englebert]

The fuel economy is not as good as the Clios but its still easily over 30mpg.

I got a wet weather car cover for mine, which also stopped it freezing over. You can get issues like the locks freezing up as well as simply the screen.

I had my windows adjusted but still got plenty of leaks, so i had to have a towel in the boot to mop up water from the sills before i got in. You can get Turbo windows seals that help that but its not cheap to do.

Wet weather also meant misted up headlights (again fixable with some sealant) and steam obscuring your view from the radiator if the car was was working hard.

The hardtop is certainly not a fix. Your windows (should) be lined up to fit snugly in the seals of the roof, but the softop and hardtop aren't he same so one of them will result in leaks unless you're very lucky! I also felt the hardtop made road noise even worse... you can't really have a conversation about 60mph.

It really doesn't work as an only car unless your journey to work is very easy, or you ride a bike there instead.

 

[c__w]

roof needs looking after, they go abit grey and dry looking but mine doesnt leak at all, but as i say, differs from car to car,

As with any canvas soft top you can apply a regenerating solution and proofer which will usually get rid of any mould/green and turn it blacker and re water proof it (so rain bobbles on it like waxed paint). I used "Renovo" stuff on a soft top I had and it worked great.

 

[Laura]

yeah i robed some stuff form my little botthes work that does the job well,

my job for today is finding some wheels and fixing my wing mirror that some idiot has bashed into

i honestly love it, best car i have ever ever owned

ill be driving a mk1 golf come winter tho, my mates said i could use his, i think he was joking but ill just steal it as its p**n haha

 

[theduck]

The fuel economy is not as good as the Clios but its still easily over 30mpg.

but a lot of 1*2 only achieve early 30's and 197s only get late 20's

 

[Ant1]

Prorace 1.2s in black will look ace.