Vauxhall VX220

It's been on the Auto Express long-term fleet for more than a year now, yet our Vauxhall VX220 is running as sweetly as ever. But while I'm still enjoying my time behind the wheel, others in the office are not so sure - the winter weather has seen the first signs of dissent appear in the VX's logbook. Up until then, pretty much everyone was impressed by the Griffin-badged sportster, but on days when a heater is not only useful, but absolutely essential, to help clear the windscreen, the VX has occasionally been found wanting.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Martin Sharp

April 2003

It's been on the Auto Express long-term fleet for more than a year now, yet our Vauxhall VX220 is running as sweetly as ever. But while I'm still enjoying my time behind the wheel, others in the office are not so sure - the winter weather has seen the first signs of dissent appear in the VX's logbook. Up until then, pretty much everyone was impressed by the Griffin-badged sportster, but on days when a heater is not only useful, but absolutely essential, to help clear the windscreen, the VX has occasionally been found wanting.
A trip to the dealer has been necessary to fix the driver's side window. At some point - and not under my stewardship, I hasten to add - the glass stopped winding all the way up and left a 2cm gap between it and the roof. Now that might not sound like a lot but, trust me, in the middle of a cold snap it makes driving a car with an ineffective heater feel like you're sitting in a freezer.
However, fixing this minor gripe proved to be a rather long drawn-out process. The first visit to the garage established that a new regulator was needed, which was not in stock and had to be ordered. About 10 days later, the call came to say that it could be repaired. But even then, the regulator was missing a couple of washers and screws, and the car had to go back for a third time, once these missing parts were in stock. While the window does now go all the way up, the whole experience was not very satisfactory. The only saving grace was that it was all covered by the manufacturer's warranty.
Another irritation has been the front number plate's refusal to stay attached for more than about 10 minutes - we've even resorted to keeping spare in the boot now. It's currently being held in position with industrial-strength double-sided tape. Should that fail, we're going to give up sticking it back on and resort to self-tapping screws. Car designers should take note - low-down plates may look good, but in a world of speed humps, they don't stay put for long.
However, before you think it's all doom and gloom, the warmer weather has shown signs of returning recently - so we've been reminded of why the car is so much fun. The other weekend was the first real chance I've had this year to get the easy-to-operate canvas roof off and enjoy a bit of sunshine. There's too much wind noise from the A-pillar at 60mph and above, but one blast of that double exhaust, combined with the fantastic ride and handling, make stuck windows and dodgy number plates a dim and distant memory.
I also took the opportunity to give the Vauxhall a thorough clean, and was shocked to discover that it's looking a bit run-down. The front end is covered in small and not-so-small stone chips, while scratches around the filler cap highlight the difficulties involved in getting fuel into the car. Petrol doesn't seem to flow into the tank properly and the safety valve cuts the flow off repeatedly. My solution has been to turn the nozzle upside-down, as that way the pump won't shut down every five seconds - the downside being that it doesn't stop when the tank is full, either, and can result in your shoes getting a splash of unleaded.
As I have already mentioned, one or two colleagues are tiring of the VX - but not me. Of course, it's not much use if you have a family and a dog to cart around. When there's just one or two of you, though, nothing else in our garage is more eye-catching, provides better driving entertainment or puts a bigger smile on your face.