vibe ute

Hi guys, There's very little difference in straight line performance up to about 180kph between my Maloo & my old edited T ute with 247rwkw, I think the T was slightly quicker, but above 180kph there's no comparison. The power comes on stronger with the turbo, but the LS2 makes usable power from 1500 to 6500 rpm & will happily wind off the speedo (260kph) & hit the rev limiter in 5th gear. I still consider myself a Ford man , but the Maloo is pretty impressive & I would highly recommend driving an LS2 HSV if you get the chance, just to see what there like, if you can force yourself to drive a Expensive Daewoo that is. Cheers, Steve.

It's new to me, but I'm a bit slow. Those rear tyres are huge! Cheers, Steve.

The seats are great, but the dash is a bit low rent for a vehicle in this price range & it lacks the storage space behind the seats. Cheers, Steve.

I've done 3000km in my Maloo now & while I might be a bit biased, if you enjoy spirited driving on a winding road, with the ability to cart a few things in the back, the Maloo's pretty hard to beat. Fuel economy is about 1.5l/100km better than my T on average, it makes power everywhere from 1500rpm to the shift light at 6300rpm, no waiting to build boost or trying to keep in the right rev range. It was a difficult decision for me too as I prefer the look of the FPV's & I'm traditionaly a Ford person, but the Maloo's probably as close as you can get to sedan handling in a ute & is 200kg lighter than the Pursuit. Another plus for the Maloo is 13.3 down the 1/4 for an auto, 13.5 for a manual(quoted from HSV web site), their not speed limited & will wind off the 260kph speedo. I'm not bashing the Ford products, but I do think they've got some ground to make up to be a true performance ute. Cheers, Steve.

What a classic, I would love to have seen the expression on his face as the cops came around the corner. Sounds like he could steer alright, but obviously not the time & place for it. Cheers, Steve.

I agree, they are a bit "look at me", that's why I got black, it dulls them down a bit & makes it a bit harder to see the poxy number plate surround. I wound it out today( on a private road of course ), it winds off the 260kph speedo in 5th gear at just over 6000rpm, these things are pretty cool. What mods have you do to get your 1/4 mile time? Cheers, Steve.

That looks great George, I think they look better on shockwave than they did on vibe. Cheers, Steve.

that's an excellent point, I chose my T over the XR8 & SS because of it's modding potential, but I didn't give any thought to warranty or resale of a vehicle with a few grands worth of mods. My new ute comes with almost everything I wanted with no warranty, insurance or roadworthy issues & hopefully reasonable resale. Cheers, Steve.

There were a few reasons Adam but the main ones were, I wanted a manual & with any manual Falcon based product you are restricted to 1200kg towing capacity, this is why my T was auto. I loved the rush of the turbo but for my driving style lag is an issue, even with the auto. I guess I'm a V8 man at heart, it's like comparing a GSXR600 to a GSXR1000, they're both very quick on a twisty bit of road but it's just easier on the 1000. My idea of fun is driving across Mt Hotham to the coast (but I do enjoy embarrassing ricers), so the IRS is a definate plus as I rarely have more than 300kg in the tub. I wanted genuine sports car performance & handling with the tax advantages of a ute. I don't think the Maloo is particularly a better vehicle than a Tornado or Pursuit, it just suits my requirements better at the moment. If I needed a proper work ute I would have kept my T, they're a great compromise between form & function. I'm traditionally a Ford person & will continue to be, although this is not my 1st Holden. I had a tubbed HT ute with a 400 Chev that had a genuine top speed of 150MPH for a work ute when I was 21. I hope this answers your question, for me it wasn't a question of Ford V Holden, I just wanted a fast tax deductable toy that suited my possibly unusual needs. Cheers, Steve.

Back on topic, My brother had a 6 speed VXIISS which I drove a few times & to be honest I liked it. I liked my T better, but the SS loved to be revved & the V8 sound is pretty hard to beat. The traction control was very intrusive ( you'd leave it off unless it was raining ) & it lacked low rev grunt, but other than that it was a nice drive. He was very impressed by the performance of my T with the Edit and we both considered buying Tornado's, but decided on Maloo R8"s, which we picked up a few weeks ago. I don't think the SS holds it's value as well as the T either. Cheers, Steve.

Mop Boy, (get it? Yob Pom backwards), must be to busy mopping up his verbal diarrhoea to continue with our enlightenment/education. Sorry I just couldn't help myself. Cheers, Steve.

Wow, arn't you a fiesty one Mr Git, might I suggest some light reading, " how to win friends & influence people", I know it's an oldie but it's still relavent. You only get to make one 1st impression. Welcome. Cheers, Steve.

You might be able to find out on the Capa site, see if the AU/BA kits are the same part number. Just a thought. Cheers, Steve.

I think we need some happy snaps after that. My wife found our Rotty soaking up some sun one morning. Very resourceful I thought.

Sniff, sniff, I didn't see that coming! Poor little buggers, they just didn't know when to stop.

That 2nd photo's a pi$$er Cowie, but I bet that didn't stop him. Cheers, Steve.

Simmo, I have no further use for my Capa Flasher, it needs to be unlocked from my Vin but you can have it for $550. I've been quoted $150 to unlock it & install the latest tunes. Cheers, Steve.

Good point, it doesn't make much sense at all.

I remember reading somewhere Explorers in the States were spec'd with wrong or faulty tyres which made them very easy to tip over, I'm not sure if they blew tyres or what, but that may be why Ford are liable. As for the Taurus, I was working at a Ford dealership when it was released, we only sold 1, and having driven it I can see why. Not only are they butt ugly, they have no character, very uninspiring. Being front wheel drive certainly didn't help either. Cheers, Steve.

Hi Shane, It looks to me like material has been removed for balancing purposes, it's very unlikely that wear could occur in one spot on rotating components. Cheers, Steve.

that's wicked, it weighs 550kg so it has 3.2kg/kW compared to 3.8kg/kW for a Lamborghini Murcielago. How hard would it be just to hang on at full throttle in a straight line let alone cornering, I wonder if it comes with a Gripper seat cover. Looks like it's nicely built too. Cheers, Steve.

Where were girls like that when I was young & single.

Hi guys, I don't feel like such a sook now, but it was pretty freaky. Cheers, Steve.

Your right Bugster, my local dealer is a Herrods dealer as well, they sell the Edit, exhaust, etc. Cheers, Steve.