physh Member 248 Member For: 22y 3m 5d Location: Canberra Posted 04/12/02 04:47 AM Share Posted 04/12/02 04:47 AM I don't think there are any direct competitors to the XR6 Turbo...I mean, I test drove (back-to-back) on the weekend:Clubbie R8 (~$67k OTR)SS commodore (~57k OTR)and XR6 Turbo (~47k OTR)All manual, all brand new. (prices are not including options of course... I've also driven the auto SV8... comments below!My impressions:First up was the SS. Nicer to drive this iteration than any other SS I've driven. Felt and sounded the part for once.Interior is a bit so-so, but not as pov-pack as the SV8.Seats were OK. Got up and boogied quite nicely, and was pretty refined while doing it.Second was the R8 Clubbie.Mind you - if I had to have a holden, this would be the baby I'd have. It is, without doubt in my mind, one of the best cars I've driven. Lots of fun, and I WOULD lose my licence... Sticks like you-know-what-to-a-blanket, and has the sound, push and niceness you'd expect.Third up on the list that I drove was the XR6 Turbo... My first actualy drive of the car, even though my order has been in since late September...Sounded hornier than any stock car I think I've ever heard. Period.Once we got out of the yard and around the corner I got to drive, first thing I noticed was that the clutch was very easy. (I drive an EL XR6 atm) The gearshift felt a little notchy, but I think that would ease up quite a bit.The clutch squeaked on this car BTW - but that's neither here or there.I noticed that when I geared down to go through a roundabout, I found myself in 4th without realising it. bad gating, or just plain I-can't-drive-for-sh!t-today, whichever...it went CHUGGACHUGGACHUGGA at about 400 revs... still pulled out pretty well though!The standard stereo was still pretty damn nice, interior is much nicer than AU of any type, and the stoppers worked brilliantly.The car is VERY well balanced, as much and more so than the SS, and damn near a match for the R8 in my opinion - just 20 grand cheaper... All in all:SS:Pros:-V8 burble under load... yum!-Cheaper than the clubbie, just as fast.Cons: - 10 large more than the XR6T- Gawdarn me but it's Fugly.R8:Pros:-Brilliant car all round, well balanced and very easy to drive. Fast.-Seats - yum!Cons:-65 large or more... :/-Insurance is, to say the least, draconian.XR6 TurboPros:-Cheapest of the lot, but still meets and beats the SS.-Very comfy ride, but not squishy at all.Cons:-Manual gearbox could be nicer, it wouldn't let me gear back a few gears (tried 5-3, tried 4-2, even tried 3-2 and ended up in 4th). Needs to have a more distinct gate, and have more solid feel to it.-It's taking forever to GET one-it's a porky piece of metal, too heavy by about 150 kilos.So all in all, my personal rankings are:Pure Performance:1. R82. XR6T3. SSPure Value:1. XR6T2. SS3. R8All-round1. XR6T2. R83. SSNow, before anyone starts with the flames... These are my PERSONAL opinions... *grin*I don't mind discussion... and this being a ford forum...Go drive em before you slag em I say... Oh, and the SV8 - I would NOT bother.Think Executive with a body kit and a V8. That's it.Cheers all, -nickOh, and hopefully my dealer will call me and have my car SOOOOOON... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superoo Member 340 Member For: 22y 2m 15d Gender: Male Posted 04/12/02 05:31 AM Share Posted 04/12/02 05:31 AM Thanks for the review.The SV8 is exactly as you describe it - exec with a Gen III. It is however, the cheapest way to get into the V8.I assume you have some motoring connections to drive all those back to back - especially the XR6 T.I'm resigned to ordering one without a drive unless someone can point me in the right direction.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physh Member 248 Member For: 22y 3m 5d Location: Canberra Posted 04/12/02 05:38 AM Author Share Posted 04/12/02 05:38 AM Motoring connections... No more than anyone else who knows basic ways to manipulate salesmen... I just spent a week "chatting up" both dealers... Oh, well I suppose that having worked with one of the dealers before definitely helped... *lol* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superoo Member 340 Member For: 22y 2m 15d Gender: Male Posted 04/12/02 05:53 AM Share Posted 04/12/02 05:53 AM Bit hard to "manipulate" them into anything when they have people lining up to buy them sight unseen.....Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJF077 The Noble Leader Administrator 4,786 Member For: 22y 3m 4d Gender: Male Location: Sydney Australia Posted 04/12/02 09:17 PM Share Posted 04/12/02 09:17 PM Thanks for the info pysh. Never really been a holden man myself.. (most probably because my parents work for Ford) My cousin has a GTS and another one a ClubSport and both have said my XR6T is an awesome car. This is coming from dedicated Holden freaks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cro Flower Power Lifetime Members 6,114 Member For: 22y 3m 6d Gender: Male Location: Sydney Posted 04/12/02 09:32 PM Share Posted 04/12/02 09:32 PM The SS is actually faster than the Clubsport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physh Member 248 Member For: 22y 3m 5d Location: Canberra Posted 05/12/02 12:22 AM Author Share Posted 05/12/02 12:22 AM Seat-of-the pants feel of clubbie vs SS - I agree with Cro.SS actually feels quicker too. But the R8 just handles a lot better so feels nicer.Mind you... NEITHER are "slow", so to speak... *grin*Haven't driven a GTS as yet... hmm... *starts plotting*... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MartyXR6T Guests Posted 05/12/02 01:07 AM Share Posted 05/12/02 01:07 AM The SS is actually faster than the Clubsport. Nope. I'll presume your refering to the Motor mag 0-100 times, yeah? They ran the SS & R8 times at different locations and didn't make this clear in the article. In other words, they can't be comapared. Have a look at the pwr/kg of each car. There is no way the SS is the faster of the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondie Firm Member Donating Members 2,924 Member For: 22y 2m 15d Location: Adelaide Hills Posted 05/12/02 11:45 AM Share Posted 05/12/02 11:45 AM The SS is actually faster than the Clubsport.Nope. I'll presume your refering to the Motor mag 0-100 times, yeah? They ran the SS & R8 times at different locations and didn't make this clear in the article. In other words, they can't be comapared. Have a look at the pwr/kg of each car. There is no way the SS is the faster of the two.R8 is better in power to weight, but dont HSV specify a taller diff ratio that kills the additional power, that isn't that great anyway. As the torque increase isn't as large as the kw increase, this kills of most if not all of the performance increase?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJF077 The Noble Leader Administrator 4,786 Member For: 22y 3m 4d Gender: Male Location: Sydney Australia Posted 05/12/02 09:10 PM Share Posted 05/12/02 09:10 PM I think all the Clubsport's and Holdens have way too much Plastic ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts