As I turn in, I can see just about see our photographer shielding his precious camera from the rain on the outside of the corner. The wipers are flashing wildly across my vision and though my head is telling me that it's all ok, that despite the conditions, the tyres really do have enough grip, every self-preserving nerve in my body wants to take my head out the back for a stern talking to.

Welcome to the new Vauxhall Meriva VXR, where perceptions are to be altered. Chances are that you have heard of the Meriva; a taller, more versatile car built on the Corsa's platform. Being a reader of The Car Enthusiast, you should also be aware of the three little letters that signify Vauxhall's performance branding with an extrovert aggressiveness. What exactly is the point of combining mini-MPV with hot hatch? Are there really enough buyers for such a vehicle out there to make it worth Vauxhall's while to develop such a car?

The answer to those questions doesn't bother us; we're more concerned with the results. Does the Meriva VXR work? To answer a resounding yes, this car must retain all the practical qualities of the standard Meriva, while doing the VXR badge proud with its hot hatch alter-ego.

Let's address the practical side first. It's simple really; the VXR touches in the Meriva make precious little difference to the car's practicality. The front seats have been replaced by supportive Recaro items, but the rear 'FlexSpace' items remain intact. These can accommodate up to three occupants, but also fold completely flat to create a load volume of 1410 litres. The final trick up its sleeve is found by folding down the centre seat and sliding the outer two towards each other, in the process reducing the capacity to two rear passengers, but with loads of shoulder room.

Right, that's the dull bit over with. How does the Meriva VXR stack up as a hot hatch? It certainly looks the part, especially in the bright blue colour of our test car (the other colours available are silver, red or black). An effective body kit is standard including front and rear bumpers, side skirts, a new rear spoiler and a trademark trapezoidal exhaust pipe. The 17-inch alloys lend the lowered stance further purpose and a neat touch is the blue painted brake callipers.

Cast your eyes over the specification sheet and it looks just as promising. Under the bonnet lies a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine developing a rather handy 177bhp, backed up by 170lb.ft of torque from as low as 2200rpm and an overboost facility that ups turbo boost to provide 196lb.ft for up to five seconds when the engine management deems it is required. All this grunt is channelled to the front wheels via a slick six-speed 'box and standard ESP. Top speed is claimed to be 137mph and the benchmark 0-60mph time is said to be 7.9 seconds. Trying to keep it all under control is a chunky set of ventilated brake discs up front, with solid discs at the rear.

The chassis itself has been lowered by 10mm at the front and 15mm at the rear. As expected, a lot of stiffening has occurred too, including a 30% higher spring rate at the front, stiffer bushing in the lower control arm, a 30% thicker twist beam at the rear, 25% higher rear spring rates and new dampers.

Now those are the facts that you could glean from the brochure or a well-rehearsed Vauxhall salesman. Here's what we thought of the car.

First up, the engine is powerful, without a doubt, but its calibration is just plain odd, at times providing old-school turbo lag and at others boosting ferociously then dropping off the boil again suddenly. There will be buyers that enjoy the sudden rush of a turbo, but it doesn't make for smooth progress, especially exiting junctions, where it is all too easy to briefly spin a wheel before the traction control steps in. The drop off in boost could be the change from overboost back to the engine's normal state, but I would have expected this to be smoother. Nonetheless, this Meriva has a decent turn of pace and the 0-60mph time is not indicative of its excellent in-gear acceleration.

Though the Recaro sports seats are good, there is no getting away from the elevated driving position. It is a boon for safe overtaking of course, but most hot hatch drivers are sitting a good six inches lower and the impression is that you are sitting on the car, not in it. The driving position is comfortable, but not conducive to fast driving. With 177bhp under your right foot, decent brakes and a slick gearbox, you are encouraged to press on in this Meriva. On sweeping A-roads, it works quite well, especially given that the engine speed (and therefore boost) is more consistent under these circumstances. The stiffer chassis corners flat and fast and the fat tyres and stiff ride instil the driver with confidence. Start using bumpy B-roads though and the Meriva VXR falls apart. Its suspension is suddenly not so controlled and you begin to notice that the steering is just plain weird. Grip is still available, but, as I alluded to at the start of this article, it never feels quite right and the lack of ultimate feedback has you second guessing grip levels.

So there you have it, Vauxhall has mixed a hot hatch with mini-MPV. It won't scare the established hot hatches despite its ample power and decent specification, but then again Vauxhall reckons on selling only 400 per year, apparently to mid-to-late twenty year-olds that are looking to start families and take up DIY at the weekends...

At £16,520, the Meriva VXR is pitched against the likes of the entry-level Ford Focus ST, forthcoming Honda Civic Type-R, RenaultSport Clio 197 and SEAT Leon FR, so it won't ever be a big seller, but then again, maybe that's the point. Let's hope that the next-generation Corsa VXR (sharing the Meriva's engine) will stand up to comparison with such heavyweights.

---

Vauxhall Meriva UK range overview

- Vauxhall Meriva Expression 1.4: £9,995
- Vauxhall Meriva Expression 1.3 CDTi: £10,995
- Vauxhall Meriva Life 1.4: £11,400
- Vauxhall Meriva Life 1.6: £12,100
- Vauxhall Meriva Life 1.6 Easytronic: £12,600
- Vauxhall Meriva Life 1.3 CDTi: £12,700
- Vauxhall Meriva Life 1.7 CDTi: £13,450
- Vauxhall Meriva Club 1.4: £13,100
- Vauxhall Meriva Club 1.6: £13,800
- Vauxhall Meriva Club 1.6 Easytronic: £14,300
- Vauxhall Meriva Club 1.8: £14,500
- Vauxhall Meriva Club 1.8 Easytronic: £15,000
- Vauxhall Meriva Club 1.3 CDTi: £14,400
- Vauxhall Meriva Club 1.7 CDTi: £15,150
- Vauxhall Meriva Design 1.4: £13,280
- Vauxhall Meriva Design 1.6: £13,980
- Vauxhall Meriva Design 1.6 Easytronic: £14,480
- Vauxhall Meriva Design 1.7 CDTi: £15,330
- Vauxhall Meriva Design 1.8: £14,680
- Vauxhall Meriva Design 1.8 Easytronic: £15,180
- Vauxhall Meriva VXR: £16,520