What's the news?

Yes, you did read the headline correctly. Vauxhall has built an estate version of its monstrous VXR8 saloon; thus creating one of the most powerful estate cars in the world.

Exterior

From the outside, the VXR8 Tourer still looks like a brute. The front end is carried over from the saloon model, as are the flared wheelarches and massive 20-inch Pentagon alloys. The new back end is fairly understated for a VXR8, with very little in the way of spoilers or splitters to keep it at bay. However, the lack of visual flair is more than compensated by the Tourer's Bi-Modal exhaust system, which enhances the V8 roar we've come to love from the VXR8 range.

Interior

Rear seats folded, the VXR8 Tourer's cavernous 2,000-litre load capacity makes it the largest estate car on sale in Britain. Vauxhall hasn't scrimped on luxury in place of boot space either, as the Tourer comes with HSV Performance Seats as standard. These are trimmed in full leather and are embossed with the 'VXR' logo. A large touchscreen satnav system also resides upfront; aux-in, USB, iPod and Bluetooth connectivity are included. The five-inch screen can also display information such as G-force, power and lap times, as well as showing the angle at which the Tourer is drifting - not that Vauxhall recommends this kind of driving on the public road...

Mechanicals

The saloon's 430hp, 6.2-litre V8 powerplant has found its way into the Tourer version, giving the estate model a 0-62mph time of 4.9 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph. This power is fed to the rear wheels via a six-speed gearbox and a mechanical limited-slip differential. To harness all this power, the VXR8 has launch control fitted as standard as well as a multi-link independent rear suspension system.

Anything else?

Priced at £49,500, the VXR8 Tourer continues to be superb value for money. As well as this, the new model is also covered by Vauxhall's 100,000-mile Lifetime Warranty.

James Giddings - 27 Mar 2013