The Vauxhall Monaro VXR has not long been on this planet, yet it is already in its twilight years. Alas, the legislators have deemed the pollutants that emit from the four exhausts too harmful to the environment for Vauxhall to continue selling this model to British buyers. Instead of picketing the Houses of Parliament or even grumbling over your morning coffee about the way things used to be, let's rejoice at the decision to create this car in the first place.
As documented when we drove the 'standard'
Vauxhall Monaro, the lump of V8 under the bonnet dominates the driving experience. This experience is stepped up a notch in the VXR edition with the installation of the same 6-litre V8 engine as used in the Chevrolet Corvette complete with nearly 400bhp and an equally important 390lb.ft of torque. Fifty horsepower and 20lb.ft over the regular Monaro may not sound all that much, but these American horses are pretty frisky and the engine is an absolute peach. Whether you want to just ride the considerable wave of torque, or rev the V8 out to the redline, the Monaro VXR feels swift. Use every last pony and you will be rewarded by a truly divine roar from the intake and exhaust systems. The downside of this is of course the dreadful fuel economy.
Big engine, massive torque, great noise, horrendous fuel consumption; all aspects of this car we could have told you about the Monaro range before we sat behind the wheel, but it has a few surprises up its sleeve too, including its passenger space, refinement, build quality and road holding. Two of these attributes were ably demonstrated to us at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground when driving guru
Don Palmer took the wheel and proceeded to drift the Monaro VXR (on dry concrete I might add) for what seemed an eternity, time after time, for the camera of course; with three passengers who would have been very comfortable if it were not for the crazy cackling lunatic controlling the car...
Don pronounced the Monaro a silly car, but great fun. We tend to agree with him. While at the track we took the VXR for a few quick laps, but soon gave up as the brakes and tyres waved the white flag. It's best not to forget that the Monaro VXR weighs in at nearly 1700kg and that is as large as a BMW 5-series. Don't let the svelte coupe looks fool you.
In VXR trim, the Monaro gains a suitably aggressive body kit; though in silver it does not always draw as much attention as you might think (the VXR is actually only available in red, silver or black). The 19-inch alloys are the most eye-catching aspect of the car. Behind them sits an uprated ventilated brake disc system complete with red callipers (everyone knows brakes work better when they are painted red). Holding those discs and wheels to the body is a bespoke set of springs and dampers.
As with the regular Monaro, the VXR is a revelation on the road. Thanks to being developed to cover thousands of Australian miles, its ride is superb, with motorway cruising an easy task. Move away from the main arteries and the Monaro excels on sweeping A-roads. Even on our favourite test routes, which involve more B-roads than A, the VXR impresses. Its damping is spot on, with good wheel and body control. Admittedly there is more body roll than in many modern sports coupes, but the upshot is great traction and through tighter corners, with the traction control turned off, it is not at all difficult to exit with a whiff of oversteer. As you can see from the pictures, in the right environment, power slides are there for the taking.
We actually had the opportunity to test the Monaro VXR back-to-back with the incredible
Nissan 350Z S-tune GT and in the right hands, the Monaro could keep the keen 350Z at bay thanks to its slightly better power-to-weight ratio and its superb road-biased damping.
Sadly for enthusiasts, honest, back-to-basics cars like the Monaro VXR are more and more difficult to produce. This one is still available at the moment for £36,995 on-the-road including an impressive array of standard equipment. I can't think of any other new car that offers so much bang for so little buck, but you better be quick if you want a part of it.
Vauxhall Monaro UK range overview
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Vauxhall Monaro V8 5.7i: £29,965 -
Vauxhall Monaro VXR 6.0i: £36,995
