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| Car review - Holden ZC Vectra CDXi |
| By Julian Edgar (AutoSpeed Magazine) In Europe this Vectra model is given a worthy name: GTS. In Australia it's dubbed the CDXi, but drive the car and you'll soon find that 'GTS' is exactly right. It takes only a few hundred metres to realise that the 3.2-litre V6 in the new Vectra is a bloody powerhouse. Despite having 'only' 155kW (at 6200 rpm), the iron-blocked V6 simply churns out the torque. The peak is 300Nm at 4000 rpm but on the road there's a huge amount of wallop everywhere. In fact the engine dyno graph shows 240Nm from just 1800 rpm and the torque output stays above this level all the way 'til 6200 rpm. At just 1000 rpm there's 210Nm available! Translation: put your foot down and there's always response, no matter the gear or revs. This is one seriously fast naturally aspirated six-pack - try a 0-100 time of around 7.5 seconds! Top speed is a claimed 248 km/h... Part of the explanation for that stunning performance is the relatively light mass of 1510kg and the well-sorted engine that uses a variable intake manifold - which, incidentally, is cast from magnesium. The engine's age might be shown in the lack of variable valve timing but - like the Magna's similarly effective V6 - it almost doesn't affect the on-road results. Together with intelligently chosen gearing and excellent throttle response (the lift-off-then-back-on lurch isn't so good, however), the Vectra CDXi is completely at home in a traffic light grand prix, performing a high-speed overtaking manoeuvre, or charging up a steep country road hill. And not only is performance superb, but the fuel economy is also excellent. Driving the car quite hard we achieved an average of 11.7 litres/100 km - better than we can think of from any other six-cylinder with anywhere near the same performance being driven in the same way. One reason the performance is so impressive - besides absolute numbers - is the ease with which the chassis handles the power. Torque steer of the driven front wheels is nearly undetectable, even when given full throttle in first or second gears. And even with the traction control switched off, the power reaches the ground with only a trace of undemonstrative wheelspin. But there's no reason to disable the electronic system, which includes a very sophisticated stability control. On the road the handling aid operates seamlessly, still allowing a measure of power-on understeer and lift-off oversteer but keeping the whole shooting match on the blacktop. Rather than braking just the inside rear wheel to dial-out understeer, the 'ESP Plus' can brake up to three wheels, while Cornering Brake Control (in addition to conventional four-channel ABS) allows mid-corner braking without unduly upsetting the car. Both front and rear discs are ventilated, with the fronts 302mm in diameter and the rears scarcely smaller at 292mm. So not only is the CDXi fast in a straight line, it also goes around corners very well indeed. The front suspension uses MacPherson struts with triangulated alloy wishbones, and the rear a four-link system, with one of the transverse links an alloy casting. (No torsion beam axle here!) Anti-roll bars are fitted front and rear, and over speed bumps the rear suspension can be felt to be considerably stiffer than the front. The CDXi is fitted with a sports suspension, which compared with the cooking models drops the body by 20mm and uses modified spring and damper rates. The ride is firm. Wheels are 17 x 7 alloys wearing 215/50 Goodyear Eagle NCT5 tyres. And those tyres bring us to a sticking point - in fact, one of the major failings of the Vectra. Tyre noise: it's there all the time. Booming in from the back, whining in from the front when you corner hard, it's irritating and simply not up to the prestige levels established by the rest of the car. The body design uses almost every trick in the book to keep strength up and weight down. The bonnet is alloy, as are the structural components of the bumpers. The dashboard cross-member is magnesium, and tailored blanks (sheet steel with variations in thickness) are used within the body. For example, high-stress areas are 1.95mm thick, with the ones under less stress 1.45mm in thickness. High-strength and extra high-strength steels make up 52 per cent of the body mass, with the strongest steel being used to form the B-pillar. This steel - a boron alloy - has a yield-strength five times that of conventional steels used for vehicle construction. The engine sub-frame is hydro-formed - shaped by the action of high pressure water working within a mould. The body's drag coefficient is 0.28, achieved in part by a flexible front bumper lip, lower windshield wiper, spoiler in the underbody area and optimized side sills. In short, the technology used in the construction of the body is world class. Inside the cabin there is room aplenty - with one notable exception. The plunging roofline means that rear headroom is at a premium - normal full size adults are likely to be brushing their heads against the roof lining. However, rear knee room is excellent, and behind them the cargo area is enormous. The back seats split-fold down, although the resulting load area is unfortunately not flat. The most immediate impression of the cabin is its sophistication. The next is its complexity... From the indicator lever that immediately springs back into its normal position when you operate it for a turn (it electronically self-cancels) to the central visual display screen which can show up to nine lines of information, from the way in which some of the climate control settings are altered by entering a menu in the display screen, to how the screen can be configured to suit the driver's preferences, this is a car that on first acquaintance can be bewildering. However, with one exception it's all easy to get used to - once some basic procedures are understood, the rest is intuitive. The exception is the air conditioning - cancelling it requires entering the menu system when often just a simple pushbutton on/off is wanted. The body computer - the unseen system that controls the lights, central locking and so on - works very well. Two simple illustrations: open the hatch at night and the ground is illuminated by the numberplate lamps which automatically come on (all the other exterior lights stay off); and lock the car when there's a window down and it's easily wound up by simply keeping your finger pressed on the locking button of the remote. Incidentally, the headlights are fantastic (especially the high beam), and their in-cabin height adjustment is provided by means of an elegant knob that pops out for adjustment when it is pressed. The cabin is well-equipped without being extravagant. The seats - although they have an excellent range of adjustments - aren't electric, and only four airbags are provided. Perhaps that 'only' is unfair; the car feels so much like one costing ten or twenty thousand dollars more that you almost reflexively look for equipment common in that (more expensive) class. A Blaupunkt in-dash 6-CD player is provided; it sounds good through its door-mount speakers and has some excellent touches such as allowing the bass and treble to be set individually, depending on the sound source. The torquey flexibility of the engines makes the car easy to drive: sometimes you can forget which gear you're in, because all of them pull so well at nearly any revs. The gearbox itself has a slight clunky feel - at minimum a shorter throw would be beneficial, but further work on the shift wouldn't go astray. The steering - a sophisticated system that gives variable assistance based on vehicle speed and steer angle - has excellent feel and weight, however it can kick back when the car is cornered very hard over rough bitumen. We found the seats a little hard and the leather that has been used breathes poorly and marks easily - an unfortunate combination. But overall build quality looks excellent, and the body is extensively galvanised, which should make rust a non-starter for a very long time. For our money the Vectra CDXi is one of the best cars to ever wear a Holden badge. It's amongst the fastest of naturally aspirated six cylinder family cars that we've driven, it handles brilliantly, boasts an impressive array of sophisticated and highly effective electronic driving aids, and is economical and practical. Tyre and road noise is an issue, as is the slightly jerky electronic throttle action. But we think that this car is one to put down in your must-drive book: it really is that good. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But a Vectra?! With predictions of only 4000 Australian Vectra sales for 2003 - compare that with 9500 cars in 1999 - this is a niche model in a market segment that is shrinking. No wonder Andrew Rau, Holden's Marketing Manager, Small and Medium Cars, says: "The immediate role of the new Vectra is about more than a sales bottom line." He goes on: "It is also very much about enhancing the Holden brand, reinforcing key Holden hallmarks such as performance, ride and handling, technology and safety, and above all, it's about introducing new customers to Holden retailer showrooms." And for once the marketeers have a point: the Vectra is about as un-Holden as you can get. Take off the badges and sit someone inside and they'd almost certainly guess they were in an Audi or Saab. Debadge the exterior and the styling screams Europe. Which makes sense, since the Vectra hatches are built in the UK and were designed by Opel. Put a few kilometres under the wheels of the CDXi and the comparisons that spring to mind are fifty and sixty and seventy thousand dollar cars. For even though we, like Holden, don't expect to see sales in huge numbers, there can be no escaping the fact that the CDXi is an extremely good car, one that mixes genuinely cutting edge body and interior technology with a very competent driveline and suspension. The $50,000 Vectra V6 good value for money? We think so.... Forget what came before - instead judge what is here now. On the Dyno Out of curiosity we ran the car up on ChipTorque's chassis dyno. Tested in third gear the car punched out 110kW at the wheels - the missing power over the 155kW flywheel figure typical of the driveline and tyre power loss seen on this type of dyno. However, more impressive was the breadth of strong power. As indicated in the factory engine dyno power curves - and as felt on the road - the Vectra is strong over a wide power band. In fact, there was 105kW (plus/minus 6kW) at the wheels from 4250 to the 7000 rpm redline! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why you would: � Excellent performance � Excellent fuel consumption with this much performance � Very good handling, with brilliant electronic assists building on a well-sorted chassis � Roomy and practical � Good level of equipment Why you wouldn't: � Tyre noise - especially in the back - is excessive � On/off throttle movements accompanied by a jerk � The controls can be confusing |
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Fast Facts Price: $49,990 Warranty: 3yrs/100,000km Body: steel, 5 doors, 5 seats Drivetrain: front engine (east-west), FWD Fuel tank: 61 litres Transmission: Automatic Engine (type / capacity / power / torque): V6 (dohc, 24v)/3.2 litres/155kw @ 6200rpm/300nm @ 4000rpm -------------------------------- Home Holden wallpapers Commodore information Useful car-related info -------------------------------- New Holden car reviews Used Holden car reviews -------------------------------- Wheels COTY winners -------------------------------- Guestbook Contact Technical difficulties? -------------------------------- |
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