A VXR Too Far?
by David Finlay (08 Jun 06)

It might just be me, but I'm finding it hard to imagine a good reason for the Zafira VXR. The idea isn't new, of course - there was a rapid GSi version of the first-generation car, based on the contemporary Astra floorpan - but familiarity has not made it any less peculiar.

VXR is Vauxhall's still relatively new signal that potential buyers should be prepared for a high-performance experience. Tagged on to the Zafira name, it indicates that what we have here is a seven-seat compact MPV version of the hottest current Astra, itself the on-paper leader of the hot hatch brigade with just under 240bhp available.

As discussed in another road test, the Astra VXR is awfully quick in a straight line. It's no roller-skate, though. Ride quality, for instance, is surprisingly good, but that's partly because the suspension set-up is quite soft. As you may have read elsewhere in this magazine, soft-but-well-damped is the way we like our fast road cars; the problem with the Astra is that the "but-well-damped" bit has been missed out; there's a lot of body movement and it's none too well restrained, so the car can easily become unruly if you're trying to push it through corners.

The set-up of the Zafira VXR is very similar. If anything, the ride quality is even better, but the tendency to go bananas is even more pronounced. That's not helped by the centre of gravity, which is inevitably higher than on the Astra since this is a significantly taller car.

Naturally, you sit higher in a Zafira than you would in a conventional hatchback. The driving position is quite upright, and that makes perfect sense in less powerful versions. Visibility is good, and you don't expect to have to deal with substantial g forces in any direction.

You do, however, have to deal with them in the VXR. It accelerates hard, brakes hard and has enough grip to corner hard - all these in greater measure than you would experience in any other compact MPV. Suddenly the high-set driving position makes you feel like you're driving a vastly overpowered van, and that takes some getting used to.

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