General Comments:

Picked this car up in March 2006. Had a full Holden service history.

This car was a mild mannered stock VX R8 pushing out 194rwkw. 16 months down the track, and now at 272rwkw, this car will just about eat ANYTHING on the road today.

Being a manual, I chucked in a Rip-Shift and wrapped some Bridgestone Adrenalines around the stock 18" wheels. NOW WHO WANTS TO PLAY!!!

Faults:

Catalytic converter had to be replaced under warranty.

Glove box cover needs to be replaced (warranty).

General Comments:

This car is the best I have owned to date. It's aggressive, sporty and comfortable.

I can do 0-100kms in 6.5 seconds and the engine note had to be heard to be believed.

The R8 suspension is beautiful and the car sticks to the road. I've taken this car down the Great Ocean Road and it eats up the curves. Minimal body roll considering it's size.

It belts out 250 Kw with a bunch of upgrades and mods waiting to push it up to 350-400kw. I can see these projects taking up most of my spare cash over the next few years.

It's one of the more powerful cars on the Australian road and it's great to be able to confidently take on 90% of the other machines out there.

Faults:

Premature tyre wear.

Rattle in the gear change knob.

HSV racing pedals became lose.

Other than the above it is an excellent drive.

General Comments:

Excellent power.

Quiet on idle.

Fuel consuption not the greatest with about 18 litres per 100km on average.

Handles extremely well with or without traction control on.

Difficult at time to grab 3rd gear when launching out of 2nd at high revs.

Faults:

The vehicle was delivered with a delamination in the windscreen on the drivers side, no tyre placard sticker or right hand "Clubsport" sticker. All were replaced after delivery.

The engine consumed an excessive amount of oil, well over the 2.5 litres per 10,000 km's which Holden say is acceptable.

The oil light would stay on after starting the engine and then go out after a few seconds. On one occasion it didn't. The oil pump was replaced. This took three weeks, as there were no oil pumps in Australia.

The car was scratched by the dealer while putting the engine back in during the oil pump replacement. The paint repair was like orange peel and had to be fixed by my own spray painter at the dealers cost.

The rear differential whined when under no load, right from day one.

The gear lever rattled against the console in second gear due to insufficient clearance. The standard gear shifter was replaced with a short shift lever, however there is now an internal rattle when in third gear and operating in the higher rev range.

The engine and rear differential were eventually replaced at 11,000 km's.

The new engine continues to consume oil at a rate of 2 to 2.5 litres every 10,000 km's. Holden say 2.5 litres per 10,000 km's is acceptable.

The rubber boots on the front steering arms had to be replaced after 30,000 km's, due to the heat radiated from the engine.

General Comments:

The car looks great, but there is a serious problem with oil consumption that can occur with the 5.7L Gen III LS1 engine.

A mates VX Series II Clubsport was tested at 2.5 litres per 10,000k km's. He bought the vehicle new (Del 7/02) after the dealer assured him the oil consumption issue was fixed in the Series II.

While it's a bit hit and miss, its not a good thing having to top up a new $65,000 plus vehicle (any new car for that matter) with oil between services. All this and then to have the car manufacturer tell you its acceptable after you bought vehicle. Be aware!