General Comments:
Very very nice car. The engine is very punchy for a V6, and it's lugging around 1.5 tonnes of weight.
Not as quick as the VS due to the extra weight, but the interior excels over any previous model.
Everything power works, and I have not had a fault yet.
Handles very good for a family car. The only time I have noticed the car starting to get a bit out of control is when taking very long sweeping bends at over 130KM/HR. Around the city it's fine and very comfortable. Ride height is great; it never bottoms out, even with 5 people and a full tank of petrol.
I service it every 7000KMS, and the oil still looks new when I drop it. I would recommend draining the coolant if you haven't done it; the service book says do it every 40000kms, but I do every 14000 or every second service.
SO MUCH ROOM IN THE CABIN; easily fits 5 blokes in there, and the seats are very comfortable for long trips.
Manual gearbox:
My car has a factory fitted manual transmission. its makes the car go much faster, especially from take off. A standard VT automatic does 0-100km/hr in around 8.5-9 seconds. I have done 7.3 seconds from 0-100 in my car, which is 100% standard. The clutch is very very easy to drive around the city; very soft. However, if you are looking for that quick change from 1st into second, and getting the wheels spinning the the dry, you will only get a small chirp.
The car in the wet:
Windscreen wipers are great.
Traction in the wet is difficult. My car will spin the wheels in 3rd gear in the wet without any trouble, and remember it's 100% standard off the showroom floor. Be careful when taking off in the wet or giving it some gas around a corner, because you will be sideways before you know it. I have only a standard diff, and it's not an LSD, but the car will drift around any corner in second gear in the dry, let alone the wet.
The diff in the car, while only a standard 3.08:1 ratio single spinner diff, if you apply brake and accelerator and drop the clutch, it will sit on the spot spinning both wheels until the tyres pop. This has a lot to do with the manual, as you can drop the clutch as higher rpm to get the wheels going. The car has no problem pulling a 100m plus burnout with both wheels going in the dry.
The car is a little sluggish off the line due to the weight, but once moving it's great. The car can do 220+km/hr no worries.
If you're looking at buying a VT, I would get a Series 2 as most of the faults are worked out of them. Don't buy with anything over 150,000kms unless it is serviced every 7000-10000kms. If you can find a manual, get it as they s*** all over the automatics.
26th Apr 2010, 19:28
Check the fuel pressure regulator or get the fuel system checked. I have had that problem too.