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Carsales Staff6 May 2014
NEWS

Autocar rates GTS top pick

Vauxhall-badged HSV GTS picks up accolade of top super sedan
Beating the drum for a Bogan banger? Australian media outlets are often accused of fawning all over the local product. 
But now a British magazine has jumped on the bandwagon. Autocar has named the Vauxhall VXR8 (aka HSV GTS) its choice in a five-car comparo against such august competition as the Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG S, the BMW M5 with Competition Pack and the Audi RS6 Avant. 
And the wonder from Down Under even blacked the eye of local hero the Jaguar XFR-S. 
Due to import restrictions in the UK, GM brand Vauxhall can sell just 100 units a year of the supercharged HSV – but at a price below £55,000 the renamed HSV GTS could be expected to sell in significantly larger numbers if the restrictions were lifted. That price position is in the vicinity of £25,000 less than the Jaguar, which is actually built in Britain, remember. 
Autocar didn't settle on the VXR8 for its affordability alone however. The British mag is clearly enamoured of the 'Fauxhall', which shares almost nothing with other, Opel-designed models in the British GM range. It's kind of an orphan, the VXR8; but Autocar has praised it for its HSV-tweaked suspension, including the Magnetic Ride Control dampers. 
The VXR8 delivered more grip than the Jaguar, as one example provided. Whereas the Jaguar would get all lurid in its oversteer, the Autocar writers observed, the VXR8 was less prone to let go at the rear. It could be held on the right line into a corner with some late braking applied – or subjected to "severe provocation" for lurid powerslides the equal of the Jag's. In other words, the VXR8 could be playful or purposeful, at the whim of the driver. 
It wasn't just the Jaguar caught out in the corners either. According to Autocar, the VXR8 changes direction with the sort of competence that "has the measure" of the M5 and the E 63 AMG S. Worth noting too, the Benz for this comparo was the 430kW model, but with the 4Matic all-wheel drive system we don't get in Australia. 
Autocar also praised the ride of the VXR8, denouncing the M5 and its Competition Pack because it "overstiffens the chassis." And the Benz was "less rewarding to drive" than the VXR8. The RS6 Avant was the "polar opposite" of the VXR8, being "spookily quiet". But the writers also dismissed the Audi as "impassive."
Staff writer Nick Cackett offered his view that the VXR8 was "uncannily good at suppressing the sensation of speed," and suggested some drivers will be taken in by the MPH speedometer in the VRX8, thinking it's calibrated in km/h – such is the touring ability of the Vauxhall.
Autocar noted in the text that production of the VXR8 will end with the closure of the Elizabeth factory in 2017, but expressed hope for a stay of execution. 
The VXR8, on 4.5 stars out of a maximum possible of 5, placed narrowly ahead of sentimental favourite the Jaguar, which also scored 4.5 overall. Autocar rated the Benz next, on four stars, followed by the Audi on 3.5, ahead of the BMW – also 3.5. 
In summing up, Autocar praised the VXR8 for its "Epic, unending power, beautifully measured ride" and "adhesive yet addictive handling." The magazine also deducted points for "predictably colossal emissions, insatiable thirst" and "It might never be this good again."
Autocar's Road Test Editor Matt Prior took part in the comparo, but was already a fan of the VXR8. In an earlier report filed from Australia, where he drove the HSV-badged GTS, Prior had this to say about the VXR8: "If you're in the market for a big fast car, you don't have to choose a Vauxhall VXR8 because of the obvious, and compelling, reasons: because it's a bargain; because there might never be another; and because if you don't, who will? Good reasons all.
"But there's another reason. A better reason. You can choose one simply because it's terrific."
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