Opel/Vauxhall/Chevrolet/Holden Calibra?

"Zohaibman72" (zohaibman72)
09/09/2014 at 09:39 • Filed to: None

I was bored, browsing through wikipedia when I found this neat gem, anyone know anything about it? Was it a good car? I have never heard about it or seen it ever, it's so cool

You could get it with a V6 and AWD, which is pretty awesome

I think it looks great, I like the aggressive front end, I kinda wish this was imported as a Pontiac or something in North America.

DISCUSSION (31)

duurtlang > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 09:46

It was a Vectra coupe mostly, it even has the same dash. Not the most inspiring vehicle ever. Rust prone too. Whenever I see one, which is very rare nowadays, it's riced to an inch of its life with a very dubious person inside.

Zohaibman72 > duurtlang
09/09/2014 at 09:49

Did less doors and aerodynamics over the Vectra do it any favours? Accord to Wikipedia, this was pretty decent preforming in its day. I've never driven/seen a Vectra here because they just didnt exist in North America, all my information is from Wikipedia. I think Jeremy Clarkson didnt like it but I dont remember.

MultiplaOrgasms > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 09:51

It's basically GMs Ford Probe. Looks good, rest is meh.

Jobjoris > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 09:52

It's a coupé version of the pretty dull Opel/Vauxhall Vectra. Dashboard was a one-on-one copy of the Vectra's. So it looked epic from the outside, I agree, but it's pretty boring from the inside. Not an exceptionally good handling/performing car. Not an exceptionally bad handling/performing car as well. Middle-of-the-road. Quality so-so, not Opel's/Vauxhall's best product ever to say the least.

Should have been the Manta's successor. But the Manta has a greater following, due to it's RWD. And these were made in bigger quantities (I think) over a bigger period (I know).

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 09:53

Never seen one that wasnt riced to within an inch of its life, coated in rust or spewing blue smoke and clattering around after a hard life of being driven fast by bad drivers. Most are all of the above. Hard to say if a clean stock one is a good car because I've never seen one.

Zohaibman72 > MultiplaOrgasms
09/09/2014 at 09:55

Thats what I pretty much got from Wikipedia, as much as I like pop-up headlights, I actually think the Calibra looks better

Zohaibman72 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/09/2014 at 09:56

sounds kinda like Preludes around here, but I imagine Preludes are better

Zohaibman72 > Jobjoris
09/09/2014 at 09:56

sounds like a waste of cool styling. On paper it sounds decent, but I guess in reality is just another GM

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:00

Prelude definitely appears to be the better car. A review said this "The Vauxhall Calibra doesn't possess the greatest dynamics" then goes on to say it's a decent GT but the handling is pretty poor. Basically good for chewing up miles and not a lot else.

Zohaibman72 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/09/2014 at 10:02

dissapointed, wasted styling and it looks like it could've been better on paper. Given the basic concept and styling, it looks like this could've been done better by another manufacturer

Thunderbee - Has the engine that kids like > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:04

The 2.0 turbo mill was very popular for Corsa/Nova engine swaps. I can't say I haven't been tempted myself...

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:06

Yep that's vauxhall for you. They always look better than they are, hence ricers loving them.

Zohaibman72 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/09/2014 at 10:12

GM always tends to have this problem, amazing exterior designs, but not much else.

Are new vauxhalls bad too? Because some look pretty awesome, like the Adam, Astra and Insignia

duurtlang > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:17

Well, you do get the Astra and Insignia in the US as Buicks (Verano and Regal). They're decent but uninspiring. I've had an Adam for a weekend last year, nice but a bit meh.

Zohaibman72 > duurtlang
09/09/2014 at 10:18

oh right I forgot about the buicks, they are very uncommon in my area actually, other than the enclave.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:21

The Adam sounds poor, very heavy for the size and numb to drive supposedly. Insignia is decent but nothing special. I rode in one and dynamically it wasnt fantastic but wasnt awful either. Reliability seems suspect on the diesel ones though from what I've seen. Don't know a lot about the Astra.

Zohaibman72 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/09/2014 at 10:26

it's actually kinda sad to hear that, they all look great, and I think the way the Adam is marketed is neat, with the glam, jam, and slam variants. Now they just need spam, ham, clam, and damn ones.

Have you driven any of the VXR cars? The VXR8 looks awesome, but that might be a let down too

MultiplaOrgasms > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:29

The only one really worth getting would be the Turbo, because AWD and 6MT.

Makes for a decent budget rally car, if you can find one ofc.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:32

Yeah they missed an opportunity with the Adam, it weighs nearly 250kg more than an equivalent fiat 500 which is pretty ridiculous. I don't see many of them around so apparently they arent selling on their looks like they hoped.

Unfortunately I havent driven any of the VXRs. Apparently theyre very very quick with lots of understeer and torque steer. The VXR8 is very rare here, I've only seen one, it's not really a vauxhall and is pretty different to the rest of the range. I've heard it's great fun but most people cant run a car like that here in the UK.

Zohaibman72 > MultiplaOrgasms
09/09/2014 at 10:33

it seems swapping out everything for something else is the popular thing with this, probably because the regular GM stuff wasn't so good

MultiplaOrgasms > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:36

No love for 1990s Euro GM :[

Zohaibman72 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/09/2014 at 10:43

I'm suprised the Adam hasn't been brought over here, Fiat 500 sells insanely well in Canada. I can see it being heavier, it does look more fat than the Fiat.

Vauxhall's website is actually pretty awesome and cheesy for the VXRs, I think the only OPC/VXR equivalent here is the Buick Regal GS, but its not as separate or advertised as the Insignia VXR which it is based off of. The VXR8 is based of the Aussie's full-size sports Sedan, so I can see that not really selling well in the UK, different market.

The only recent GM i've driven is the Cruze with the 1.4l Turbo, which was actually really nice compared to other compact sedans i've driven (Mazda 3, Civic, Corolla). It really kicked when you wanted it to, like the Civic with VTEC, but was a decent everyday driver otherwise. I think the Cruze is available in the UK, but it has cool hatch and wagon bodys as well as sedan

Thunderbee - Has the engine that kids like > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:44

I've driven a VXR Corsa - it's ridiculously good fun. Not the fastest thing in its class, nor the most refined, but I'm yet to drive anything more amusing

Zohaibman72 > MultiplaOrgasms
09/09/2014 at 10:46

I liked the way 90s euro gm looked, very unique compared to the American 90s GM. After the 90s GM just sold everything Opel/Vauxhall under Saturn and Pontiac. And now Saturn/Pontiac is gone, so they turn to Buick for all their badge-engineering

Zohaibman72 > Thunderbee - Has the engine that kids like
09/09/2014 at 10:48

I heard of Top Gear the VXR Corsa and Astra are completely insane. Like the GTI is tame, standard hot hatch, but the Astra and Corsa VXRs are both doped on cocaine or something. It makes me really want to try one

Thunderbee - Has the engine that kids like > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 10:57

Oh yeah, they're absolute rabid animals compared to the pedigrees of GTi's and such. Put your foot anywhere near the throttle and they scream and spin the tires up a storm. Not quite as quick as a FiST, but puts a huge smile on your face!

Zohaibman72 > Thunderbee - Has the engine that kids like
09/09/2014 at 10:58

this makes me jealous, as a young driver, the most crazy thing i've driven is my moms vtec civic

Thunderbee - Has the engine that kids like > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 11:03

Oooh vtec though. Despite all the jabs it gets, I'd still kill for a go with any vtec Honda. The JDM bodyshop in my town collectively owns an EK9 Type R, S2000, DC5 Integra Type R and a really tidy FD2 Civic Type R. So much vtec. So much envy.

Zohaibman72 > Thunderbee - Has the engine that kids like
09/09/2014 at 11:18

I love Type Rs to death, and the JDM Civic Type R is probably my favourite compact of all time.

Kinja'd!!!

lucky japanese, getting all the cool cars to themselves

My moms Civic VTEC is great, I love how it always makes me want to push it even though its not sporty (Mid-Spec non-si)at all, it's just such a fun car, especially for a commuter.

Type Rs are extremely rare here, because they where never actually sold in Canada for whatever reason :/
Canadians miss out on alot of Japanese goodies, like the last gen Supra, or the Lancer Evo (we just got that when the Evo X was sold)

Thunderbee - Has the engine that kids like > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 13:28

It's a really cool car, so unusual to see on the roads around here. Aw man, now I really want a go with some vtec!

They're rather scarce here too, excluding the small hoard at the bodyshop. We have quite a few MkIV Supras and FD RX7s but they're all pretty run down from years of tough ownership by idiots :(

merkyg > Zohaibman72
09/09/2014 at 13:39

I loved those things back in the day, don't see many now so they haven't lasted too well I guess. Apparently share a gearbox with the Saab 9-5 or so I was told...