DISCUSSION: - Non VR-4 Owners vs VR-4 Owners

[KiwiTT]

To help Kieran get over his boredom:

I would like people to describe why they selected the car they selected and did not opt for a fully blown VR-4. Please give really good and reasoned answers. It is expected that VR-4 owners will be able to respond to your reasons.

In essense the results of this discussion will give a detailed Pros / Cons outcome that people can refer to.

[Spirit]

We were going to get a V6 Sport but decided that while we could afford it we might as well go for the top of the range and most powerful Galant there is....was as simple as that. At the time we knew very little about them and CVR4 did not exist. Don't regret our decision for one minute....still get the buzz and a big smile everytime I drive it....and thats 18 months on

[Kieran]

UK Peeps - A V6-24 is roughly the equivalent of the Galant VR, so use the "Galant V6 (VR or Sport)" if you one one of them and wish to vote

Just to clarify! You never know!

(And I'll vote/reply later when I've got more time to type!:$)

[zentac]

Because the FTO is one of the best looking cars on the road and with a VR4 engine its now one of the fastest :-D

[adam_shaw]

Hmm, just saw V6 Legnum probably should have taken that. But anyhoo... I have my V6 Sport and I love it.

Why, because I had a V6 Elegance before and loved that - when I needed a new one I looked hi and low before finding mine on the day I was supposed to sign for a new *cough* Jeep :shifty:

One day I may ascend to a VR4 - I hope soon, but more and more time in Germany makes it look like I should get a left hander (no VR4)

[savagest-r]

i'v got a ST-R legnum which in your list i suppose is the v6 sport brought because im young and wouldnt get insurance on a vr-4 and its powerful enough for me.(i suppose)

[simpsonm]

I bought my VR4 after driving my companies operations directors. Was going to buy his but it had a tad too many miles on the clock 152,000 if I remember rightly. His was an X reg and I think it was serviced every month.

The car I got was basically, I saw, I bought and I like to kick everyones ass on the road.

:-b

[Big Ian]

2 years ago i had £5000 +a modded cavy to trade i went looking for a 5 ser,BMW? i left details with a garage about what i was looking for...a week later i get a phone call from the garage,the guy say's ive got the perfect car and you wont have to do a thing to it ? ,goes to the garage,my wife and i saw the galant straight away and my first thought was,nice motor but too expensive for us ?
before i knew it!! i'm out test-driving it :rolleyes: ..the garage wanted £5895,i said how much cash do you want on top of my cavy as a trade?,sale's man say's,since we could'nt find a good BMW for your money,buy the car from us for £5000 cash and go'n sell your cavalier! and we will put the galant through a service,mot it and pay the transfer fee to put the irish plate on it for you. :-D
So being as honest as i can,i knew nothing about Mitsy G'z nor did i know about "Big Bruv" VR4 at the time..
sold my modded cavy that same weekend for £2000 (spent over £3300 on the mod's) but at the end of the day it was a 7yr old vauxhall .Oh-yeah i also sold the Regal throttle body as i'd taken it of for tradin it! for £600(£1000 new)
everyone say's and asked "WOW!..nice motor Ian what U gonna do to this then?"
My answer. i'm leaving it standard! my day's off playing and moddin are over.... ???

[nick-f1]

I had Rover 620i turbo before my Legnum, which was extremely quick. But it was small inside and parts were difficult to obtain, then it let me down once too often after 3 years so it had to go. Problem was what car to replace it? I could not go back to a non-turbo car and really needed something larger as I have 2 spaniels and need to transport my amps & guitars to and from gigs. So it looked like an estate was on the cards..... "Groan", As I hate f******g Volvo's and the sort of people who drive 'em ( they think they own the road yet have the IQ and driving ability of a camel! :rolleyes5 ) I would'nt be seen dead in one and I could not afford an Audi rs6 so what to buy???????
Did a search on autotrader for turbo cars and found the vr4's and even better- the Legnum! I had always liked the 6&8g galant so it was just down to finding one, did some research on Legnums etc spent 6 months looking around then found one in top condition 10 miles down the road in Poole! I looked at two and a v6 sport ( a lovely black one) in the same day and ended up buying the poole car and have not looked back since. Although the fuel costs make me wince!!!!!!
But as I dont use it for work only weekends and gigs its not too bad-- Just! :rolleyes5

Nick

[colVR4]

I was looking to change my car for something a bit newer so I read through the Parkers guide and saw the Galant. It got a great write-up and the line "why buy a bimmer" pretty much decided it for me.
Looked on the web for a while, did a little research and found mine for £7,500 at a dealership. FMSH and immaculate condition, was a highish miler but that doesn't bother me in the slightest with the V6 motor.

Great driving position, comfort yet has a nice turn of speed. Reasonable fuel consumption (30-35 mpg) and a fantastic auto box. My biggest concern is what the he77 am I going to replace it with in a couple of years time?

I didn't go for the VR-4 because of the servicing, fuel consumption, insurance, etc... the V6 Sport looked like the best of all worlds :-D ..and when I have a few pennies to spare I can get a few more HP out of the 2.5 V6. 160BHP doesn't seem like a lot for a 2.5 V6 so I am sure that are some more hidden away in there.

[Bal]

looked at saabs, rover 620s, bmws, volvos, omegas ... then i saw and test drove a galant ... then i happened to be in leicester and saw my beast.

and now i am the proud owner. to be honest i didnt have a clue about galants as i was pretty much hooked on the 620 or a saab 900 but now i love them and cant wait to get another one.

but saying that my car is a bit buggered at the moment so she needs some love and attention to sort her out.

B

[RED]

I had a XR3i cabriolet in white - no laughing at the back! - and the roof was on it's way out and it was getting on Marcus' nerves. He was just jealous cos I loved the car more than him! Plus we were thinking of starting a family and needed something bigger. I wanted an Evo6 GSR but the money was just to steep. Andy Goodman had some work done on his legnum with us and since then Marcus had always liked it so we kept our eyes open. Couldn't find anything then came across a Ralliart VR4 going cheap locally so we went and had a look and that's the story - SOLD 13 months and still going strong :-D What a car! :rolleyes5 :-b :-D

[firefly]

All started with the boyf really.

He bought an FTO GPX Mivec just after we started going out but got a little worried about impracticality/expense etc so I said "don't worry - i'll have the useful car!"

My citroen ax didn't really cut the mustard - especially when we bought our german shepherd puppy. :rolleyes5

So I needed an estate but found the majority were really really uninteresting and boring looking. Until I spotted the galant estate.

It took a while to see through the unconventional looks but once I had I was hooked.

Plus they don't hold value like other cars so you can pick 'em up cheap!

As much as I would've liked a vr4 I knew I'd never be able to afford to run that as a practical car - insurance and petrol costs are already high enough on the FTO without added a vr4 to the mix!!!

I found my car on ebay and negotiated a very cheap price off the website. I went to Hull to get it (4.5 hours drive away). The first thing I did with my galant was pull into a lay-by and fall asleep (it's soo comfortable!!)

P.S. The AX is soon to be available on ebay if anyone's interested!!!!

[Bal]

i bid £20 for the ax so i can drive it off a cliff. lol.

B

[ileonc]

I have a VR4 and bought it because I always wanted one as long as I can remember(about 3 seconds after all the alcohol abuse ). I actually wanted one after seeing a magazine review in 1997 of an imported VR4 saloon.

After fooling around with other makes of cars I had the opportunity to get one so my heart ruled my brain for this purchase. I didn't weigh up the pros or cons, since I knew if I did I wouldn't get it.

Its costing mucho casho to keep the VR4 running but I am loving every minute of it.

The question is if it came to a choice between my VR4 and my motorbike I would say that the motorbike would win, but it would be close.

[firefly]

i bid £20 for the ax so i can drive it off a cliff. lol.

B

:Cry1: :Cry1: :grrr: Bal, you are a very mean individual. :gun2:

[Phil S]

I would have got a VR4 but couldn't afford the initial cost of a newish one and the long term running costs. In the end I got a 2000 V6 sport with 48k fsh, mint condition for £5.5k privately. I spent a couple of months looking for a decent one at the right price. I believe that there isn't another car out there for that money that has such a a good mix of size, power, ecomomy, style and exclusivity! (not forgetting build quality and reliability too) :-D :-D

[dcuk]

The VR4 was very expensive to run so I opt for the GLS estate. I love the look of the Galant since I was at college many years ago. I walked pass one everyday and wish I can own one.

Although mine is an estate, but it drives like a coupe! The smooth engine and superb cornering abillity means that it is probably the best car I have driven (along with the VR4), it is certainly better than the new Merc CLK and E class in terms of ride comfort and cornering. It truly is a drivers' car.

[I-S]

Why did I buy the GLS....

I was researching what to buy as my first car. Coming from a family with a history of big, powerful cars on both sides (My father's first car was a 3.8 Jaguar S-type, and the first car my mum drove was my grandfather's Jensen Interceptor FF), I wanted a 6 cylinder engine and RWD. More and more research showed that this was not possible. I also wanted a large, practical car, having been driving my parent's Shogun LWB 3.0.

So, to the normal estates... focus, astra... neither of which floated my boat. They're too mainstream, and they had drum brakes on the back, with ABS an option! No way. I wanted something more out of the mainstream.

Eventually it came down to Subaru Forester 2.0 and the Galant. The forester was much more expensive to buy for age/mileage, and more to insure. Then the galant came up with good timing, good price, and got a reasonable insurance deal... So I bought it.

[zedy1]

ive had 6g galants since 1998 and in 2001 decided to buy an s class merc but saw my vr4 advertised and bought it. cant see myself selling it