The remains of our car after it was crashed in May 2000.
We were hit at right angles (from the passenger side) by a car doing about
70Km/h. We were only doing about 5 to 10Km/hr at the time
The oncoming car swiped across the front of our car taking out everything in
front of the motor.
Our car then spun and we were hit lightly in the rear by another car.
Airbags in our car didnt go off (side impact) and no one was hurt
Car was off the road for 3 months. The long delay was caused by supply
problems on replacement engine mounts. They had to be ordered from Japan as
there was no stock in Australia. The insurance people told me that by the time
the repair costs and assessor costs were all paid the bill was over $30,000!
After the repairs were complete, we were pretty happy with the car. The only
niggles we had were to do with a couple of bits of loose carpet trim on the
interior. Also the passenger side door lock fell into the door cavity one day -
the lock wasn't actually damaged in the crash, but the door had been
disassembled during the repairs and the lock was not refitted correctly.
Problems with car :
- Power windows dont operate unless ignition is in "on" position.
In my opinion they should work for a few minutes at least after ignition is
switched off.
- Needs reach adjustment on steering wheel
- Needs hazards lights to blink when you press the remote door locking
button to indicate that the car "heard" the command to lock or
unlock
- I personally find both the front and back seats to small and lack under
thigh support. I find the car too uncomfortable to travel more than two
hours due to back and leg pain. Probably OK for Japanese sized people, but
pretty cramped if you are 6 foot or taller. The seats could be a bit softer
as well - they are OK for short trips, but get pretty hard on a long trip. They could increase rear legroom
by mounting the front seats higher, so the rear passenger can get their feet
under the drivers seat. Currently there is no room for feet to go under the
seat as it is mounted very close to the floor. There is plenty of headroom
to raise the seat higher...
- Headlights are not as good as those on a VT/VX commodore
- Could add a light on the dash to show when cruise control is active
Good features :
- 2.5L motor has a lot of grunt - it goes well and is nice and economical
- 4 wheel drive is excellent for when the roads are wet or gravel
- Climate control system works pretty well
Car was traded in for a Berlina VX II Wagon
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