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Going on how well they are selling it’s obvious there ain’t too many bridges being built
Had similar problem with large pics. Not being a tech whiz my fix was to email myself a copy and you get the option to reduce MB.Hope no-one minds an extra thread. Figured that over the next few years other members may be considering a ZB V6 so if its OK I'll just detail what I bought and why, and then update it every 3 to 6 months right through to when I sell it, likely in about 5 years. Things like economy, any problems that occur, any mods I do, if I remain pleased with my purchase decision.
My previous car which I'll be selling soon is a VE SS with Pedders, Koni's, Brembo's and Simmons. I've enjoyed the SS but it is thirsty around town, and I'm presently time poor so no longer keen on doing the occasional radiator or swaybar bush. If they were still being made I would probably have ended up an an SV6 or XR6 since I couldn't afford/justify a Redline.
I'd therefore gone looking for either an RS V6 sedan (best bang for buck but polarising styling) or an RS wagon (very practical and suprisingly pleasant and quick in spite of a little torque steer) or an RS-V wagon (a lot of extra comfort and bling for not much more money at present).
I ended up test driving:
- LT diesel hatch which was obviously not that quick, only real application I can see is if you wanted a large and simple and comfortable but not very fast car with a small fuel bill, perhaps lived in the country and drove long distances with a handful of kids for example... An alternative to a 2.5 litre Camry in wagon form I suppose.
- LT 4T wagon which was surprisingly quick, although there was a lot of unintentional Turanza smoke. I can't help but think that if one just wanted to get around in a comfortable and good looking modern car for minimal dollars an RS 4T wagon would be a good deal. Certainly better than an Elantra Turbo which asks similar money. And the Conti's would probably work better than the Turanzas. Wagon looks a lot better proportioned than the sedan to me, particularly in silver for the RS.
- An RS V6 hatch which did not accelerate noticeably harder than the 4T but definitely steered better with the benefit of AWD. Hatches seem to look best in red or charcoal, although I don't really like red myself
- An RS-V wagon which I bought, a lot of car for the money I paid which was $33200 with 8000 kms, 4.5 years warranty remaining, and first service to be done before I pick it up. That said I probably would have been happy with an RS wagon, just couldn't find one that was as good a deal. For some reason RS-V wagons seem to look good in most colours, maybe the wheels and extra chrome trims?
Things I like about the car so far:
- It's a lot of car for the money. No-one else does 200+ KW, AWD, leather etc. for this sort of money
- Although it is a little smaller than a VF for example, it is a lot more modern inside, and feels 'newer' and quieter and stiffer
- Wagons seem to cost the same as hatches in the demo market, so more space for free
- The green tinted glass goes well with the white paint, a bit of a 70's look
- Having driven a few VFs as near new hire cars I think this one is certainly quicker than a VF SV6, and makes less noise and vibration while doing so, although obviously nowhere near as quick as an SS in a straight line
- Not putting VFs down though, just a different car - bigger, simpler, probably better for long trips on rough roads with large passengers. If I had more money I'd buy a 6.2 litre VF Redline...
- At least overseas, the Insignia is actually supposed to be at the top of the reliability tree, so it may be that in a year or two ZBs become quite popular, as per the Ecoboost Falcons
Things to be aware of:
- Cabin and seats clearly not as wide as the VF, so if you and your mates are all rugby players it might feel like an I30
- The rear seats are supposed to have similar legroom to the VE and VF, but the seat is lower and shorter, so if you have long legs they will not sit well on the seats, although kids would be fine
- And in the hatches my head is touching the roof lining and I'm only 5'11"
- The luggage space is clearly smaller in all dimensions
- A lot of articles seem to mention that the V6 has peak torque at fairly high RPM and that it feels laggy. I'll keep an eye out for this but I didn't really get the impression the car lacked much of anything. Maybe its more a case of just not being much faster in a straight line than the L4 due to the larger engine and AWD system.
- The exhaust note is a little raspy as compared to the 4T which doesn't really make much noise at all, not noisy enough to put me off buying it, but not a selling point really
- Not sure how the economy will turn out. Expect it to use more fuel that the 4T, but then it uses 91 octane where the 4T needs 98
- Some RSV wagons seem to have space savers and others have a compressor and can of goo. I made sure mine had the space saver since I can always buy a compressor and can of goo for under $50... Good luck finding a space saver for $50.
- Not sure how reliable all the complicated bits under the car (electric power steering, AWD system) will prove to be, but have 4.5 years warranty coverage at present. I suspect the mechanical bits will be OK if not abused as they are in fact rarely loaded - it runs in FWD most of the time.
- Depreciation could be an issue, but then it has already depreciated a fair bit so not as far left to fall
- No cheap Brembos on Ebay as per the VE/VF series
- Less aftermarket parts in general at present, eg. no DBA or RDA discs that I can find, and can only get front pads from Bendix. Also no shocks as yet on ebay. I suspect the aftermarket will catch up eventually though. And could probably get things like brake pads by ordering Insignia parts from UK or USA. Never going to be as bad a a grey import, eg. R33/34 Skyline
Only one pic for now, but heaps available on carsales anyway...
Was going to post a pic but server says my 2.55 MB pic exceeds the 5 MB limit
LOL I did warn you about black cars mate. Look very sharp when they're clean and a real PITA to keep looking that way!lol no way mate, I did say it was fresh off the dealers lot. It's a tad more dirty than that now, thanks for reminding me I need to wash it again...
They do look good in black. Missus car is a black RSV. Wanted to option up to VXR wheels but can’t be done. Wheels can make a car.I guess here is as good a place as any to attempt to post a photo of my car:
Photo was taken the day I picked it up from the dealers. It was bucketing down, I was glad the car had AWD.
