You can only get side airbags with leather seat afaik so that's one more reason to select a leather optioned car.
You
can get Calais seats that have side airbags in both the VTII and VX, that are just velour. I have velour VX Calais seats in my VT Calais 50th Anniversary (which also have side airbags), also last week i saw a VTII Calais wreck with velour trims too.
deffinetly want a calais mate i just wanna know the main differences
If it were me i'd look at a VTII or a VX doesn't really matter, but perhaps try to buy the latest year you can (say a 2000 VTII or a VX) only because these will most likely be less problematic. Unless of course you can find a good low-km VT series 1. If you're getting a Gen III V8 get a VX, as the first VT2 Gen III models had lots of issues.
There isn't really a lot of diference between the VT and VX Calais models. All the features like ABS, IRS, factory stereo with CD stacker, auto headlights on, climate control, etc are all the same.
There are probably a few i've missed, but here are some of the differences between VT and VX Calais that i can think of at the moment (most of these are minor differences only):
Manufacture years:
VT1 - 1997 to 1999
VT1 50th Anniversary - 1998
VT2 - 1999 to 2000
VT2 Calais International - 2000 (?)
VX1 - 2000 to 2001
VX1 Calais International - 2001 (?)
VX2 - 2001 to 2002
Engines:
VT1 - V6 Ecotec 3.8L, V6 Supercharged 3.8L, V8 5.0L
VT2 and VX - V6 Ecotec 3.8L, V6 Supercharged 3.8L, V8 Gen III 5.7L
Airbags:
VT1 - 2 airbags
VT1 50th Anniversary, VT2 and VX - 4 airbags
Traction Control availability:
VT1 - V6 Ecotec and V6 Supercharged only
VT2 and VX - all engines
Factory Wheel sizes:
VT1 - 16 x 7 / 215
VT2 and VX - 16 x 8 / 225
(VT2 and VX1 Calais International have 17 x 8 / 235 [not 100% sure on the rating but])
Other minor differences:
* Different grilles between VT1, VT2 and VX
* Different head lights between VT and VX
* Different tail lights between VT and VX
* VT2 has a chrome strip on the rear bootlid garnish, VT1 does not
* VT has chrome strips in front & rear bumpers, VX do not
* VT2 and VX have the PRND321 display in dash cluster, VT1 does not
* VX2 has upgraded wiper & cruise/indicator stalks, VT and VX1 have the older style stalks
* VX2 has control-link IRS, VT and VX1 do not
* VT2 and VX have a leather handbrake lever, VT1 do not
* VT2 and VX have remote deadlocking (by pressing remote "lock" button twice), whereas VT1 this is done manually with the key in the driver's door lock. When car is deadlocked with remote the indicators flash for three seconds (VT1 doesn't do this).
* VT2 and VX have an upgraded BCM (Body Control Module) that disables the boot release button in glovebox when car locked, and turns on interior lighting when key turned off (does this at night but not in the daytime - controlled by light sensor on dash).
* VT has a keyhole in the bootlid, VX do not (VX instead have an emergency boot release pull cord in boot, next to the ski hatch etc)
* VT2 and VX have a slightly different rubber front windscreen seal to VT1
* VT2 and VX have a woodgrain dash surrounds, VX2 has silver surrounds, VT1 has woodgrain on two map pockets and t-bar surround only
* VT2 and VX have a boot carpet anchor point on the bootlid (to attach the boot floor carpet's pull-cord onto, so it stays up, when removing spare wheel etc), VT1 have a plastic clip attached to the boot floor carpet which breaks/bends easily.
* VT2 and VX have wider chromed exterior side window surrounds, on VT1 these are thinner.