Car Statistics: Vauxhall - VXR8 Series 07 (4 stars)

Styling (3 stars)

It is loud and slightly crude, but we find its menacing air quite attractive. If it didn't have a V8 engine under the bonnet, its styling would seem a lot less enticing.

Handling (3 stars)

A lot better than you would think for a big saloon designed in Australia. So long as the road is wide enough, it is well balanced and quite responsive. Feels like a fish out of water on narrow, rough roads, though.

Comfort (4 stars)

Again, better than you would expect. On most roads it feels firm but well damped - certainly you can live with the ride day-to-day. Only sudden sharp ridges catch it out.

Quality (3 stars)

Holdens are famously strong - as they have to be to survive Australia's outback roads. The interior plastics will not worry Audi, but they don't feel like they are going to fall off anytime soon.

Performance (4 stars)

It might sound odd, but it is not always blindingly fast. The engine is not fantastically responsive low down and the gearshift is none too quick. If you rev it in second or third you can feel all 411 bhp, but the car is not always M5-fast.

Roominess (5 stars)

Hard to think of many four doors that would give you this much room. It is a big car at almost 5 metres long and our 6 ft 5 inch tester did not even need to put the driver's seat to its rearmost position.

Costs (2 stars)

Servicing will be cheap, but that is where the good news ends. It does around 18 mpg and depreciation is going to be heavy, if the Monaro is anything to go by. After all, in three years time, who is going to want a used 6.0 litre saloon?

Value (4 stars)

411 bhp for £35,000 - that is our idea of a deal. However, when you think that its real-world performance is generally about the same as a BMW 335i (less power, but less weight), you realise that it is not quite the all-time bargain it appears to be.

Stereo (3 stars)

Not having RDS is a pain but, apart from that inconvenience, it is a pretty good quality unit.