1992 Vauxhall Calibra 16V from UK and Ireland - Comments

Fuel leak due to corroded pipe.

Instrument panel lights need replaced.

Water leaks from under bonnet to cockpit when in car wash.

Very nice looking car.

Lovely interior with black leather upholstery, very comfortable.

Great engine, even with high mileage.

Disappointing perfomance for a car with 150 bhp. 0-60mph 8.0sec not good enough.

My old Astra GTE was quicker and that was 8v standard.

One or two rust problems. Has to be expected for a ten year old car, but it's a quality car for its age. Drives like new.

Hi, I have a G reg vauxhall calibra 16v, as a fellow vauxhall calibra driver you must know about the claibra's power. The clibra is designed to be kept at very high revs. there is no point in flooring it in second gear at under 3000 rpm. All the power is above 3750rpm, I have had my calibra track timed. 8.0 seconds might be the newer ones, but the older ones will do 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds. After a few tiny mods that was taken down to 6.6 seconds. There is a way to set up the ECU to keep the revs up above 3000 revs, it's a wonderful car and I wouldn't change her for the world.

The way the car glides around bends is wonderful, get them lowered tweak them abit and you will be in love!

A very nice car, cheap, good looking, never goes wrong, way ahead of it's time. made in 1990 she has 0 rust and 0 faults. If you take car of the car (servicing, morrisons oil) you will see a improvement in the way she pulls, so smooth.

Got to get your self a calibra.

The 0-60 is 8 seconds, "your" car doing a 0-60 in 7.1 seconds with only 150bhp is impossible, a Renaultsport Clio has 172bhp and is slower to 60 (7.2) and is MUCH lighter than a Calibra.

Just a correct, based on various information:

Calibra 16v red top: 150 bhp. 0-60 in 7.4 sec

Calibra 16v ecotech: 136 bhp. 0-60 in 8.2 sec.

I have a red top 16v, and it is reasonably quick - they will pull 60 mph in 2nd gear, which I think gives a misleadingly quick times (each gear change = approx. 1 second of 'non accelarating' time).

Indeed there is plenty of truth in the above comments. I have a 1993 Calibra 16v, completely standard and as they have a stopwatch on the dashboard you can reasonably accurately time your 0-60. Mine will pull a 7.5 second 0-60 dash any day of the week. Please remember 'book speeds' are tested with foot flat to the floor bouncing off the rev limiter before dumping the clutch. This is the only way manufacturers can get an accurate, across the board reading. Most people that can drive their Calibra a little and know there car can easily pull a 7 second dash. As to the Clio 172 info, brake horse power means nothing against a Calibra unless your near 200 bhp. A friend of mine has a 192 bhp Civic and I can keep up with that all the way to 140mph. So, before disrespecting anybody's claims, do some homework first. And, if you have the bottle, take on an old Calibra, but don't be surprised if it keeps up with you, unless you have a Type R!

I must agree with the gent/lady that made the last comment here. Clio 172's are a very nippy car indeed, but their aerodynamics resemble a house brick, thus why the old Vauxhall can still outshine many cars with 30-40 more horse power. They were, and still are the most aerodynamic production coupe ever built. Before you ask, I am a woman and must agree that a 7 second 0-60 is very possible in dry conditions. Try 4000 rpm and let the clutch go, a little screech and spin, but its the best way to kick the engine into its post 4000rpm power band and where the Calibra shines. Remember also, a Calibra will do more than 65mph in 2nd gear, so where most cars are reaching for 3rd gear, and an average of a conservative 1 second gear change, you can understand why a 7 seconds is more than a reasonable claim.

Sorry, but there's no way a Calibra 16v Red Top will keep up with a well driven Civic Type-R! Neither will they do 0-60 in 7 seconds - even the factory's claim of 7.5 seconds was slightly optimistic for these cars. To get a realistic 0-60 time forget using the speedo and a stopwatch as this is highly inaccurate. The only was to do it is to invest in some proper timing gear.

Adding a few simple mods to make the Calibra sub 7 seconds, c'mon STEP AWAY FROM THE COPY OF MAX POWER Young man and smell the petrol.

You're talking Carb's or Throttlebodies also adding a decent set of cams and re mapping the ECU to get anywhere near to this and it will cost you minimum 2k to do it properly, just because you have a 5" exhaust pipe and a cone filter bolted onto the car does not turn it into a rocket ship it just uses more petrol and sounds louder and if you are lucky you may 2 Bhp extra for your trouble.

Why not join one of the Vauxhall clubs out there on the internet and get some proper advise on tuning from people who have been there and done it.

I can't understand how something which is effectively a Vauxhall Cavalier Coupe could possibly be the most aerodynamic car ever made. Could someone please enlighten the readers of this?

The Calibra was the most aerodynamic production car in the world for a number of years:

"The Calibra, styled by the American head of GM design Europe, Wayne Cherry (retired), is considered by some the most stylish Vauxhall/Opel ever, but being based on the Vectra chassis its ride and handling were not significantly better than that of the family car from which it grew. It was, however, the most aerodynamically efficient Opel ever, with a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.26. It remained the most aerodynamic mass production car for the next 10 years, until the Honda Insight was launched in 1999 with a Cd of 0.25"

Having recently aquired a Calibra 1992, 120,000 miles, 6 months mot and tax. I am more than pleased to say I only spent £225 for the little beast. I think the car is more than fast enough for something this age, and depending on the skill of the driver, 0-60 times can vary several seconds. My advice is get yourselves to Santa Pod and stop the arguing!! Peace out!!

Achieving a 0-60 time close to the manufacturers really isn't THAT hard though - just put it in first gear, foot on the clutch, dial up a few revs, release the clutch and at the same time push down the accelerator, hit the red line in 1st, 2nd and maybe 3rd gear with quick gear changes... and that's about all there is to it ;-)

Timing it is the issue here, as many people think they can record an accurate time using a stopwatch and a speedo for some reason.

To be honest, it's an Old car, and its WAY past its time. Why would you possibly want to spend money on such an old car?

I'm sticking withI've always bought New cars, and I'm happy with my 206 GTi 180.

I've wasted 2 Calibra's I've come up against.

Keeping old cars running isn't always a bad thing - think of the depreciation on a 206 GTi 180 (for example)... and then compare it with the depreciation on something like a Calibra.

20th Dec comment - "I've wasted 2 Calibra's I've come up against"

Don't be a muppet mate, most Calibra's would out accelerate and out handle a Pug 206. No offence, but I get the impression here that theres a guy that thinks he's cool just cause he's got a new car, and can beat just about anything. Sure, don't get me wrong, I hate it when people talk about old cars beating new cars too, you just have to understand that old cars need work and money to bring them back to their original condition, and yes they can give most new cars a run for their money.

Also, why even compare a Calibra to a small hatchback? Coupe's like the Calibra should be compared to other Coupe's, just as small hatchback's like the Pug 206 and so on should be compared to other small cars. Saloons compared to other saloons etc. You wouldn't compare a Ford Mondeo to a van would you? No, both have their own strengths and that's another thing you need to appreciate - cars old and new, different types, etc all have thier own qualities, you shouldn't compare anything really, at the end of the day, who cares about the whole childish "My cars better than yours" thing. Chances are it will be an unfair comparison. Next you'll all be saying "Oh look at me I'm rich I've bought a Ferrari and I wasted 2 Calibras and a Ford Fiesta XR2 the other day"

Take it easy guys and enjoy whatever car you have, just don't tell me its better than the next guys...

Hello Calibra's Owners, How R U today

Right to start of, the calibra is a great car I brought one in may of this year it is a 1996 (p-reg) the limited edition (SE6) if you know a lot about calibra's then you will know all about the SE6 yes it is an 8V engine. Great engine, you might not think it because a 8v has no power! Wrong the 8v has power 16v has more not a lot more, my calibra drives like a 16v it really does its quite quick for a 8v it sounds like a 16v as well believe it or not until you lift the bonnet up o look a 8v engine, but very reliable more reliable than the 16v by a long chalk and they go forever.