VAUXHALL VELOX 3.3

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30858, 17 September 1965, Page 9

VAUXHALL VELOX 3.3

ONE 0 NE of the best features of the latest 3.3 litre Vauxhall Velox i s not so much its excellent performance, as its smooth and effortless manner of achieving it.

The Velox we tested this week had covered fewer than 500 miles, and needed more gentle treatment than usual, but the test showed that this six-cylinder Vauxhall will hold much appeal for a wide range of owners.

The big engines still leaves much empty space under the bonnet and all servicing points are accessible.

Although the Vauxhall’s front doors do not open quite as widely as might be desired, entry and exit are fairly easy. The model tested had the standard three-speed all synchromesh manual transmission, and thus was equipped with a bench front seat. This seat is very comfortable, although occupants need the seat belts to hold them in place during cornering. The seats are reasonably soft while still retaining the underlying firmness necessary for good comfort.

The dash is topped by a padded roll, and on the left is a button that opens the lid of the rather small glovebox. A strip of highly polished panelling stretches across the car, and is responsible for taking some of the space that could have been used for a glove box. However the glove box is supplemented by large map pockets on either side of the front compartment. WHEEL

The driver is confronted by the reasonably-sized steering wheel, which has the centre spoke padded to prevent injury in an accident The wheel is a little too close to the driver in relation to the pedals. The pedals are well spaced and at a good angle, and heel-and-toe operation of brake and accelerator is possible. In front of the driver is a strip speedometer, which changes colour from green to yellow at 30 m.p.h., and from yellow to red at about 60 m.p.h. Below it is a total mileage recorder (with tenths), warning lights for generator and oil pressure, a clearly marked temperature gauge and a fuel gauge.

The knobs which operate the bonnet release (on the passenger’s side), fresh air vents (which supplement the heater ventilation), lights, and variable speed wipers are all clearly marked, and the latter two are shaped differently to permit easy identification by touch. The loud horn is operated by the padded centre spoke or the full horn ring. The controls for the efficient and reasonably quiet heater are sited below the centre of the dash, where both front seat occupants can reach them. The Velox has plenty of leg room in the rear seat, and the

boot, which has a moderately high lip, is large. The spare wheel is under the floor of the boot, which means a puncture will mean emptying the boot.

For an engine of the size of the Velox’s, a 10.8 gallon fuel tank seems rather small. GEARS Even on the very new test car, the gear change was very pleasant and short in its movements, one of the best column changes we have encountered.

The clutch was fairly sudden but very light in action, the brakes reasonably light but a little lacking in feel. In the city the generous torque of the big engine permits the Velox to be very much a top-gear car, and this, coupled with the quick gear change, makes the vehicle very pleasant. The driver can see the extremities of the car at the front, but the rear extremities are very hard to see, which does not aid parking.

Visibility is generally good, the wipers clear a good area of the screen and the wide rear-vision mirror is free from vibration.

The Velox soars up hills with considerable ease, climbing many of them in top gear. Because of the power available the lack of a four-speed gerrbox is not felt, particularly as the synchrcmesh allows free use of first gear. PERFORMANCE

The performance of the Velox is excellent, fast cruising is quiet apart from some wind noise, and acceleration—--0 to 60 m.p.h. time of about 11 seconds—is very good. The flexibility of the big engine is also noteworthy. An easy start can be made in second, and there is sufficient power for the car to accelerate from 40 m.p.h. to 60 m.p.h. in top gear in just over five seconds, a useful feature for overtaking. But the notable thing is that apart from the usual Velox whine in second gear all this is accomplished in comparative quiet and with complete lack of any apparent effort.

Thus although one often appears to be moving quite slowly in the Velox, a glance at the speedometer, even allowing for the slight generosity of the test car’s instrument, shows this is far from correct.

Part of this quietness must be because of the exhaust system: only one pipe comes from the manifold, but under the floor it branches and passes through two separate silencers to two outlets, one on either side of the rear of the car. HANDLING

Both handling and roadholding are good, the former assisted by very light steer-

ing which nonetheless transmits plenty of road feel without shocks. A variable ratio steering box generally prevents the nearly five turns from lock to lock from being an embarrassment.

Side winds have no great effect, and uneven roads do not tend to throw the car off course except when cornering hard, when the live axle sometimes betrays its presence.

An initial slight understeer changes to a neutral steer and fairly quickly to a mild and progressive oversteer: a very safe yet pleasant roadholding characteristic. It is relatively easy to provoke power oversteer in second gear on slower corners.

The Velox always feels very stable and predictable, and runs very well in a straight line. The roll angle when cornering is reasonable. BRAKES

The brakes are adequate. Drums are fitted to all wheels, and during the fade test the pedal went nearer to the floor than normal, the brakes smelled and smoked strongly, and some slight fade was noticeable. However, by the end of the test it was still possible to lock the wheels, although a fairly high pressure was needed.

As usual with Vauxhalls, the handbrake is very efficient.

The Velox, then, is for £1228 (£425 sterling) a roomy and comfortable car with very good performance allied with a commendable lack of fuss. It should make many friends.

TECHNICAL Engine: 6-cylinder, 3293 c.c.; bore, 96.13 mm.: stroke, 82.55 mm. overhead valves. Engine, clutch and gearbox built as one unit and mounted on three rubber insulators. Compression ratio, 8.5 to 1; maximum b.h.p., 128.3 at 4200 r.p.m.; maximum torque, 188.31b/ft. at 2200 r.p.m. Fuel System: Camshaft-driven petrol pump. Down-draught carburettor with automatic choke. Fuel tank capacity, 10.8 Imperial gallons. 3-speed Gearbox (column change): Synchromesh all forward speeds. 4-speed gearbox optional. Overdrive, optional. Fully automatic transmission, optional.

Front Suspension: Independent by unequal wishbone units with coil springs and doubleacting telescopic shock absorbers.

Rear Suspension: Long, wide springs, double-acting telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers.

Brakes: Front, Velox, loin diameter drums; Cresta, 10. Sin diameter discs. Rear, Velox and Cresta, 9in, cast iron drums.

Steering: Recirculating ball; steering wheel diameter, 17in; turning circle diameter, 36ft Sin.