Autocar - News and reviews from the original car experts

Road Test

Vauxhall Vectra 1.9 CDTi 16v Club

Test date 21 April 2006  Price as tested £17,980

Vauxhall must often wonder what the Vectra has done to deserve it. Born to stinging criticism from us and unforgettable antipathy from Jeremy Clarkson, it’s the car that’s gone from generation to generation never being quite as good, and rarely selling as strongly, as the Ford Mondeo. And now it sits in a segment shrinking faster than a mohair sweater in the boil wash. Of all the cars on the market, large, mass-produced saloons are probably least fashionable of all. Against a backdrop like this, can the Vectra hope to make a case for itself? At least no-one who has made up their mind that they want a Vectra is going to struggle to find one to suit their needs. There are hatchbacks, saloons and estates, four petrol and three diesel engines and - count ‘em - six trim levels. That’s all before you factor in its weird Signum derivative. The possible permutations are absolutely mind boggling. We’ve elected to focus on the sensible side of things, in the form of the mid-spec £17,835 1.9 CDTi 16v Club saloon, with the more powerful (148bhp) of the two 1.9-litre diesel engines. It’s already received its major mid-life update in 2005 and has been entirely restyled with mixed results from the windscreen forward. Beneath the skin, however, lies General Motors’ ubiquitous Epsilon platform, used not only in Vauxhall and Opel products but also for cars as diverse as the Saab 9-3, Cadillac BLS, Chevy Malibu and Fiat Croma. Like all these cars, this means the Vectra carries strut-type front suspension and a multi-link rear end. The 2005 revisions were not merely cosmetic, but focused on a perceived need to improve the Vectra’s driver appeal too, with changes being brought to the suspension and steering and a specific set-up being adopted exclusively for UK roads.

Your Say

Start the discussion

Car reviews home  |  Next page

---