As a new buy, the Antara is on a par with many similar alternatives, but it’s not as good and so seems expensive. That said, even the base model is well specified with all the equipment you should need.

It should hold its value well, but is let down on the road tax front where the petrol attracts the top rate, while the diesel falls into the group below, which is still pricey.

Vauxhall parts and servicing are good value and it’s reasonable to insure. For the best Vauxhall Antara running costs the diesel offers the best fuel consumption but it is average at mid-40s when compared to its rivals, though is acceptable for a vehicle of this size.

From 2011 fuel consumption was improved thanks to new engines. The 161bhp engine in two-wheel manual guise is the best performer achieving 46.3mpg while the four-wheel drive 181bhp option returns a claimed 44.1mpg in manual for or 35.8 with the automatic ’box.

The Antara performs fairly badly on the eco front,especially when compared to some of its direct rivals though things improved dramatically on with the changes in 2011.

Vauxhall Antara emissions dropped from 196g/km on the previous diesel engine to 160g/km on the 161bhp with two-wheel drive and 170g/km with all-wheel drive. However, this is still some way off its competitors.

The Antara is the sister car of the Chevrolet Captiva and both are built in Korea (Chevrolet became the new name for Daewoo in the UK in 2005 and both cars are built in the Korean Daewoo factory). Build quality is good so Vauxhall Antara reliability should be pretty good.