Vauxhall Vectra Hatchback (1995 - 2002) 2.2 SRi (150ps) 5d (2001/51) Owner Review

What does this car say about you?

'I would dearly love a BMW M3 but am, unfortunately, too poor!'

What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

Mostly people respect it, as the SRi badge sets it apart, in the eyes of even the slightly knowledgable, from the normal vectras/rubbish/fords/french cars/etc/etc/etc. When they find out its a 2.2 they raise eyebrows. Not sure what that actually means.

Would you buy this car again and why?

Hell no. It not that its very uneconomical (30-32 in summer/ driving like an OAP, 28-30 in winter/thrashing it's nuts off) but compared to modern turbo diesels its a bit of a dinosaur. Plus £190 RFL and Ins.Grp 87. I'll have an Astra SRi 1.9 CDTi please.

What are you likely to buy next?

Just.Said.That. I still love my Vectra and will be sad to get rid but cars like this are hard to justify against more stylish, greener, faster modern machines. Sob.

Type of dealer you bought from?

Independent

Did you buy this car new?

No

What price did you pay?

£5,995

When did you buy the car?

March 2005

Did you get a good deal and why?

Ok really. I p/x'd my Seat Toledo although I also rather stupidly bought from a locaton at some distance. This affected my ability to sort out a few problems. One of which being that the garage told me the Air con needed re-gassing when in reality it needed new pipework at a cost of £240.

Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

Vauxhall fan. Wanted, on a tight budget, a family car with balls! Not interested in 'wide-boy' cars or anything modified. Not sure if I strayed wide of the mark.......

What was the dealer like?

A bit behind the times but if you are in the market for a £6k car you should expect that??

What's it like to drive?

like a not-very-impressive turbo. half asleep up to 3500 revs then goes off like a firework right up to 7000revs. can go like stink but you have to gun it ruthlessly to get it's best - not very cool next to modern turbo-diesels for example who blow their beans somewhat effortlessly.

What's it like to park?

no issue. made before the 'letterbox-style-windows' design school kicked in so you can actually see out of this car.

Have you had any problems with the car?

All the common things. Sticking elec.windows. Steering wheel bush. Air-Con pipes. Cat went along with centre section at a total cost of £LOTS but given it was original system after 5years/70000miles can't really grumble.

What's most practical about your car?

Huge boot. general 'all-rounder' capability.

Favourite gadget, option or accessory?

hardly up-to-the-minute technology but the 'range' function on the dash computer is worth gold, especially with the sort of economy this thing turns in! half-leather sports seats are excellent.