Faults:

Cam belt sensor.

Small amount of play in the steering wheel.

When applying hand brake, car drops forward/backward a little if on a hill.

General Comments:

I think the styling for a family car is very sleek.

It handles better than my wife's Mazda 626.

Acceleration is above average.

I just bought 6 internal doors and all fitted inside the car.

The ride is very smooth.

Faults:

Intermittent electrical fault.

General Comments:

I've always loved the look of the Vectra. The flowing lines from the bonnet to the wing mirrors and it's imposing stance from the front make it a great looking car.

It handles like a family saloon but does have a fair spring to it's step if you drive it right. Don't chuck it into corners like a hot hatch and it will behave beautifully.

Engine is smooth, even at the moderate mileage I picked it up at, and is capable of revving high with no discernible hiccups. I'm no "boy racer" but I like a car that can take a heavy foot without giving a sense that the engine is about to let go.

The electrical fault is a little annoying but I have every confidence that the dealer that sold it to me, replete with warranty will get it sorted.

The dash display of radio/time/temp/etc information suffers a common problem of dropping lines in the display, this is obviously a dodgy connection and doesn't detract from owning the car at all.

Faults:

* Water seeps in in between the windscreen laminate; gives a misty appearance which you can't fix unless you replace the entire screen.

* Water leak through the rear screen seal at the offside bottom corner, nicely filling the boot up.

General Comments:

Good points:

The lowered and up-rated suspension on this model (Super Touring, only 500 made) should have been standard on all the Vectra's as it certainly sorts out the well known standard Vectra handling problems.

Also quite impressed by the smoothness of the car.

Bad points:

Poor performance for a sporty limited edition car.

Driving position not great and the front seats have no support whatsoever for excited driving.

No good for motorway driving if you like to move along a bit, ie. 90mph+ as the revs are way too high (4500rpm @ 100mph) and it guzzles fuel like no tomorrow. I never did manage to get 400 miles to a 60 litre tank even using my steadiest driving skills!

Still haven't found a suitable Vauxhall replacement for my ultra-reliable 223K Nova GTE!!

Faults:

Since reaching the 50,000 mile reading on the speedometer, the engine has become completely unreliable at tick-over speed.

This turns the car into a death trap when approaching hair-pin bends, because the power steering and power brakes cease to operate when the engine cuts out.

Vauxhall/Opel say this is not a "Known Fault" and I am just an unlucky owner.

Every time the car goes back for the fault to be repaired, it costs a couple of hundred pounds for new sensors, but, the problem remains.

I would love to know if anyone has got to the root of this problem.

General Comments:

This is a well designed car with, in my opinion three poor aspects.

The rear view mirrors are too small to be safe, but, look great from outside the car!

The boot opening is restricted, again to improve the looks of the car.

The engines seem incapable of ticking over properly as soon as a few thousand mile are up on the clock.