1994 Vauxhall Cavalier GLS 1.7 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Rear shocks went in 6 months - replaced under warranty. Outside temp sensor under front wing knackered in 2 years - replacement £20+. Assortment of blown bulbs (a Vauxhall trait). Engine & fuel system very robust. Brakes need attention every 6k or so - make sure your mechanic doesn't overtighten rear drums! GLS better sound insulated and less booms and rattles than cheaper versions.

General Comments:

Lacks image and street-clad, sure, but reliable and fairly cheap to maintain and economical (44mpg over 30k). Going soon in part ex for a Vectra TDi. Worth putting in Miller's semi-synthetic oil and dieselclean, esp before MOT. Fast blast down motorway now again cleans up exhaust and gunge. In short, a sensible car for a family motorist. Sorry to see it go.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th January, 1998

1994 Vauxhall Cavalier GLS 2.0 8v petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

While attempting a solo jump-start of another car with a VERY flat battery, the extra load on the unmanned Cavlier caused it to stall, and simultaneously operated the central locking as the voltage dropped, locking me out, with the keys still in the ignition. Ooops! Entry obtained by firmly striking a certain point on the car. This has obvious security implications!

General Comments:

What's good? - Excellent performance/economy compromise, (37+mpg at 70 mph, quicker than typical rep car).

What's not so good? - Horrible steering, stodgy handling, soggy ride, no ABS on this one. Clueless Vauxhall dealers.

Overall? - Ideal cure for insomnia, but I can see why both reps and fleet managers loved them. Ideal for anyone with no real interest in cars or driving, just getting from A to B cheaply and reliably.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd November, 1997

1994 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi 2.0 16v petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Network Q car, with FSH, and 24K miles at purchase.

Intermittent brake sensors at 24k.

New radiator at 26k (Poor build quality).

Camshaft sensor for engine management packed up at 27k and 29k. Sorted but required new cambelt too.

Door locks were all different (car had been broken into at some time) - not picked up by the Network-Q 114 point check!

During the camshaft sensor fixing, Vauxhall dealer scratched door to metal. Fixed free of charge.

Outside temperature sensor packed up. Seems very common fault.

General Comments:

Nov 94 car. Pretty looking with plastic sill extensions. Better looking than 16V GLS/CD's.

Close ratio gearbox. 1st too low, 5th too low as well, overtaking in 5th good, but rev's too high at 70mph.

Ride hard, handling not great, rear end very twitchy round bumpy corners. A Calibra handles MUCH better.

Body roll around roundabouts and motorway exits seems excessive for a sporty car.

Engine noise seems high.

Wet roads mean front wheels spin, even for slow controlled starts, all round disk brakes seem dead.

Leg room in rear particularly good for tall adults.

Good for motorways, fuel consumption good. Nice comfy interior.

16 valve SRi's seem rare (Far better than 8v SRi with plastic wheel trims). Make sure car has good alloys (6 spokers) and has decent make tyres. Overall a reasonable 'family' sporty car. Make sure its got a full service history.

(If you want a sporty car, go for a Calibra, its MUCH more fun to drive, but obviously not practical, BUT it holds its value much better)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd November, 1997

18th Apr 2001, 08:39

One other thing, Don't worry about the REV's being too high at 70mph. At 70mph, you are doing around 3,000rpm. These engines will continuously REV at 6,500 BUT DON'T TAKE IT ANY FURTHER. Only thing that will happen if you do will be valve bounce which just about destroys the engine. Again, easily overcome with a low-life cam shaft mod which prevents the valves from opening quite so wide. In turn, the engine can rev well beyond 8,000 and inclusive 9,000 depending on the spec of the cams bought. You will lose power up to 2,500rpm but this can be cured by a superchip mod.

If you want to bring the revs down, put bigger tyres on the car. Only prob with that, is you don't know the exact speed of the car as the clock may say 30mph but infact you are doing 37mph.

Hey I can give you useless info on any vauxhall - all day long. I have done quite a few mods to mine but I am leaving the standard shell alone. Let people think it is a standard SRI until they try to prove different, THEN LOSE BADLY!!!

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