1983 Vauxhall Nova Swing 1.0 from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Good value first car
Faults:
Absolutely nothing.
General Comments:
Good points:
This is a great first car, the insurance is very reasonable, and mine does about 100 miles on £10.
All things considered, the performance is good; it holds its own against similar hatches up to about 1.2
1st gear 0-12mph
2nd gear 12-30mph
3rd gear 30-50mph
4th gear 50-90mph
The gear ratios described above are certainly not thrashing it, but you don't want to try much harder on a 19 year old car. ;o)
Bad points:
Uncomfortable to drive for anyone approaching 6ft, as the clutch is high and the seats do not go back far enough.
Even though it's a 1.0, it still attracts the Nova reputation, so expect to be hassled occasionally by other road users.
Turning circle is not that great.
At high speeds, the suspension feels soft, and the thin wheels do not give enough grip (especially in the wet), but drive sensibly and it's fine (the standard wheels have enough space to allow you to fit slightly wider tires without any trouble).
Noisy on motorways.
No space for door speakers. You can get around this by visiting www.quadconversions.com and buying some custom door pods for around £130; you can fit up to 6" of speaker into the doors with these pods.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 16th November, 2002
10th Jul 2003, 18:07
I am 6' 7" tall and have an SRi Nova, and its no problem for me to fit in it, the clutch isn't too high for me. And you can fit speakers without the pods, I have the Sony 13cm DD in mine.