19th Jun 2015, 09:24
As people have been saying, this car is the best. I knew someone who worked on Senator's whilst in the police, he said to this day officers say it was the best pursuit car. Sure modern cars have come a along way in terms of fuel consumption improvement, but this car was perfect in its day for performance and all round ability. Interestingly, the rival car, the Ford Granada Cosworth, also a great car, was more popular with civilians, but not as popular a car in the police force.
29th Jul 2015, 11:13
This car can do no wrong it seems. I know a mate of mine who had one and a Carlton before that. He then got an Omega, which unfortunately wasn't as reliable. He recently bought an Insignia, as it's the closest thing to a Senator that Vauxhall make nowadays. I wonder how good it will be in the long run. I bet the Senator still proves to be twice the car.
24th Sep 2015, 11:47
The Senator was the best - classy, executive, luxurious and fast. Apparently it was a good seller, and so was the Omega that replaced it, so God only knows why there wasn't a direct replacement model for this car, when clearly the amount of BMW, Mercedes and Audis about, shows the market for big exec saloons still exists. I'd buy one if Vauxhall made them again.
As for the Insignia, from what I heard it's a good car, and I guess Vauxhall feel it covers the large family/executive market enough.
10th Nov 2015, 12:41
It's easier to keep an older car nowadays, what with help via the Internet and so on for parts and such. If Vauxhall did make this car again however, it would not be half as good. It would weigh almost double, and the top model would be a diesel, strangled to death with filters and fancy electronics, and it would therefore have modern car electronic problems in the long run.
Best advice - keep these 80s/90s icons on the road as long as you can!
12th Jun 2015, 09:23
I second this review and comment, it's good to hear people still talking about this car after all these years. I had a look for one years ago, but ended up getting an Omega, also a nice car, but not quite as reliable as the Carlton/Senator. A common misconception is that white manual transmission ex police cars are looked after - they are serviced on time, yes, but many have lead hard lives in pursuit. Best find a mint non police car in a nice colour, black or dark blue/red. You just don't see these cars on the road any more, or any car with character for that matter, it's a shame. Good luck finding a nice one those who are looking. There is a club called Autobahnstormers and they are probably your best bet for parts/cars.