1995 Vauxhall Tigra 1.6i 16v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Don't buy one if you want a sports coupe, but do buy one if you want some light hearted fun

Faults:

Engine management light has come on twice. Once was a false alarm (no fault found and reset successfully), the other was when the speedo stopped working. This meant that every time I took my foot off the throttle, the engine cut out. This was quickly rectified by my dealer.

Outside temperature sensor stopped working. Fixed free of charge in less than 10 minutes.

Clonking noise when going over bumps such as sleeping policemen was traced to worn rubber bushes.

Dead lock on the driver's door became stiff and eventually failed meaning the alarm could not be set. Rectified by the dealer for about £60.

Mine is in Apache (gold) and the bonnet has suffered quite badly with stone chips taking the paint down to the white primer. Other panels unaffected.

General Comments:

I've had my car for nearly 6 years and have loved every minute. After my previous car (Alfa Romeo Sprint 1.5 Green Cloverleaf) it was so refined! Not as much fun to drive, but a very good compromise between practicality, comfort (unless you're in the back) and convenience/cost of ownership.

Still washes and polishes up well after all these years.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th April, 2001

1995 Vauxhall Tigra Coupe 1.4i from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A brilliant little sporty car - a real head turner

Faults:

Speedo cable snapped 3 times causing the car to stall whilst driving. Dealer fixed this problem free of charge and the problem has not re-occurred in the past 2/3 years.

General Comments:

A brilliant looking car, apart from the speedo cable problem which has now been resolved it has been very reliable. Need to get a new car but don't really want to let this one go, it is a brilliant car at an affordable price. Well I think so anyway.

I find the car very comfortable. Brilliant car for a single person with no kids.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th February, 2001

1995 Vauxhall Tigra 1.6 16v petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Absolute garbage and a waste of money

Faults:

ECU light randomly comes on.

ABS warning light appears sometimes.

Exhaust recirculation valve failed twice.

Anti roll bars are noisy and needed regreasing.

PAS squeaks for a couples of seconds on starting.

Overheats when stationary.

Alarm goes off randomly

Got locked IN on one occasion!

And to cap it all.....

Cambelt disintegrated

General Comments:

Scary, scary car. I've put up with fault after fault on this vehicle and now just want to get rid of it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 29th December, 2000

1995 Vauxhall Tigra 1.6 16v petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Lovely to look at but reliablilty is zero

Faults:

Loses power whilst driving and the engine management light comes on then the car cuts out when you come to a stop. It is then difficult to start, you have to put your foot right down on the accelerator.

Lumpy gear box when cold.

General Comments:

I purchased what I thought would be my dream car in March of this year. It was a private sale so I have no comeback.

A week after purchase the above problem happened. I have spent almost £200 and more than 5 visits to a garage where they cannot find a fault with my car!

I loved my Vauxhall Nova but I have lost any faith I had with Vauxhall, no one seems to want to help me.

I have still have my car and I am in a dilemma as to what to do with it.

Constant driving with this problem has burnt out all the oil and consumes far too much petrol.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 1st December, 2000

5th Feb 2001, 06:53

I bought my Tigra new in 1995 and experienced similar problems for 4 years. Various parts of the car were replaced. The valves had to be continuously cleaned out. They were eventually reamed to make them slightly bigger.

Touch wood - the car has been permorming much better ever since. But I also moved away from the Vauxhall dealer as soon as the warranty ended which also helped.

27th Jun 2001, 07:25

I had a lot of problems with my car for a few months, sounds exactly the same as what happened to you. The garage couldn't even get the emissions right for the MOT. EGR valve was found to be faulty, even though it had already been replaced 10 months earlier. (Very expensive too, luckily the second time it was on warranty.) Once that was fixed it's been fine ever since. You could look into that if you want to. I hated the car until this was fixed.

26th Oct 2007, 16:10

I have a Tigra and a similar fault happened to mine. The engine cut out and the management light always on. Also the speedo didn't work. I spent 2 months swapping parts. Also found fuse blowing all the time.

Until one day just sitting fiddling with the dash. I found a 1p stuck in the lighter!!! That was all it was in the end. Took coin out replaced fuse and all OK.

I've had my Tigra 1.6 2000 now for 1 year. Love every bit of it.