26th Feb 2002, 14:14
Just HAD to add my thoughts regarding my 1997 2.0Di LS Vectra saloon!:
Fuel economy: 54mpg=marvelous!
Looks: Quite nice in `titanium` gold
Comfort: not bad for most journeys
Reliability: Absolute CRAP!!! - I have spent £200 on injector seal replacement at only 74k (FSH), the car is still not happy with causing me that grief, has been flashing the engine management light at me erratically ever since, and I have been told that `the software` is picking up air in the fuel pump, which is now slightly worn due to the seal problem (but still runs OK) - BUT... wait for it... the ONLY cure is to REPLACE the fuel pump costing £1,500!!! -FORGET THAT!!- I am now trading it in, and will NEVER buy another Vauxhall because the management system is badly thought out, and very unreliable as other people have now said since.
The question is, WHY change the electrics/mechanics of the renowned Cavalier? It was the reason I bought the bloody Vectra (which I have now owned for only 6 months!)
28th Feb 2002, 14:33
We have had four VV's, no real problems, never broken down touch wood. Had a V6, very nice indeed, all the extras, everything worked, but then the longest we ever kept one was 3 years.
Don't be so bloody cynical or everyone in Luton will be after you when they stop building them.. 2.2 engine whips ass, handling is not as bad as you make out, stop trying to be Clarkson and get a life.
27th May 2002, 05:12
What can I say, I was looking on the web for a solution to the faults I'm having with My Vectra 1.8 LS arctic 1997 bought from a dealership 2 WEEKS AGO..
Keeps cutting out at corners etc, dangerous because of loss of power steering etc... what a shed. NEVER NEVER buy another Vauxhall.
14th Sep 2002, 17:16
I have a Vectra Artic 2 and although it has been reliable it is a very uncomfortable car to drive, it took me ages to find a comfortable seating position. I also find it lumpy to pull away and the gear change notchy.
20th Sep 2002, 08:58
"the handling is not as bad as you make out". Er, okay. Do yourself a favour and borrow a Ford Mondeo, Peugeot 406 or Citroen Xantia. Then you will see just how wide of the mark it is. Unless you never push the car in corners, or aren't bothered about fun in which case it is probably adequate.
Although there is absolutely no excuse for such dreadful reliability in this day and age, I can accept that in isolation, the Vectra is probably fairly OK. Although it almost crippled me, it goes, stops and steers smoothly and quietly which is exactly what a car should do, and it IS a great motorway cruiser (as I acknowledged in my review). But that is all it does. It's like the kid in school that everyone knew should have got straight A's, but made do with C's rather than make any effort to excel. It meets standards rather than making any effort to exceed them. It's an appliance.
And I'm not trying to be Clarkson. I would just hate for people to be suckered by the (rightly) excellent Vauxhall name and end up with this horrible pile of crap which IS bettered significantly by any rival. The fact that the company car market has collapsed and Vauxhall hurried out the replacement says exactly who it relied on to buy the things in droves. Private buyers spending their own money flocked elsewhere, and that is fact.
16th Nov 2002, 21:29
Re the previous comment I put my car in for service May 02 at 50,000 to a Vauxhall dealer who drew my attention to the revised schedule for timing belt replacement so it looks like failure was your dealer rather than Vauxhall.
3rd May 2003, 11:23
Vectra 2.2 SRI 150, This car is superb in every way, it will cruise all day at 120mph no probs, I treat this car with a lot of respect and it seems to repay me with reliability, so am I doing something wrong? I never park in one space next to other cars if I can help it,i drive down nearer the end of the car park away from the idiots who open their doors without giving a sugar about your motor. I change the oil and filter even between vauxhall main services i. e every 6 months, so why is my engine so reliable? I don't know. I don't park right by a curb and and scuff the alloys, I park with care and save the alloys, thus they still look mint. This car gives me between 36-40 mpg which I think is superb. I got rid of my Renault 19 16v which was extremely quick considering it had 135000 when I got shut of it. I changed the oil on this religiously and the engine NEVER let me down, but everything around it did from time to time, but this 2.2 seems bulletproof and even has chain driven camshafts, so you lot out their, spend a little bit more and get quality rather than your 1.8 LS rubbish and maybe you will have a few nicer things to say...P.S this motor looks as wicked from behind as my old 16v Renault.
Remember 2.2 150 "ITS WICKED"
25th May 2003, 17:27
Help! Recently acquired Vectra 2.0DI and am at wits end. Seems to have problem starting from cold and can't suss out if this is due to engine managment system or fuel system problem. any ideas? Or should I keep on expleting as I spend about 5-10 minutes turning the engine over until it reluctantly fires over? Think the grease monkeys will draw in breath between teeth sharply and offer to bankrupt me for this one!
5th Jun 2003, 16:43
Most cold start problems on diesels, assuming they just occur when the engine is cold, are down to duff glow plugs. A tell tale sign is reluctant starting when it does eventually fire up, accompanied by a cloud of crap out the exhaust.
7th Jun 2003, 17:43
I am reluctantly becoming a VV hater myself:- I liked my 2.0 LS Automatic at first, although it took a while to get used to the understeering. But, in common with above comments, the engine kept cutting out, with dangerous loss of powered steering, and yellow light coming on. Eventually refused to start having stalled. Took it to AA centre, they replaced the I-A valve: same thing happened. Replaced crank shaft sensors - drives better, but now won't start. Now it seems the starter motor is knackered. This is turning into a depressing and expensive saga.
11th Sep 2003, 03:49
Hi everybody, Thought I'd try something positive, I'm on my third Vectra, had one since they first came out, company 16LS, company 18SRi, and now my own 2.5V6 CDX with SRi trim. Apart from a few little problems with trim and timers on the first ones, I have to say I can't fault them. Looks great, thousands of motorway miles, and hundreds of hours in the car with no comfort problems. OK, sure it's a mass produced company fleet car, but it does what it says on the packet as far as I'm concerned. Goodness knows how you lot drive on the public roads, and I thought I was a lunatic, but the handling has always seemed pretty good to me. Perhaps I really ought to get out more!
23rd Jan 2002, 14:48
Agree on the Cavaliers. I've had a mk2 and a mk3 and loved both of them. The mk2 especially - lovely engine and quite sporting handling as long as you didn't push it to the absolute limit. In any case, it was a much more pleasant car to drive than the heap of junk I ranted about in the review above. Also had an Astra and that was good as well.
I reckon the mk2 Cavalier is 10 times the car that the Vectra is, with the mk3 only slightly behind the mk2.
Obviously the R&D team blew the Vectra development budget in the nearest boozer! I don't know how else to explain how a company with such a reputation for solid build and engineering quality could get it so wrong.