You might think it a little odd that Vauxhall is about to change to change the name of its upper medium car from Vectra to Insignia.
But the truth is that the Vectra has had a hard time of it, up against the likes of the Ford Mondeo. Living in the shadow of the Mondeo has not been easy for the Vectra so Vauxhall has pushed through its replacement, doing so by delaying the car that will breathe new life into the upper echelons of the Saab range as substitute for the current 9-5.
The Vectra wasn’t helped because it failed to avoid the venom of Jeremy Clarkson. The fat and curly one, who fronts a vacuous television ego trip about its presenters rather than cars, is reckoned to have cost Vauxhall millions when his review in a Sunday newspaper made the car sound so bad he wrote about bird watching instead.
Now I’ve driven some pretty dreadful cars in my time, many of them the Next Big Thing to save British Leyland, but the Vectra has never been bad since 1996. In its first year, 1995, it truly was dreadful but a hasty rework of the suspension saw it become a more than half decent car.
My mate Paul might disagree, though. He owned a 2001 Y plate Vectra 2.2 petrol which self destructed its engine at 51,000 miles due to a problem so common that Vauxhall supplies a kit of parts to correct it. The repair cost him the thick end of a grand for the bits and then he had to have them fitted. Moral is to avoid the 2.2. The experience did not put him off Vauxhalls, though. When the car was fit and healthy once more he chopped it for a six month old example of the latest Astra instead
There are other, decent engines lurking under Vectra bonnets and the latest I’ve sampled is the superb Fiat-sourced 1.9 litre diesel unit in a five door hatch. Its performance was pretty sparkling but it also did well in excess of 40 mpg. Spot on. There’s a huge choice of other petrol and oil-burning units to suit all tastes.
The same can be said for trim. You can have basic, luxurious, or any permutation in between. Body styles embrace five door hatch, the most popular, the four door saloon that’s not really to UK tastes, and the huge estate, which has extra length built in. The latter would be my choice.
Vectras make a very good alternative to a new car as late plate cars are a bargain. It will get even better as the new Insignia comes on stream and dealers ditch demonstrators at the same time as the car conscious types move over to the latest model.
If a late plate car is what you fancy, bear in mind that some outlets sell right hand drive Opels masquerading as Vauxhalls in the ads but wearing an Opel badge when you get there. These will be difficult to shift later on and are best avoided. Go for a nearly-new UK-sourced car instead, most likely through a Vauxhall dealer.
Latest Vectras have service intervals of up to 30,000 miles or two years on the diesels, 20,000 miles or two years on the petrols. Earlier Vectras need attention every 10,000 miles, still not an onerous task. They will wear high miles well, but check for service history. Insurance starts at Group 6.
Vectras on a W plate are down to £2,000 but you can get a three year old 05 plate car for £6,000. In 2005 there was a major facelift that brought engineering changes for the 2006 model year and these cars are better still. At £9,300, an 06 Design five door with the superb Fiat 1.9 litre diesel engine is a steal. It listed at more than £18,700 just two years ago although it’s doubtful if anyone actually paid that for it.
Maurice Hardy
TIME TO VALUE THOSE BARGAIN VECTRAS
