Cavalier GSI... who remembers?..

[D1on]

Anyone remember these?
I have fond memory's as my dad had one..
And they seem to of aged into quite a cool retro car.. and were supposedly rather rapid in their day...

What's peoples opinions?
Anyone had any experience with one?...

http://85.234.145.37/Remote0987632434287ghj/httpi3...

Edited by D1on on Friday 17th May 18:30

[Terminator X]

My BIL owned one + a Cav Turbo after that too! My memory of the GSI is blasting along 5 up at 100mph+, able to cruise at that speed no problem at all.

TX.

PS Linky no worky.

[rumple]

I remember them, they were quite well regarded, what happened to Vauxhall, it dosent matter what they do these days they get slated.

[graeme4130]

There's a 600bhp rear drive one in a vauxhall mag this month. Looks like a handful, but a lot of fun

[Ag51bye]

I literally had a cavalier Sri 16v (pretty much the same mechanically except the rear suspension) until last month.
Great fun car, ran it for 2years, 40mpg on most runs and at the risk of sounding like a dreamer would easily keep pace with BMW 325i and Honda type r's. it surprised a lot of people myself included!

[D1on]

Terminator X said:

My BIL owned one + a Cav Turbo after that too! My memory of the GSI is blasting along 5 up at 100mph+, able to cruise at that speed no problem at all.

TX.

PS Linky no worky.

Fixed

[SooperDan]

Would love to get hold of a GSi 4x4 - I've only seen one on the road ever. Lovely rarity.

[rb5er]

A friends dad has a near mint GSI 4x4 turbo. Quite a rarity but not so reliable these days.

[benjj]

Not a Cav but my father had a Carlton 3000GSi 24v for a bit. Digi dash, super cool

I remember seeing a dash reading of 135mph on the Austrian motorway on our way skiing one year. 4 up with a roofbox, must have been doing about 10mpg!

Great looking car.

It also had the most acccurate miles remaining computer ever. I vividly recall being on the M25 with it showing 3 miles remaining. Dad said it wasn't that accurate.

3.

2.

1.

Ran out.

Heh!

[Terminator X]

rb5er said:

A friends dad has a near mint GSI 4x4 turbo. Quite a rarity but not so reliable these days.

Beware of transfer box, expensive to fix!

TX.

[Grey Ghost]

Had one a long time ago (G627XMF) maroon in colour with beige velour interior.......nicer than it sounds

Great car and I bought it as a repmobile that was 30 months old and had done 61,000 miles so out of warranty on mileage. The car had a full Vauxhall service history, new windscreen and 4 brand new tyres and I ran it for 4 years without it missing a beat.

Surprisingly quick for the day and well worth the experience

[mad4amanda]

great car in its day I had a couple but here's a tip don't fit a boot mounted bike rack on a saloon load it up with mountain bikes and then drive it flat out........ you could get your hand in the boot with it closed under the rear window!

[mikebradford]

when i was a kid, the neighbour had one, brand new in a burgundy colour
loved looking at it.
seemed as upmarket car at the time. he was a bank manager
still i got to use the old mans granada cosworth, so wasnt to bad

[Sir Fergie]

rumple said:

I remember them, they were quite well regarded, what happened to Vauxhall, it dosent matter what they do these days they get slated.

Basically Vauxhall - back in the Cavalier days - particularly the Mark 2 and 3 used make decent cars - which competed well againsed the competition.

Im sure someone will be along to mention that the Cavalier was behind the Mondeo in terms of driver appeal and stuff like that. But the Mk 3 was actually a very good car back in 1988 - a full 5 years before the Mondeo arrived on the scene.

But certainly in 1988 it delivered a very good package to market - lets remember the competition back then - Nissan Bluebird, Rover Montego, Ford Sierra and the Peugeot 405. The Cavalier was able to outshine them all in so many ways

The 405 obviously had a reputation for superior driver appeal - but the Cavalier was probably better put together and more reliable then early 405s. In fairness to Peugeot they did address the issues on early 405s (flat spots on carb models, build quality not as good as it might have been - ref - what car long term test Peugeot 405).

But I can't think of anything a Bluebird, Montego, and Sierra could do better then the Mk 3 cavalier (and I actually like Bluebirds for fks sake).

Fast forward to the present - you've now got the Insignia - up againsed the Skoda Superb, Ford Mondeo, VW Passat, 3 series BMW, Mercedes C Class and co.

The Insignia certainly doesn't compete as well in the market againsed its competition in 2013 when compared to how well the Mk 3 Cavalier competed againsed the competition of the late 80 and early 90s.

That's why Vauxhall get slated - Insignias seem to be very hit and miss in terms of reliability - and how drivers like them or hate them. I know people will say that the 3 series and C class aren't rivals for a Vauxhall - but id point out that in the 2.0 diesel market - especially when leasing is involved - then any 2 litre diesel large saloon or hatch will be competing againsed 2.0 diesel BMWs and 2.1 diesel Mercs - plus Audis obviously.

Sorry for the long winded answer - ive just got a bee in my bonnet about the modern Vauxhall attitude of just producing something that's "good enough". Actually its not just a Vauxhall thing to be fair - but with Vauxhall you think back to stuff like the old Mk 2 and 3 Cavs - and its a lot more noticeable/annoying.

On the OPs original question - I remember the GSI been launched - it was about the time I started out buying car magazines - and one of the things I remember about it was that it had a cat as standard (I think) - rare in 1989. Also I thought the burgundy example they used for the magazine ads was a nice looking thing at the time.

In terms of things to look for - im far from an expert on these - but while ive lauded the Cavalier to high heaven - like most cars they have their issues. The one that springs to mind for me is that they suffer from rust issues - the back arches is a particular area of concern - although they are old car now so youd expect issues.

Sir Fergie

[SWH]

Had a V6 Cavalier for a few years..... quick, thirsty, understeered like a wet badger and overheated in traffic... you know what, it was quite good fun really

[caprirob]

I used to really like that shape Cavalier SRi - they went well, easy to fix, reliable and had fabulous seats.

Shame theres none left really.

[soxboy]

Sir Fergie said:

Good stuff

Also don't forget that the GSi was almost the king of the company car hierarchy, starting from L, GL etc., from a time when there were large fleets which often were subject to a Buy British policy and the German marques were poorly specced rarities.

[pstruck]

I had a G reg Cavalier GSi 2000. Pretty quick car at the time, comfy and reasonably well spec'd. Enjoyed mine. I remember well those quirky twin square tailpipes.

[S3_Graham]

Vajazzle said:

Great cars in the day!

Edited by Vajazzle on Friday 17th May 19:48

Those photo's made me buy both of mine.

Were fab cars, at 18 when all my chums had their new corsa's and fiesta 1.2's I was blasting about in my 2L chavalier!

[Captain Bongo]

Had a K reg Cavalier SRI 8v as my first "proper" car. Was fantastic. Never let me down and felt really quick coming from a 1988 1.1 Escort Poplar. Always lusted after a GSI but wasn't to be.