Are Vauxhall/Opel making a comeback?
Discussion
My experience with Vauxhalls were only with two cars.
The first was a 1994 Cavalier 1.7TDi. It was a pool car for a Chartered Surveyors based in Harley Street. I gobs job there as a property referencer back in 1999 travelling up and down the country measuring all sort of properties, hence it became my company car for 6 months. I found it quite capable on the motorways more so than the Volvo 340 I had at the time. It was reliable too.
A few years later in 2003 I was working for a consultancy in Leeds. They gave me a 2002 Vauxhall Vectra 2.2DTi saloon. It was awful. It was maroon with pensioner beige cloth seats. It had a habit of going into limp mode often with injector and sensor issues. It was a hateful thing.
I haven’t been near a Vauxhall since. I’m not keen on the PSA models the “styling” just looks too fussy but then many other makes and models have gone down the route of pointless creases and odd mixes on lines. This is from someone who likes owning and 1990 Audi 80 and 1999 Passat - not exactly head turners. If anything quite bland, but looking back they aged well compared to more fussy designs that become dated very quickly. In a way I also quite likes the understated look of the 1994 Cavalier I drove. The latest Vauxhalls I think are overstyled - they have tried too hard, as with a lot of other makes and models, Japanese especially with an ever increasing range of pointless edges and creases and awkward lines.
The first was a 1994 Cavalier 1.7TDi. It was a pool car for a Chartered Surveyors based in Harley Street. I gobs job there as a property referencer back in 1999 travelling up and down the country measuring all sort of properties, hence it became my company car for 6 months. I found it quite capable on the motorways more so than the Volvo 340 I had at the time. It was reliable too.
A few years later in 2003 I was working for a consultancy in Leeds. They gave me a 2002 Vauxhall Vectra 2.2DTi saloon. It was awful. It was maroon with pensioner beige cloth seats. It had a habit of going into limp mode often with injector and sensor issues. It was a hateful thing.
I haven’t been near a Vauxhall since. I’m not keen on the PSA models the “styling” just looks too fussy but then many other makes and models have gone down the route of pointless creases and odd mixes on lines. This is from someone who likes owning and 1990 Audi 80 and 1999 Passat - not exactly head turners. If anything quite bland, but looking back they aged well compared to more fussy designs that become dated very quickly. In a way I also quite likes the understated look of the 1994 Cavalier I drove. The latest Vauxhalls I think are overstyled - they have tried too hard, as with a lot of other makes and models, Japanese especially with an ever increasing range of pointless edges and creases and awkward lines.
In my life, I have had many cars and of those have had a Viva 1800, Chevette, Astra Mk II and Astra GTE 16v. OK cars despite my dream car once being the droop snoot Firenza which I still covet.
On holiday in 2017, I was unexpectedly assigned an Insignia B but it was auto and I think the 1.4. Surprisingly good car though so, in 2018, I was looking for a newish car to replace a line of Ford Fiesta STs and tried an i30N, a Superb 280 Sportline and my current Insignia B which has the 197PS 1.6 engine and the body addenda and 20" wheels. I chose it for the space, comfort, spec and the looks and it's far more distinctive than the sea of Audi's and BMWs that all look the same.
Overall, it remains a very good choice, handles fairly well, enough performance, comfortable.
It still stands out in the Vauxhall range though. I am just not a fan of most Vauxhall styling especially those pseudo pram hoods they have. The new Mokka looks a bit radical but isn't going to age well IMHO. On the other hand, to be fair, Ford and BMW and Mercedes styling has all gone to pot and I think Peugeot are the current winners in the style department.
Overall, I think people are far less blinded by the so called German premium brands, many of which are just the same cars over different brands. The impress the neighbours thing no longer applies as everyone has one and I think people, post-Covid actually want a bit of value for money.
On holiday in 2017, I was unexpectedly assigned an Insignia B but it was auto and I think the 1.4. Surprisingly good car though so, in 2018, I was looking for a newish car to replace a line of Ford Fiesta STs and tried an i30N, a Superb 280 Sportline and my current Insignia B which has the 197PS 1.6 engine and the body addenda and 20" wheels. I chose it for the space, comfort, spec and the looks and it's far more distinctive than the sea of Audi's and BMWs that all look the same.
Overall, it remains a very good choice, handles fairly well, enough performance, comfortable.
It still stands out in the Vauxhall range though. I am just not a fan of most Vauxhall styling especially those pseudo pram hoods they have. The new Mokka looks a bit radical but isn't going to age well IMHO. On the other hand, to be fair, Ford and BMW and Mercedes styling has all gone to pot and I think Peugeot are the current winners in the style department.
Overall, I think people are far less blinded by the so called German premium brands, many of which are just the same cars over different brands. The impress the neighbours thing no longer applies as everyone has one and I think people, post-Covid actually want a bit of value for money.
Edited by LuS1fer on Sunday 16th January 00:06
Davie said:
Silverbullet767 said:
Vauxhall's to me are the automotive equivalent of a beige sofa, comfy, bland and boring. I really think anyone who has a Vauxhall Corsa just asked for a car at a dealership and didn't bother driving anything else. This'll do. This is a car.
Which actually represents the thought process of a rather large chunk of buyers out there... yes, it's a car, it'll save me getting the bus.. fine. Not everybody needs or wants more and given Vauxhall had a huge network, garage in every town sort of thing then these type of buyers would probably rather pop in to their local garage and by white good then bother going off to the big city to look at something more dynamic and stylish. Granted this is probably more reflective of say 10 to 20 years ago but old habits die hard if you're not a car person and can't be arsed car shopping. As for the clutch comment, I tend to agree. There are many modern cars that I have driven where the clutch and gearshift feel very disconnected. Most modern cars are optimised for automatic transmissions, so to be honest on most non driver-oriented cars, automatic would probably be my choice these days.
Opels(Vauxhalls) in my part of the world and especially this time of the year are normally steamed up whilst parked outside supermarkets. Being driven badly by people over the limit or generally just crunching around our back lanes with slightly intoxicated drivers. Maybe they all have some sort of inherent design issue with their hvac system but once you have noticed they are mostly steamed up in winter you can’t unsee it.
Wacky Racer said:
I thought the same thing. I had a new Astra a few years ago, and it was a nice steer. Not race car nice, but solidly dependable 90mph/40mpg all day long, comfy seats and solid with compliant suspension across all road types nice. I was actually tempted to look closer at the new Astra until I carried on reading Features & Specifications: 
Vauxhall said:
Intelli-Drive 1.0 integrates Lane Positioning Assist (LPA), which gently corrects steering to help you stay between the lanes.... Intelli-Drive 2.012 is our most advanced assistance technologies working together to make the new Astra the safest and most relaxing driving experience we’ve ever built. The system integrates multiple features, including Curve Speed Adaptation (CSA) which calculates and adapts Astra’s acceleration during high-speed bends. Advanced Intelligent Speed Adaptation (A-ISA) monitors road signs and offers to slow down or speed up accordingly - it even compensates for weather conditions. And Semi-Automated Lane Change (SALC) detects when you’re switching lanes and can steer for you.
For the demographic this appeals to - kindly place your license in a shredder and just get the bus. You can be pretty sure those systems won't be disable once and they stay off, either. I think we're rapidly approaching the time I'm going to start shopping second hand for something older.
rainmakerraw said:
For the demographic this appeals to - kindly place your license in a shredder and just get the bus. You can be pretty sure those systems won't be disable once and they stay off, either. I think we're rapidly approaching the time I'm going to start shopping second hand for something older.
rainmakerraw said:
Wacky Racer said:
I thought the same thing. I had a new Astra a few years ago, and it was a nice steer. Not race car nice, but solidly dependable 90mph/40mpg all day long, comfy seats and solid with compliant suspension across all road types nice. I was actually tempted to look closer at the new Astra until I carried on reading Features & Specifications: Vauxhall said:
Intelli-Drive 1.0 integrates Lane Positioning Assist (LPA), which gently corrects steering to help you stay between the lanes.... Intelli-Drive 2.012 is our most advanced assistance technologies working together to make the new Astra the safest and most relaxing driving experience we’ve ever built. The system integrates multiple features, including Curve Speed Adaptation (CSA) which calculates and adapts Astra’s acceleration during high-speed bends. Advanced Intelligent Speed Adaptation (A-ISA) monitors road signs and offers to slow down or speed up accordingly - it even compensates for weather conditions. And Semi-Automated Lane Change (SALC) detects when you’re switching lanes and can steer for you.
For the demographic this appeals to - kindly place your license in a shredder and just get the bus. You can be pretty sure those systems won't be disable once and they stay off, either. I think we're rapidly approaching the time I'm going to start shopping second hand for something older.
On the steamed up interior point, my Insignia developed a swimming pool in the spare wheel well which surged into the back seat on braking. That was fixed under warranty so it no longer has any such issue but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.
Some people simply hate them because it doesn't fit in with the PH narrative that we should all be driving 911's and anything below that is dog s
t.
I had a 2006 astra some years ago, was only a 1.4, cheap and cheerful as it needed to be as we had just had a baby and expensive to run cars were out the question, never let me down, started first time every time, cheap to insure/fuel/tax etc, what more do you want from a car that's meant for nothing more than getting you from A to B?
t.I had a 2006 astra some years ago, was only a 1.4, cheap and cheerful as it needed to be as we had just had a baby and expensive to run cars were out the question, never let me down, started first time every time, cheap to insure/fuel/tax etc, what more do you want from a car that's meant for nothing more than getting you from A to B?
James_33 said:
Some people simply hate them because it doesn't fit in with the PH narrative that we should all be driving 911's and anything below that is dog st.
I had a 2006 astra some years ago, was only a 1.4, cheap and cheerful as it needed to be as we had just had a baby and expensive to run cars were out the question, never let me down, started first time every time, cheap to insure/fuel/tax etc, what more do you want from a car that's meant for nothing more than getting you from A to B?
Any problems with bore-scoring or IMS? t.I had a 2006 astra some years ago, was only a 1.4, cheap and cheerful as it needed to be as we had just had a baby and expensive to run cars were out the question, never let me down, started first time every time, cheap to insure/fuel/tax etc, what more do you want from a car that's meant for nothing more than getting you from A to B?
Evanivitch said:
Are you sure you've driven anything made in the last 5 years? These are pretty much standard safety features today.
2019 BMW X2 xDrive 20i Sport - no such nonsense2016 Skoda Superb 2.0 TSI 220 - no such nonsense
2015 Mazda 6 2.0 SkyActiv - no such nonsense
My wife did have a 2018 S-Max with lane departure warning but you could permanently turn it off, which I did. Certainly nothing involving cutting the throttle you applied on bends or steering lanes for you.
LuS1fer said:
Most new cars have Lane Assist. Vauxhall kindly provide a physical button in front of the gearlever to turn it off which is the first thing I do.
Does it stay off, or is it 'per start'? Silverbullet767 said:
Vauxhall's to me are the automotive equivalent of a beige sofa, comfy, bland and boring. I really think anyone who has a Vauxhall Corsa just asked for a car at a dealership and didn't bother driving anything else. This'll do. This is a car.
This is probably correct for a lot of people, but I would say it's true of a lot of cars. I doubt anyone aspires to own a non-sporty model of Renault or Kia one day. I used to work with a guy who was always banging on to anyone who would listen about how s
t Vauxhalls were... He drove a Ford Fiesta. James_33 said:
Some people simply hate them because it doesn't fit in with the PH narrative that we should all be driving 911's and anything below that is dog st.
I think Jeremy Clarkson bits on Top Gear feature heavily in some peoples' opinion of Vauxhall cars.t.Having had a Mondeo ST220 and a Vectra 2.8T I'm in the position to be able to say they both handled like FWD family cars with torquey heavy engines would be expected to handle. But only one of those cars gets slammed for understeering when the accelerator is floored with TC disabled, with substantial steering lock applied.
rainmakerraw said:
Does it stay off, or is it 'per start'?
Default is on so you have to turn it off every time.Sadly, this sort of crap boosts the NCAP scores which is ironic because on the occasions I forget, I find it intrusive and borderline dangerous as it fights you if you cross a white line without indicating.
s m said:
James_33 said:
Some people simply hate them because it doesn't fit in with the PH narrative that we should all be driving 911's and anything below that is dog st.
I had a 2006 astra some years ago, was only a 1.4, cheap and cheerful as it needed to be as we had just had a baby and expensive to run cars were out the question, never let me down, started first time every time, cheap to insure/fuel/tax etc, what more do you want from a car that's meant for nothing more than getting you from A to B?
Any problems with bore-scoring or IMS? t.I had a 2006 astra some years ago, was only a 1.4, cheap and cheerful as it needed to be as we had just had a baby and expensive to run cars were out the question, never let me down, started first time every time, cheap to insure/fuel/tax etc, what more do you want from a car that's meant for nothing more than getting you from A to B?
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