The Vauxhall Frontera turns 30
No question, the early nineties produced some timeless classics worth celebrating. Also, the Frontera
Old Vauxhalls tend to be very well received on PH, especially if they have a GTE, SRI, GSI or VXR badge on their bootlid. To be honest, it can seem like anything with a Griffin on it from the 20th century will get a sizeable audience. So now is definitely the time to put that affection to the test - the Vauxhall Frontera is 30 years old.
First shown to the world at the 1991 Geneva motor show, the Frontera - Spanish for 'border', don't you know - was built in Luton, with "dynamic looks, comfort and handling" outlined as key priorities. It's hard to imagine nowadays, with a new SUV derivative launched every second Tuesday, but conceptually speaking the Frontera was quite innovative back in the early 1990s. This was not long after the first Land Rover Discovery, don't forget.
As well as playing precursor to its modern lineup, its maker calls the Frontera a "trendsetter", which is stretching it a bit given the SUV segment's overwhelming triumph is to seem aspirational, a description that precious few Vauxhalls have ever really earned - least of all its paper mache off-roader. But there sure is a lot of active lifestyling going on in these press pics, from skiing to sailing, which is exactly the leisure dream sold by contemporary SUVs now. And if not a full cabrio in the Evoque or T-Roc sense, then the soft top Frontera previewed an appetite that was about to flourish.
Initially offered only with petrol engines - and becoming Europe's best selling off-roader by 1993 - the Frontera was facelifted in 1998 before going off sale in 2004. In the UK, that meant either a four-cylinder diesel or V6 petrol, and a less memorable look than the original. Perhaps it's just cabin fever talking, but is there something almost appealing about the Frontera's square-jawed ruggedness 30 years on? And wouldn't you know it, despite numbers plummeting in recent years due to its almost total lack of actual ruggedness, there's a Frontera for sale on PH - £4k buys this 2002 diesel with just 62,000 miles. It's utilitarian chic, right?
The surprise was that it lasted until 2004.
However, after one freak snowstorm in Essex in 2010, my 330d was completely stuck. A kind chap in a Frontera stopped and dragged me up a steep hill. So, respect for its 4x4 abilities at least.
I always say you can tell the real value of a 4x4 by how it is used at the end of its life - and these often seemed to be found in rural areas covered in farming detritus, so while they may have been seen as a bit of a joke they clearly had both strength and some ability in the real off road.
I think a car that was maligned because it was fashionable to malign - and when I looked at the photos I remembered a seemingly happy time when these were floating about - ah nostalgia where the grass is green and the sky blue.
(I think maybe lockdown is having strange impacts upon me...)
I actually liked it, it was a 2.0 Sport version in the same blue as the one in the picture. It wasn’t fast, but it wasn’t too slow either. It had good seats unless you were in the back.
My car at the time was an Escort TD LX which I liked too but the Frontera was just something different and represented a new lifestyle combining into vogue.
Where I lived wasn't particularly rural but the 4x4 lock was great in snow etc. Also I had a big dog at the time and there was loads of boot space. Likewise for holidays with the kids, you could load them up with all sorts with a roof box and towing a caravan and still pulled effortlessly. Despite the reputation, I never had a problem with any of them, the first a 2.4 petrol, and the other two 2.2 diesel.
A bit agricultural, and the wife never drove them as she said it felt like a tractor but pretty good spec (heated seats in 1992 seemed luxurious).
So good memories for me.
Anyway, I digress. We windsurfed back then and I thought the Frontera was really cool looking and we even went and test drive one and Dad said it was an utter s
t-box. Back then I didn't really get how a car could look ace but be terrible to drive. I don't think it swung with the old man that it was essentially a worse Isuzu model than the trooper with Vauxhall badges put on. Less cabin space, less boot space, poorer towing capacity and very basic construction.That's probably why they lasted as long as they did, simple construction and cheap as chips parts.
BBC News - Snowdon 4x4 case: Craig Williams jailed for 22 months
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wale...
It was a great driving position, but a terrible driving experience.
It was my first 4x4 & first convertible, although it was a real struggle to remove the rear roof single handed.
Overall my young kids loved it, but it only had four seats, whereas we had three boys, so it was replaced by a seven seater Shogun.
Can’t recall it ever going wrong, but it did leak a bit.
This article certainly makes me feel old now that is for sure, I can't believe it has been 30 years.
Most punters were still happy with the image that Ford and Vauxhall provided, most German stuff was still expensive or poorly equipped and was still considered a strange choice in a lot of cases.
They also had the Calibra, the Tigra appeared around then and they were still doing well in the fleet charts with the Cavalier and Carlton. Oh, and lets not forget the Nova which morphed into the Corsa about then.
The Vitara was mentioned, amazing how so many folk back then wanted a pearlescent pink or white example with a "Fat Boy" kit, essentially very wide wheels and some body extensions, on a short, tall and small off roader, bet they drove really nicely....
BBC News - Snowdon 4x4 case: Craig Williams jailed for 22 months
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wale...
I once saw a battered Frontera towing a (clutch-burning) Freelander(-no low range gears) up The Wayfarer in the Berwyns.
My friend's Dad had a Bedford Midi 4x4 van, which may have been an Isuzu underneath with similar mechanicals and that was quite effective.
I never did get round to buying one though, for some reason
There was one in use at a caravan park where I was a handyman back in the day as a summer job and I drove it a few times. Being used to Focuses and other reasonably well handling cars, I couldn't believe how badly something could drive on the road - it was a SWB one and it pitched forward and backwards over bumps like a boat. But it had a certain charm and appeared to take a fairly serious amount of abuse from all of us working there, without complaining.
The seats in the rear of the three door were terrible, not very high off the floor; if you were in the back your knees were scratching your earholes and you couldn't see out much due to the massive pillar. Absolutely no boot space behind. If I remember things correctly the rear top/roof was clever in theory, as you could take a roof panel out, and/or the rear glass, or the whole lot but you had to commit to which before you started your journey.
It promised a lot but didn't deliver. I was shocked to spot my parents' car still being driven around 15 years later. I would have predicted it falling to pieces in three, as the build quality was very iffy.
My abiding memory of it was in a traffic jam in Marseilles where two locals hung out of their car window alongside, asked what it was and said 'cool!', to which I replied 'err, really?", quickly followed by the thought 'you drive it back to Dover and tell me if you still think it's cool by then'. Maybe they had other things in mind; 20mph with the roof off beside the Med was probably the Frontera's ideal vocation.
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