2004 Holden Vectra CDXi from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

I have had very little trouble with the car.

One tail light globe has blown.

The "chrome" trim surrounding the cover for the shift lever has started to peel.

The "chrome" trim on the front cup holder cover has started peeling.

I originally bought the car as a means of travel between Perth and Newman. (A distance of about 1200 kilometres) As a long distance tourer it is very good and easily cruises at well over the speed limit. This is to be expected from a car designed to run on Germany's autobahns. It is not upset by mid corner bumps or some of the very bad sections of road along this route. Overtaking semi-trailers with two wheels in the gravel is also accomplished quickly and safely.

Fuel economy is quite good for the power available. I average 11.2L/100km's at an average speed of 140km/h. Around town with a lot of stop/start driving and traffic light grand prix's it uses about the same. It was interesting to note that at 200km/h fuel consumption went up to 20L/100km's. If you stick to the speed limit (110 in WA) and drive carefully it is possible to get consumption down to low 7's.

The interior is very comfortable for long trips and the heated front seats are very handy in winter. The side bolsters on them hold you quite well during hard cornering.

The six stacker CD/radio is pretty good and the boot is a very usable size. With the back seats down you can carry some quite large loads.

There is one thing I would recommend all owners do and that is to replace the standard 17 x 7 inch wheels with a set of 18 x 8's. The standard tyres are good up to a (admittedly high) point, but the 235x18 Toyo's I put on the car have so much more grip that the suspension is now the weak point. With the original tyres stomping on the brakes from 200 would engage the ABS, but the Toyo's keep traction and the front of the car dives to the extent you can feel the back lifting off the ground. In cornering it is the same. The original tyres could be made to squeal at excessive speeds, but I've chickened out before the Toyo's started protesting. I suspect most other 235x18 tyres would be the same, but the point is the larger footprint they give the car makes a very large difference. The price increase is also only minimal once the wheels have been purchased as 235x18's are standard on commodore SS's and so most tyre shops will give you a good deal whereas the original tyres are an odd size and therefore relatively expensive.

Now is a very good time to buy a Vectra as their prices have dropped considerably from new. But buy a CDXi model as these are the best and are now only a few thousand more than the base models and have so much more in them.

The reason Holden no longer sells them is because they lost money on every unit sold.

The Vectra has now been replaced by the Epica (or Epicrap, as some call it), essentially a re-badged Daewoo Tosca.