1994 Vauxhall Cavalier Diplomat 2.5 V6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A flyer

Faults:

A faulty thermostat, nothing else.

General Comments:

A real rodeo bull, quite a handful with performance far better than expected. Had put a deposit down on a Porsche Boxster the previous month, bit gutted now to realise how much fun can be had with so little money.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th January, 2003

1994 Vauxhall Cavalier LS 1.7 TD from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Motorway Mile-muncher

Faults:

No problems at all from 111k to about 130k, was serviced by Master-fit.

Clutch finally gave up at 130000. Was 140 to fix.

Tracking goes out often.

Alloy wheels are corroding and leak air very slowly.

Water pump was replaced at 146000 cost <100 quid.

General Comments:

The good old cavalier keeps on going. I nice drivers car, starting to show its age in looks, but build quality is OK at 147k so major problems with interior or exterior. No rust apart from a tiny bit caused by bad accident repair. This car loves the motorway, the engine pulls amazingly from 65 mph to over 100 in 5th gear. Economy can be fantastic even at these speeds.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 17th December, 2002

1994 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi 2.0 16v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Cheap, powerful car

Faults:

Intermittent hesitation on throttle, but it is not really a problem when driving.

New front exhaust. Since the pipe extends all the way from the cylinder head to the cat it was a bit pricey to buy - £170 from Vauxhall.

Front shock absorbers are beginning to tire.

2 Drive shaft boots (CV Outers) £10 each.

Cam Belt replaced (£25 from Vauxhall).

General Comments:

It has the non-ecotec engine (red top). Very fast once moving as the front wheels spin quite easily. Plenty of low down torque that gives way to a good top end, but can suffer from torque steer when on bad tyres.

Good handling with progressive slides if you push too far, but when driven smoothly it is really fast. As for the people who say it can't handle then I don't think you are driving it properly. If you want a bad handling car, try an Audi 80 without Power steering - Understeer. Permanently.

Good brakes with ABS.

Sounds like a touring car.

Can't fault it really and just love the power - just ask the suit and braces guy in the shiny new 318 I left for dead last night, the satisfaction of seeing him get really annoyed that it couldn't catch a mere "Vauxhall" was great.

Looks good with the Black Anthracite metallic paint and styling kit on. It has hints of Lotus Carlton about it, but make sure it is secure as it is popular with local tea leaves I have seen some of them having a good look at it as I went past, but not in an admiring way.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th November, 2002

1994 Vauxhall Cavalier Cesaro V6 2.5 V6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

High Performance Unreliable Pile of Junk

Faults:

Lets see now:

Problems initially started when the Heater Matrix was leaking water into the car, which meant that passengers travelling in the back could enjoy a paddle whilst on the road (A great feature that came free with the car) - This Cost about £100 to supply and fit a second hand heater matrix.

Exhaust (Back Box) collapsed internally - This cost about £52 for a replica back box.

Engine overheated and blew a hole in the radiator - This cost about £70 for a second hand radiator (which was fitted by myself) - Vauxhall generously grant you at least 1.27 inches in which to remove the fan, disconnect all pipes and remove the radiator.

Oil Cooler started leaking Oil into the water system of the car, which is the reason why the engine overheated causing the above problems. The Oil cooler sits right in the middle of the heads (Being a 45 degree 'V') meaning that most bits that sit on top of the engine i. e Exhaust manifold, injectors, rocker covers, and all the appropriate gaskets etc have to be removed.

As you can imagine the work was extensive hence the highly appreciated quote of £4000 was offered by Vauxhall.

Unfortunately the Oil Cooler blew 3 times, meaning that each time the work noted above had to be carried out, on a car valued at £1200.

Alternator packed up at 70,000 miles, sounds like an easy job.. Unfortunately, the alternator is challengingly placed at the bottom of the engine (how ingenious), meaning another 7 hour job, in a pit removing the downpipe in order to have enough room to remove the alternator.

Need I go on?!?

General Comments:

155mph Car.

Nice and Powerful.

Comfortable Seats.

Quiet on Motorways.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 28th August, 2002

17th Oct 2004, 13:30

I have one of these cars and think that it is a great car.. I do agree that it costs a lot when things go wrong, but what do you expect from a car with a 2.5 v6 cav, this is hardly a 1.1 fiesta.. so just maybe it will be a little more expensive to fix??

People that can't afford to fix fast expensive engines really shouldn't by them..

Thankyou.