2000 Vauxhall Tigra 1.4 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Smooth sleek lines with more comfort than a Puma

Faults:

I had it recalled to repair a problem with the seat belts.

The air conditioning isn't as good as the Astra I had.

General Comments:

I feel the car handles fairly well, it holds the road and looks good at the same time.

The interior is pleasant and I feel it's much better than the Ford Puma as that is very basic.

The only problem for me is the length of the doors! They are too long in my garage and I try very hard not to damage the paint work.

I love my Tigra as she is pretty to look at and easy to park.

I don't think car thieves like them very much as they have the deadlocking system on board.

When things do go wrong as they always do, Vauxhall will put things right.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th August, 2001

2000 Vauxhall Tigra Chequers 1.4i from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Dream car that is a constant headache

Faults:

Water pump replaced under warranty.

Cam belt replaced under warranty.

ECU replaced under warranty.

Whole braking system replaced under warranty.

Recalled due to seat and seat belts problems.

Both side check straps replaced due to door misalignment.

Went back first week I had it due to the wheels needing balancing (small problem).

Dash light illumination stopped working.

General Comments:

I wanted a Tigra for 3 years and finally saved enough money to buy one 7 months ago. The car looks wonderful, it is Aruba Blue and has spoiler etc and is the Chequers model so all the interior matches.

I have spent over £1000 putting audio equipment in the car and more money having a separate alarm fitted. I had a separate alarm fitted due to hearing bad stories about Vauxhall ones. Anyway, I have been lucky becuase all the work so far has been under my year's warranty, but it started me thinking... if the car has had over £3000 worth of warranty work done 7 months after buying it from brand new, what will it be like in a years time?

The car is still not completely fixed anyway. I have a vibration through the brake pedal and steering column on braking, which Vauxhall cannot fix. One month after buying my car I scratched my alloy wheel on the curb... I did not curb it, I was pulling off the curb and did not pull the car far enough into the road and the back wheel slipped down and scratched the spoke of the wheel, taking off the surface of the alloy.

Vauxhall are accusing me of smacking the curb and replacing the whole wheel, which I didn't as I had it reconditioned, I have been told that there should be a batch number on the alloy that they should be able to check with their records to prove it is the original wheel.

Anyway Vauxhall are refusing to do anymore work on the car and I have now got to take the car for a geometry check to prove I have not bent the rear axle.

If I had bent the rear axle the car would be crabbing and pulling which it isn't. The car has been driven by a mechanic who is not Vauxhall and he said that the car drives in a perfect straight line.

For the meantime I have been left with the car vibrating worse since it went into the garage for the 12th time since new.

I am absolutely gutted, I love that car to bits, plus it was quite a nice step up from a Rover Metro.

Anyway, the other day I thought I might change the Tigra, get another new one... maybe I just have the bad egg. They have now since then stopped making Tigra's and I wonder why. A young gentlemen that works for Vauxhall actually said to me that they stopped making them because they have had so many of them back. Well after reading this web site I AM NOT BLOODY SURPRISED!!!

I will see anyway once I have had the geometry checked. I know it isn't the axle because I have not curbed the car, but hey don't worry Vauxhall, I have all the time in the world to keep bringing my car back to you!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 15th March, 2001

7th Feb 2002, 17:50

Your problems seem to lie with Vauxhall in general and not the Tigra! The reason why they don't make them any more is that they can't convert the body shape on to the new Corsa B chassis... so I'm told!

30th Mar 2004, 17:58

I have to say that the Vauxhall in general comment, completely goes against my experience with a wide range of models. My fathers first Vauxhall was a Nova Merit in 1985, since then he has bought no other make of car than Vauxhall, from the Nova to the Astra to the Cavalier an Vectra, all have served him over a lot of mileage, with unflaggingly impeccable reliability for nearly twenty years.

This impressed me so much that I now own my fourth consecutive Vauxhall since 1996 and seem to be faring as well with mine as my father did. I have had absolutely no trouble at all from my first two Corsas, my current Astra SRi, or my second car, a 1996 1.4 Tigra.

8th May 2004, 09:27

I too had the brake "vibrating problem" my Opel mechanic solved it, but in general the car is wonderful! I've had it for 9 years (!!) it has had a few problems, but all have been solved.

14th Dec 2005, 18:15

I see that in previous comments brake vibration seems to be a problem. Whilst I have been very satisfied with my chequers model it suffers with vibration when braking. Can anybody tell me what causes this as three mechanics have failed to identify the problem.

27th Feb 2007, 09:11

I have had a 1.4 Tigra now for 4 months and love it. No problems so far, well apart from someone not looking where they were going and hitting into my drivers door!!!, its in the garage at the moment. I've have had a Corsa courtersy car and I've realised that I adore my Tirga. It drives better, looks better and overall is a better car then the Corsa.

Overall I think I will keep the car for a long time!!!