2004 Vauxhall Vectra SRi NAV from UK and Ireland - Comments

So far, nothing has gone wrong with the car at all.

I have had to buy one new back tyre due to getting a nail in the side edge of the tyre - not really the cars fault! The standard tyre size is relatively uncommon, so quality tyres are quite expensive at around £150 a corner.

I'll report back as the miles mount and we'll see how it goes...

I love this car so much. The performance is very good once you are past the initial turbo-lag. After that point the car pulls strongly to any speed.

Economy is spot on. I average around 48mpg on regular diesel and around 51mpg on BP Ultimate. Nothing to complain about there!

Refinement from this Fiat sourced engine is great. Even at cold idle, engine noise is rarely anything more than a background thrum. When moving along it would be easy to forget the car is DERV powered if it were not for the huge lump of torque low down in the rev range. There is very little, if any vibration transmitted to the cabin.

Comfort isn't perfect, the SRI suspension means some surfaces can be unpleasant to drive on, worn concrete sections of motorway are probably the worst. However, the good side of this set-up is handling that is very sure and confident. Corners can be taken quickly without any body roll or other dramatics.

The seats are a little firm, but I appreciate the good lateral support that keeps me firmly sat in place on B-road blasts. Shame that the steering feel is a bit lacking at those times though.

The interior layout is great, the look and feel of materials is especially praise worthy. The quality of fit and finish is fine too. Things that move (e.g. glovebox, arm rest) all have a nice damped quality to them. Switches feel industructable and yet nice to touch and good to look at.

My only complaint is that some equipment is missing from this 2005 Model Year car that appeared as standard on eariler models, e.g. rain sensitive wipers, passenger seat lumbar/height adjustment and auto-dimming mirrors.

On the plus side, the standard fit Sat-Nav with MP3 support (on this NAV edition) is easy to use and the excellent diesel engine doesn't make me regret going for this later model.

It's the little touches on this car that makes me love it so much. The auto-locking doors, twin trip computers, thumbwheel controls, gas bonnet struts and back wiper that activates on reverse (with the front wipers) are just a few of the little things that make the car feel much more expensive than it really is.

Little niggles? The handbrake is positioned poorly and there is no rear interior light (easily sorted with the help of the parts department, a ten pound note and a craft knife!).

I would buy another without a second thought - but only if Vauxhall stop penny pinching on the specification. There is a very long list of equipment missing (as said before, plus traction control, rear air vents, bonnet struts etc etc) from the latest cars which benefit from no more than a facelift and better handling. Unless you really have to have the facelift, 1.9 CDTI or newer cars, try to source an older Vectra - the late 2002, early 2003 cars are fully loaded in comparison.

An excellent review, thank you.. only a little confused!

Which year of model do you have? You mention loving the car for the extra touches like bonnet struts etc "on this 2005 model".. then go on to report they are missing and better spec on earlier models?..I am about to receive a 2006 150cdti SRI nav, and have generally heard reports similar to the contents of your review here.,and am excited. but heard many complaints

about road noise, more than you would expect even accepting and appreciating the low profiles, sports set up etc.. is it as intrusive as suggested?

Hi.

Sorry about any confusion. My model is a late 2004 build, therefore a 2005 model year.

The specs were generally best when the Vectra C first arrived in 2002. Then, in early 2003 some little touches were dropped like door puddle lights, dash coin tray and other minor stuff.

By late 2003, the lower models had lost things like rain sensitive wipers and auto-dimming mirrors.

By early 2004, only the top models retained the luxury features and even they lost things like electric memory seats and the like. The entire range was missing previously standard features like overhead storage boxes, and passenger 8 way manual adjust.

The facelift models (late 2005 onwards) then lost further features like gas bonnet struts, traction control (except V6 models), centre rear air vents, etc.

It's not all bad news though. The facelift cars handle much better and some new equipment has improved the cars, like Sat Nav on some SRI models, neat thumbwheel steering controls and auto-locking of doors. The new rear wiper on some models is very stylish too.

The new features (aside from handling improvements) started appearing in early 2004.

The things the later models do offer though is a range of generally better engines. The 1.8 VVT is far better than the old 1.8, the 2.2 direct is better than the old 2.2 and the 1.9 CDTI 120/150 is a whole world better than the old 2.0/2.2 DTIs. The 2.8 V6 turbo seems to have won more praise than the old 3.2 V6 too.

So, some good things, some not so good! ;)

I like you'll love the car regardless. :)

As for road noise, not a major problem. The 17s do generate a little roar, but it's not been a problem for me at all. The Vectra cabin is very well sound insulated so it's not a big deal.

HTH!

And an excellent answer.. thank's.

I had a pre-contract SRI delivered just today, and my early first impressions mirror your review. Early days yet, but I think this will be a happy partnership!. (the road noise is quite intrusive though, noticeable more on poorer motorway surfaces at speed, but then I was listening out for it!), BUT,

the excellent sounding audio took my attention away from it!.

Happy vectra-ing!!

I have a Vectra ZC 2004/11 Build - These were slightly tweaked in suspension settings by Holden / GM before being sold in Australia to suit our roads and bumps etc.

I've owned my CDXi 3.2 V6 5 Speed manual Hatch for 18 months and still love it. Every day I hop in it I go, man I love this car.

This is the best car I have ever owned and frankly even for a lot more money there is not much else that I would buy.

I have a mate with Maserati and it is rough as guts suspension compared to mine, but his twin turbo v8 would not doubt run the Vectra out pretty quick.

Great storage space in the hatch, rear leg room is not bad, heated leather seats are fantastic, the engine has great torque and pulls away at 1500rpm in 5th gear, and you can pop 3rd at 100km & quickly pass a 70 metre long road train on single lane roads and your up to 160km in no time flat.

I've done 60,000km in 18 months driving to various parts of Australia on dirt and bitumen and this car rocks. Great open road car and nice to drive around the city.

The traction control can be a bit of a pain at times when giving it a bit or even just cruising and going over man hole cover on the crest of a hill it kicks in, cuts the engine power etc. I'm used to it now, but was strange when it first happened.

I also have the electronic anti skid suspension which when doing a sideways drift on dirt and it kicks in and straightens the car up heading you towards the outside of the corner, making life very interesting at times, but once you get to know it it can be driven to your advantage.

LOVE

Seats, steering wheel, stereo, dash layout, trip computer, engine torque, 5 speed box is smooth and very well spaced and gated, visibility is great and all windows are great, except the front pillars which due to the rake of the windscreen is unavoidable and creates a big black spot.

Roof racks just clip in on the roof.

NIGGLES

Every time you start the car the recycle/fresh air intake resets to fresh again, and forgets what it was on last time.

It is even comfy to sleep in the back when I was doing a 1,400km trip in 14 hours I had a nap on a 2inch mattress in the back of the car and woke up very refreshed.

Consumption

on a long trip 7.6 Litres per hundred at 120km/hr.

Around town not taking it easy 10.2 litres per hundred.

Top Speed, I've cranked it to 210km/hr so far and it is stable as a rock and still pulling strong. Man I love this car.

Tyres - Yep expensive, hard to get and I get around 32,000 out of set. Road noise, yeah there is a bit, but I find it most when they are getting worn a bit. Rotate them often and they do not block up as much. I run the NCT which came as standard, nice and sticky and very directional in steering.

Enjoy

OZ.

The OR reviewer here again.

This is my 1 year report. Since getting the car I've now done 20,000 miles, up to a total of 36,000.

All of the above I wrote is still true. I love the looks, the interior quality and driving experience. The engine seems to be getting better and better over time. Fuel economy is up to an average of 50.5 mpg over that 20k miles, and refinement seems to be improving too. I had one compliment from a fellow petrol head who didn't quite believe the car was diesel, especially when I revved the engine hard and got that glorious petrol like roar. This must be down to the SRI exhaust system and the huge amount of sound insulation the Vectra has.

The sat-nav and TMC (live trafficmaster updates) has come in useful so much, I don't think think I'd like to be without it ever again.

I've rarely exceeded the capacity of the boot, despite shoving some huge things in there, including once, a king size mattress!

Things that have gone wrong: one little thing, recently the hand brake make a sharp snapping sound intermittently. Vauxhall fitted a new hand brake cable under warranty, but the problem is still there.

Other than that, the car has been and remains trouble free.

I still lust after some missing features like auto-wipers and auto-dim mirror etc. If the latest Vectra-C's start to improve the spec levels again, I might just buy a new 3.0 V6 CDTI Elite model at some point and fit a VXR body and suspension kit to it.. hmmmm..

Final report by OR.

I'm trading the car in next week, so this is my last report on the car.

Final mileage: 38,500. (started in Feb 06 with 17,000)

Problems: Noise from hand brake, fixed under warranty. Some fuzzing apparent on arm rest and side of drivers seat. One touch windows sometimes stop working, also affecting remote open/close function. Once found car with passenger window half open, nobody had used the window or been in the car. CD Player sometimes skips half way through an MP3 and can be very fussy with some CD-Rs and CD-RWs. One of the washer jets on the driver's side never worked quite right, and the rear washer jet rarely worked at all.

Annoyances: Boot doesn't always close first time, requires a good slam. Deleted features. Indicators do get flicked wrongly from time to time. Seats can induce back pain sometimes. Tyres very expensive to replace.

Likes: Remote opening of windows with key, auto locking doors, sat nav, fuel economy, performance and refinement. No major faults to report.

Overall MPG: 50.6 at an average of 34 mph over 21,000 miles.

Why am I selling it? I'm hankering after more toys and don't need as much space now, so I'm going for a Renault Megane Privilege. Fingers crossed the reliability will be as good as the Vauxhall has been - I'm keeping an open mind for now until I've owned a Renault for myself...

Spoke too soon. The Vectra went into limp home mode on the way to trade it in! Can't quite believe it myself.

The Vauxhall dealer has had a look at it and determined the car needs a new inlet manifold and swirl valve actuator.

Thankfully covered under warranty.

From what I've read, all the 1.9 CDTIs do this. Apparently the new manifold and swirl valve have been revised to stop the problem recurring.

No idea how much this would cost to fix outside of warranty, but don't doubt it's expensive.

The other common problems with this engine (turbo and injector failure) haven't happened...yet. I'm glad to be getting rid!

Latest update:

I've ended up keeping the car after rejecting (three times) the replacement Renaults we were going to get.

Fingers crossed we don't hit any more hitches any time soon. OTOH, the warranty expires in November, so it would be handy to sort out the common faults now...

BTW, the swirl valve fix was quoted to me at a little over £800. Nasty.

Latest update:

Just returned from the dealers. My offside rear shock absorber and suspension arm has failed. The shock absorber is not covered under warranty, but the suspension arm is.

I've been quoted £230 to fix the shock absorber, but that is just for one side, both Vauxhall and the DTI website both recommend changing in pairs...

The rear brake pads need replacing and all the brake discs are corroded. If they are replaced then the front brake pads will also need swapping.

Add to this the fact that all the tyres need replacing (£150 per tyre for original fit Goodyear NCT 5s, it's a rare tyre size) and I'm beginning to feel like this car has the potential to become a money pit.

Is this just a bump or is it all downhill from here? If only I had a crystal ball!!

I'm now seriously tempted to start looking at replacing the car again.

BTW: current miles is 40,600. Since about 38k this car has just been one problem after another. A sense of disappointment is creeping in.

OK - now at 45,000 miles.

I got the work above done in the end (although not at a main dealer..) and since then the car has been great.

No more problems or work has been required since, so maybe it was just one of them bumps?

If only Vauxhall had seen fit to put Climate, Electric Rear Windows, Rain Sensor and Dimming Mirror on this car, I wouldn't have wanted to change it for anything.

As it is, finances permitting, next time a specced up version of the VXR is looking very tempting. I dream of Vauxhall doing the decent thing and coming out with a VXRD - maybe based on an uprated 3.0 V6 CDTI? I'm sure that engine could knock out 250bhp+ with twin turbos and some tuned engine management, and still do 40mpg+...

Update at 48,000 miles:

Just had the 1st MOT done and no problems were found at all. Can't complain at that at all.

Economy now averaging 51.2mpg since 17k miles... and I do put my foot down quite often!

I daren't look at the residual values though...

Finally sold the car!

I've traded it in with just short of 49,000 miles.

Only one further issue to report, just a day after the warranty expired the coolant level warning light came on.

I topped it up with about 200ml of anti-freeze and then traded it in less than a week later without any more problems.

Note - I was already planning to trade it in, so I wasn't especially concerned at that point.

Would I buy another? I don't know. In many ways I was very happy with the SRI, but felt it was too short on features.

If the next generation car (called Insignia now) has an equivalent model to the VXR, but with a rapid diesel engine, a decent autobox and some good features, then I would definitely consider one.

The only Vectra I would still consider is a 2.8T Elite with a couple of choice options fitted. I would then fit the Irmscher body kit and suspension and tune the engine up. That would be a very nice car, if I could afford the fuel bills!

TTFN!

I would like to know something, I have a 2003 03 reg vectra 2.2 sri and it only has 140 mph on the clock. is this right because my friends 2003 2.2 sri has 170 mph on the clock. someone help. is my car a ringer.