2006 Vauxhall Vectra SRi NAV from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing as yet!

Wow! I like this car a whole lot.

Only had for a couple of months, but this is a very underrated car that delivers the majority of driving expectations and just does the job well!

What's impressive? My list of good points.

Comfort, handling, ride quality, build quality, looks, audio & nav, equipment levels, safety features, space, performance and overall cost.

What's not so impressive?

Gear change, lack of rear e/w, cabin storage and visibility.

Would recommend to anyone who requires a family motor, but also needs a bit of fun, looks, performance and driver appeal etc.

It does both admirably, and the 1.9 CDTI 150ps is truly exceptional. Quiet, refined, very quick and responsive coupled with unbelievable torque...all this & 50mpg!

I thought my 170ps Golf GTI (diesel) was going to be hard to replace (mainly because of expanding family). But, considering the price here, top marks GM!!!

You may remember the Vauxhall Vectra VXR understeering badly when going around the corners of the Top Gear test-track.

Now, you don't have to be a genius to realize that lap was clearly staged. Jeremy Clarkson never liked and probably will never like the Vauxhall Vectra. And of course, he had to find a way, that even the ultimate Vectra ever still was a rubbish car. As far ANY driver knows, if you apply power to a FWD car when cornering, no matter how powerful or even how weak, the car will understeer severely even with the steering full lock on.

Plainly then, the show producers thought it would be a great idea, to tell The Stig, to turn the Traction Control off and drive the Vectra like a complete idiot. Therefore, Vauxhall would look ridiculous and Clarkson's overinflated ego would get a huge boost. The result was a lap time of 1:35 - Not bad, but not good. 2 seconds faster than a Honda Civic Type-R (1:37) and a whooping 3 seconds faster than the Saab 9-5 HOT Aero Turbo. These other two were also tested on the dry track.

Thing is though, other British motoring press publications (EVO, AutoExpress, Parker's, The Independent - Motoring) reckon the VXR is fairly competent for what it is.

I would say the VXR is not as involving to drive as you would like for a high performance car. But it does the job quite well as a very fast practical family car. At 24 to 25K it may be expensive for a Vectra, but then there is no other mainstream family rep-mobile on the market that can do 160 Mph and costs 25K and that's for the Estate version, the Hatchback costs a grand less.

If somebody wants to give me a black Vauxhall Vectra VXR Estate as a Christmas gift, I'd be delighted.

Well said and bang on!.. 24-25k gets you a Mid Spec Saab 9-3, the middle England mummy's boys BBC team love this though, but from experience of both cars, (SRI) now, referring to the original article, I know what I'm happier with for the money.. given the chassis, drivetrain and mechanicals are identical.. the Vectra is built better, uses far better materials for the interior, far better audio and nav and the list goes on. (to be honest, and please someone back me up on this).. this vectra handles as well, rides better and gives better performance from the shared engine, oh and has far more space too.. I don't give a flying F88k what Clarkson says, the new Vectra is an excellent vehicle all round and represents fantastic value for money, even from new!..A family car that 0-60 time is a shade over 8.5secs and tops at 135mph, returns well over 45mpg+ on average, has a quality built interior that will last, huge load capacity and looks sharp.. I love it (if you couldn't guess)!

'Plainly then, the show producers thought it would be a great idea, to tell The Stig, to turn the Traction Control off and drive the Vectra like a complete idiot.'

Turning the traction control would make the car oversteer, not understeer. Clarkson didn't have to set it up to be that bad round the track, because it really is... that bad.

However the majority of Vauxhall Vectras are never going to see a track in their lifetime, so really it doesn't matter how it handles on a track, as long as it copes on public roads, and that it does.

I've driven a Vectra VXR, and it really does understeer badly when pushed hard with the Traction Control off, but it handles quite well with the traction control on and it feels much better poised than the Astra VXR.

In my opinion the Vectra VXR is fairly decent car for the price, the performance is very good indeed. Although it could have been a REALLY GOOD car, if Vauxhall made it as 4WD.

Hey Vauxhall! Cavalier 4x4 Turbo... does it ring a bell???

I agree with the first comment. In my opinion the TG review was clearly exaggerated to depreciate the VXR, because of him totally disliking the Vectra.

If you push it hard, RWD tend to oversteer; only good round the track where you can afford to lose the rear of the car while not losing your life.

If you push it hard, FWD tend to understeer, which is supposedly to be safer than oversteer. Thing is though, it is possible to make a FWD car oversteer. Gather some speed, apply the Scandinavian Flick before entering a corner and watch the tail slide.

The review was about a cdti SRI.. not the VXR!!!