Vauxhall Vectra 2.2 Dti Elegance

Having owned this particular model of Vectra for 7 weeks now, I have to say I'm fairly impressed with it. I got hold of a 53 plate 2.2 Vectra Elegance with 21k on the clock. On looking at the service history, it was a Vauxhall demonstrator car, and had an elderly gent as the owner before me so I was quite happy it wasn't too tired before I got my hands on it! The cars I drive at work are 1.7 Td Astras, (both the old and new shape). They're sluggish, and woefully underpowered, so I had my reservations when taking this one for a test drive. The Vectra is significantly heavier, so I thought the engine would be struggling with it. I was pleasantly surprised. If you want to pull away quickly in first however, some power is needed before letting the clutch up. Once you get past this, its a fairly powerful car, not mind blowing by any means but its got decent acceleration once the turbo kicks in.

Inside its roomy, and fairly minimal with all the important controls conveniently placed. There are controls for the stereo mounted on the steering wheel, the climate control, mirror adjustment and window controls are all within easy reach. There's plenty of range on the steering column adjust. Overall the cockpit is well thought out and well constructed, making it quite comfortable for long journeys.

The Elegance is one off the top of the range I believe, with the Elite sitting above it. It's got good features with climate control, 4xCD multichanger, all over electric windows and plenty of gizmos and gimmicks.

The handling on the road is as you would expect with a large car. It feels smooth and quiet for a diesel. The car is stable on narrower country roads, handling corners and most road conditions with relative ease. There are no under/oversteer tendencies that I could find, when the car is driven properly. It has a fair turn of pace after the engine has been run in and is brisk on the motorway.

The only minus point I can find thus far is that about 36 hours (and 50 miles) after picking the car up, a clip fell off the turbo pump causing a loud clunking noise, and a plume of black smoke. Suitably unimpressed, I took it back to the dealer, who rectified the problem the next working day at no cost to me as it was a 90 second job. The car is due up for its first MOT in a couple of months, so we'll see what, if anything crops up.

The new Vectra range, in my opinion have, shaken off the "dad" image of the previous incarnation. The first version of the Vectra was bland, and frankly quite characterless. The new version has more aggressive styling, though a bit more square in shape, the sharper angles and blockier styling seem to be a take from VW and BMW design. Not that this is a bad thing. Its a big car, but now it has a certain presence about it.

Being a 24 year old lad, I wasn't really imagining going for a Vectra when I was looking for a new car. Having driven a Corsa and a Fiesta previously, the whole hatchback thing was getting a bit boring. I didn't really fancy anything in the intermediate range, test drove the Astra, Focus, Laguna and new Corolla, and found them all uninspiring. Spacewise, the Vectra can fit (if you're that way inclined) the wife, kids, and copious amounts of shopping/luggage, or in my case, the girlfriend and three fat blokes. All this done in relative comfort! Overall a decent car for the money, Vectras of this model and age can be picked up for around £7000-8999, a worthy purchase.