NEW VECTRA HATCHBACK DELIVERS MORE
15 February 2006 - Vauxhall

It is such a competitive automotive world for sales these days as registrations tumble that manufacturers throughout 2005, and still are in 2006, have been forced to add more value to their products, sharpening prizes, refreshing the looks and even adding finding more interior space to appeal to today’s price sensitive retail and fleet buyers.

These changes in refinement go hand in glove with unbeatable finance offers, better trade in values, lower servicing costs and cheaper insurance offers. It is a tough world for manufacturers and dealers alike and currently the customer is king – or queen.

In 2005 the new Vauxhall Vectra, I say new but to be honest restyled is more accurate, failed to finish in the UK’s top ten sales chart because of the time gap between the run out of old models and introduction of the new range of hatchbacks, saloons and estates. Its archrival the Ford Mondeo ended up eighth in the UK’s top ten, the best selling car of that size. However in January 2006 the Vectra clawed its way back to tenth position and the Mondeo slipped to ninth but both are being chased hard now by the all-new VW Passat, a force to seriously be reckoned with this year.

All three cars, Vectra, Mondeo and Passat have edged up in size to appeal to a wider audience collecting down-sizers moving down the ladder and up-sizers needing more space in the business come family car. These cars are not really aimed at the retail market when new although once they are available second-hand they do appeal to private family buyers. These cars are aimed at company car man or women hence the huge array of body styles, engine and transmission options supported by a vast array of optional equipment.

The Vauxhall Vectra hatchback, the best selling models in the range, have really benefited from its mid-life re-vamp. The most noticeable improvement is the increased interior space which makes it a full five-seater with a load area to match. This has been done by stretching the floor-pan, sculpturing the seats and door panels all to gain valuable extra inches. Refinement and product quality is also significantly improved, as are the higher levels of equipment and specification included at really no significant extra cost.

The car feels solid, the doors close with an expensive clunk, the electric windows operate quietly and the engine, wind and road noise intrusion is much lower.

The suspension and steering changes allow the car to provide a more level and less fidgety ride and the steering is more responsive and offers better feedback.

Safety and security features are also improved with front and side airbags fitted on all models as standard. The Vectra now has a control pedal release mechanism so there is less likelihood of damage to the driver’s feet in the event of a front end collision and the heads restraints are anti-whiplash as well.

So you can see from this brief overview of the changes the Vectra is a much improved car overall rather than being inspirational.

It is probably not as sharp to drive as the Mondeo or the Passat, it can be a bit of a tank, especially the huge estate version, but it does allow the company reps who live in their cars plenty of space ands refinement to lessen their daily grind up and down our motorways. At the weekend or on holiday it serves as a very good family car.

Potentially the residual values, although better than the previous Vectra, will not be as strong as the Passat but on a par with the Mondeo as both Ford and Vauxhall push loads of these cars into the huge company car a fleet sectors. Buying one secondhand should prove a bit of a bargain.

My test model was the Vectra 5-door hatchback 1.9CDTi Exclusiv (correct) priced at £15,750 as standard but the car was fitted with the excellent adaptive forward lighting that sees around corners and has additional lights which come on when turning into a side road and costs £850 plus a DAB digital radio at £450 making a total of £17,050. I’d go for the lighting but the radio will earn no more on trade-in values so it’s not worth it. Vectra range prices at £14,750.

There are six specification options, Exclusiv is about mid range, and there are also Plus Packs and Towing Packs as well just to cater for every need. Exclusiv specification is pretty good and gives nice extra touches such as 16-inch wheels, air-conditioning, electrically operated and heated door mirrors, electric front windows and a remote control alarm system.

There is a whole host of petrol and diesel engine options but my test car’s 1.9-litre common-rail turbodiesel unit producing 120PS and 280Nm of torque from 2,000rpm is pretty good for most people’s daily use. For go-faster customers the Vectra has the option of a VXR variant and turbocharged petrol engines. The Vectra estate also has the option of a highly rated 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine as well for caravan and boat towing owners.

Anyway the 120PS diesel unit in my test car proved more than adequate for my daily motoring. The maximum amount of torque available from a relatively low engine speed made it very flexible to drive and with the fuel economy lingering consistently at 45mpg mark it did the job without ant fuss or bother and in some style. Only at start up was it too noisy with a rather unpleasant vibration transmitted through the car. Once warm and underway it proved to be a strong and willing performer. Company car drivers will like the low 154 g/km emission rating which means the vehicle excise duty is a reasonable £135 a year. A typical insurance group rating is 10E so again the car is not expensive to buy, run or carry too much personal taxation for company car users.

The new Vauxhall family face with the V grille and sharper styling lines does make the Vectra more eye catching and it looks a pretty good car to have on your driveway, better than Mondeo in this respect I think but currently not as exclusive as the new Passat.

MIKLESTONES. Vauxhall Vectra hatchback 1.9CDTi. Price £15,750 (as tested £17,050. Engine: four-cylinder, turbocharged common rail diesel 120PS, 280Nm of torque. Performance: 120mph, 0-62mph 11.2 seconds, 49.6mpg, CO2 154 g/km. VED: £134.
Insurance group: 10E. For: Big improvements over the previous model, competitive value for money, refinement, interior space. Against: Not as sharp for handling as some, watch the residual values.

Miles Better News Agency

www.vauxhall.co.uk

More News
  For February 2006
  From Vauxhall
  For Hatchback
  Driver247.com Home Page