1999 Vauxhall Vectra Overview - with Richard Hammond
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ค. 2024
- Richard Hammond drives the 1999 model Vauxhall Vectra in Denmark and speaks to Ulf Quellmann, brand manager for Vauxhall, about the 2500 changes that have been made to the car. Some of its new and improved features include lumbar support, new rear tail ramps and the overall ride and handling experience.
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That car he tested is still in the road today. It was registered in Jan 1999 and has close to 130,000 miles in the clock. A quick UK car check has the info. I had one of the exact same models and it was genuinely a good car. I did over 50k miles when I had it and other than general servicing etc I had no probs with it at all. I know they get trashed but I had no bother with my vectra and even went for the newer generations after this type.
Not any more! Nice enough car, but hard to justify a ~25mpg machine with prices pushing £2 a litre
Never got all the hate..as a kid I thought the sports model looked awesome, granted the front is quite boring but the back-end looks great
Vauxhalls used to be known as rust boxes - the Vectra was really the first Vauxhall that resisted tin worm and rot better than anything else in its class. Bland it might have been but it was well engineered.
Nah they were rust buckets.
yup i have this car, same year, and the two most annoying things for me is also the lumbar support and elbow pedestal behind the gear stick, but its now 2014, and for a 15 year old car it has aged so well. Its a really nice dare i say cheap 4 door saloon with a solid feel (when you close the doors its nice and quiet inside), im not much of a tech car guy so i cant really comment on the engine etc. Another aspect is that the car is common enough to be able to get second hand parts really easily, new parts still available at the likes of national car parts firms like mill autos or even halfords lol. My car actually drives really well, and as long as you keep up with maintenance it will go on forever.
+lynxian1 Get the GSI 200BHP BTCC pedigree car. It's goes like shit off a shovel :)
Me? Says the power ranger plastic spastic?
I think the styling has aged pretty well considering this was nearly 20 years ago! Perhaps its strength is its simplicity. But he was right, nobody ever chose one for driving fun. If you wanted exciting, Vauxhall was/is not the brand for you.
I don't know - I think the Monaro was pretty exciting especially the VXR.
@@bghoody5665 Well thats one car in their entire lineup, and that didn't even start life as a Vauxhall, it was actually a Holden, with a Chevy V8 under the bonnet...
@@soundseeker63 I honestly didn't think I'd get a response after 4 years! There was also the Vauxhall VX220 (which apparently was a rebadged Opel Speedster) but you're right, of course - these two models stand out in a line-up of otherwise ho-hum cars. GM did that with a lot of their cars - the Monaro made it to N. Am. as the Pontiac GTO and the Speedster as the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky
@@bghoody5665 The VX220/Speedster was great, and a genuine sports car, but again Vauxhall/GM had nothing to do with it's development - it was basically a restyled Lotus Elise with a GM engine dropped in.
GM formerly owned Lotus and often used their engineering consultancy services to fine tune the suspension and steering in their sporty models.
Some of Vauxhall's later VXR (OPC) products were good though sadly that didn't last and any attempt at fun/sporty models has died completely since PSA/Stellantis took them over and cut off whatever fun/interesting bits they were still clinging on to. :-(
@@soundseeker63 While GM owned Lotus, GM got them to design the engine for the very first Corvette ZR-1 in 1989. A pretty smart move imo - that engine was incredible.
British people seem to despise this car.
As an American, I like it. It looks like a simplified Saab. And cars had neat displays in the UK. American cars barely had trip computers, let alone RDS until 2004+ when it popularized.
I'd like to add we did get this car, but it was rebadged as a Saturn L300 and looked hideous. And it was full of GM America Terrible plastic.
I had a Saturn LW300 and I bought it because of it's Opel/Vauxhall heritage.
Drove it 17 years and 294K miles and it never stranded me or failed to start.
Replaced the starter, alternator, a window motor and a A/C expansion valve.
Cost less than $100 in repairs through the years.
I have ordered a Buick Regal Tour X and this to is a rebadged Opel/Vauxhall Insignia.
I also have owned two Saturn Astra' s and they were both very reliable and durable
Americans hated the Cadillac Catera but the European Vauxhall Omega was highly regarded. Same vis-a-vis the Ford Contour/Mondeo. Different market expectations. Another example is the Merkur Scorpio, very popular as the Ford Scorpio or Granada in Europe but flopped Stateside.
I am British I like the car
Yeah but you had V8 engines
The doors mirrors on the vectra b/c would still look up to date on a car today!!
I'm not a fan of the Vectra, but I'm pretty sure you can adjust the lumbar support so it doesn't feel like your back is being pushed out. EDIT: The Vectra LS (the one Hammond is driving) doesn't have adjustment for the lumbar support, though.
There's almost no running Vectra in existence ........... so that's hard to confirm.
Someone should visit scrapyards to confirm your comment.
There's a knob you can turn for that
@@charliemartinez7311 I see. Well sorry about that.
@@joeshmoedoeshoe You mean almost no Vectra of this generation? Wouldn't be surprised about that since they've gone out of production in 2002. What about the second gen? Is it still a popular sight?
@@thebakedtoast I've been informed that only the higher spec versions had the knob to adjust. This being a base version doesn't have the knob.
I've got to admit i do like the vectra, especially the sport model
Well, as of me writing this it's still MOT'd and taxed so must still be on the road. Vauxhall/Opel must've done something right...!!
I’ve got the front number plate of S464 ANV - an Astra - hanging on my shed wall, so I’d assume that was also a Vauxhall press vehicle!
That's maybe the last Vectra that didn't desintegrate.
I remember people dropping these at age of 7-8 years at scrapeyards, because they where unable to fix 'em to atleast somewhat working level ...... to be able sell it to some extremly retarded fool.
@@joeshmoedoeshoe someones butthurt after been beaten by a vauxhall in a race lol. this is the 4th comment ive seen yof yours slewing vauxhall. do you not have anything better to do lol.
Why do guys like Hammond and Clarkson feel that to make a name for themselves, it necessitates being an asshole too?
This Vectra was a lovely car. I can't believe that even from a first - its aesthetics, that it didn't draw a lot of praise from the little twit. The Vectra looked damn classy, sporty and sexy, and still does.
I had a black '02 2.6 V6 SRi and man.......I still swooooooon looking at pictures of it today. An absolute joy to drive too, cornered like it was on rails, still very comfortable and felt so solid for very long drives, turned heads everywhere it went, and of course beautiful power in any gear. Also the sound was just gorgeous too - it drew many an admiring comment from all kinds including boy racers!
And to think that the Vectra can be so run down like this by this twit just infuriates me. It's like it's either money or ego directs their bias and not objectivity.
The Vectra was a beautiful car. In a world full of plastic bubble cars, it's possibly the last one at that.
The Vectra is bland and boring and you have a shockingly bad taste in cars.
Haha! 'Objective'!
How was he an "asshole" ? He said it was efficient but dull, which is true! Maybe not so much with the sporty V6 SRI/GSI versions, but trust me nobody ever swooned over a 1.6 LS model, and it was those versions that most people ended up with.
Hi. Yes I agree. I've owned my vectra 2001 Sri 150 for 11 years. It's extremely reliable and looks cool still
excellent satire
I always felt that with the Vectra they get everything that was interesting and desirable about the Cavalier and threw it out the window. At least with the Cavalier the Turbo was desirable the SRi and GSi looked the business and when the V6 came out it was interesting and new. With the Vectra you had none of that.
I'd care to differ Key. I liked all of them, and with the Vectra it just got better. And then it stopped. Every single car in the road turned into space bubble wrap.
That's the main thing that I hate about this car. The Cavalier (or Vectra A in Europe) had more badass versions, like the one with the 204 hp 2.0 turbo. This Vectra had at most 195 hp
im from brazil and i have a VECTRA CD 2.0 16V 1997 awesome car!GM/OPEL/VAUXHALL FAN
i had the exact car in that colour! i liked it nice and quiet. Had a CD 2LTR previous to that
I buy vectra 5 year ago 1.6 16v, for 600 Eur. Car not be good shape I spent more 600 Eur (new breaks, water pump, new oils, wheels and little bit engine fix) Car cost me ~1200 but I am happy I drive all time and I spent 100-150 eur in year for some part change.
This year my car celebrate 23 birthday and I now find few rust holes in.
I feel comfortable in my car and very cheep parts.
For me that car are dream!
Hammond: it’s dull and uncomfortable
Engineer: it’s great fun and comfortable
I love snowy roads.
Hammond hits the nail on the head with this one he's right about the seats driving position were terrible on if you were driving 3+hours a day.
Love the wing mirrors
is Hammond on Ford pay list ?
Gixxeff 750 disagree. The Astra is european car of the year 2016 and the insignia is beautiful. Just too many ford worshippers in the media and on the internet to ever give Vauxhall any credit. I grew up with Vauxhalls and my first car was 1.6 mk4 astra sxi which was well built and although purchased at 7 years old and kept for a further 6 years never gave me any hastle at all. I now own a Ford but really have to come to the conclusion that they are not built as well as equivalent Vauxhalls.
The first person to understand the point the car
its a nice looking car far better looking than the Mondeo
I beg to differ friend take today for example all the mondeos (whats left of them) are being held up by ductape and rust Vectra B's? yep still going strong the GSi Phase 1 being a collectors edition love these Vec's always think they should have been apreciated better drive well are comfortable and all i can say about the mondeo is im glad there arent many old shitters around anymore
The Vectra was and is, mediocre. Shit even.
Nakke144 The Vectra was the best car that Vauxhall ever made.
Tech OS not sure about that but they werent as bad as people say
"The Vectra was the best car that Vauxhall ever made"
That's not saying much though is it?
I found the Vectra B atrocious, a terrible car in lots of ways. It's a shame because the
Astra G which was available about the same time was excellent, due to the intervention
of Lotus on the chassis and handling.
I bought an 02 reg Vectra 2.0 DTi under 2 years old with 15 k miles on it, part exed it with 90 k miles 10 years later. It never let me down, was good economy and towed a caravan most parts of this country, it was a good car to me. I take no notice of that little twit hamster, cannot stand him twittering on and on.
mobo special
"great fun to drive"
:/
It is. With wide tires at least
What a Muppet
Another BS Richard Hammond review.