Vauxhall Vectra B: Did this car deserve that terrible Top Gear review?
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2024
- This week, Steve and his hairy sidekick drive the Vauxhall Vectra B, a car famous for not being brilliant, but is it really deserving of its reputation?
Filmed and edited by @ProjectNigel
#steveberry #projectnigel #topgear #biginthe90s
#carreview #testdrive #roadtest #review #Vauxhall #vectrab #infamousreview #funny #sketch
You cant change the clutch in 20 min on a Vectra they removed the access plate on the bottom of the gearbox as dealers were losing too much labour money.
My first company car was a white Vectra 1.6 envoy. R651EPW. Boy that car was SLOW and BASIC. Then I inherited a 2.0 16v SRi, that thing flew!
I can't believe you blew the budget on a Clarkson cameo, I hope he paid for his own petrol.
I did like this version of the Vectra..my favourite part of the car is how the side mirrors merged into the bonnet looks great still in my opinion..
✌🤜🏽
Mustard and Berry is the duo nobody knew they needed. Until now.
We used to have a few of these as pool cars back in the day, early 00's. and the abuse they received on a daily basis was bordering on criminal. I remember doing burnouts (on loose ground) and rallying across fields (accessing work sites) and I was one of the more 'careful' drivers. They mostly kept going, I think one died of water pump failure in the middle of Brum, but they all clocked up moon mileage without too much fuss. I used to enjoy a jolly out in one, more like a Group N rally stage than an actual job, good times!
I can’t believe this only has 74hp. My 1995 Fiat Tempra 1.6 has 90!!
I had a Vectra many years ago. Diesel version - 98' 2.0 DTi estate. Loved it - fast enough for me and a genuine 48 MPG. Spacious, practical, economical, cheap to run, and lasted till 15 years old and 150,000 miles before I scrapped it due to needing too much work at MOT time, plus it wasn't worth much by then. A dull car, yes, no denying it, but no worse than any other car I have had.
Yes! Steevo. Grew up as a boy watching him on Top Gear and love the way he used to handle callers on talksport. Quality bloke 👏
You two had me in stitches 😂. Brilliant 👏
"..Mike Brewer's lunch"... Hhehe
GM sent the Vectra out in 1995 about 18 months too early in development as they'd already spent a billion on it, and were panicking about the facelift Mondeo. The Vectra did become a good car, but they were fault finding it when it was on sale. They should have done a better facelift of the Cavalier and kept it going into 96 so the Vectra was ready. The 2.0 Vectra was he quickest in its class, the 1.6 8v was on odd one. I drove one last year and it wasn't that slow 😂
Once again you have hit the mark. So funny. Don’t care about the car, never been a Vauxhall fan. But that’s not the point- you just make me laugh. Loved the ‘so shallow’ gag. Keep it up!!
The multi point 8v was good single point not so much 😂
Your output is fast becoming my favourite internet watching thing.
Hilarious, a comedy duo on a level with Cannon & Ball (possibly Hale & Pace). A great addition to that there UA-cam, subscribed and looking forward to more… even if the best thing out of Lancashire is the road back to Yorkshire😂
Really enjoyed this video you have cracked the over 50s segment taking the piss but getting the message across.Keep doing what you guys are doing .
Jeremy Clarkson is the type that smells his flatulence and believes he should bottle it and sell it as high-end perfume.
The 1.6 Envoy wasn't just available to fleet managers, general public could buy it.
Even the 8v version?
@@andyb3666 yep.
Yep I test drove one last year which was one elderly owner from new. The vast majority went to fleets but not all.
I thought Steve had disappeared! So glad to see him! Do a mk1 Mondeo, Passat B5 and 406 review next!
Agreed. A detailed 90s ‘fleet car showdown’.
Wasnt just top gear that ruined the vetra, the competition was just so much better. Cars with all new models against a vectra that was just an aging cavalier.
I used to work with a guy who loved Vectras. He either couldn’t afford a good one or wasn’t prepared to spend what it took to get a good one and so he had rather poor examples. He would cover it in reflective stickers and those rubber things that mean your doors don’t bump stuff and go rusty, they go rusty from the trapped water behind the rubber thing instead and they would fail their MOT and he’d scrap it buy another and start the whole process over again. This struck me as a bit odd for someone who claimed such affection for the Vauxhall Vectra that he would be responsible for the death of so many. But I didn’t care because I don’t have any interest in the Vauxhall Vectra. There was a period of my life where I had access to Vectras, I worked for a car hire company when they came out and I found them to be rather cramped and dark inside and a rather dreary drive. It seemed to me that it was a car you were given, rather than wanted. If I were forced at gunpoint to drive a 90s Vauxhall I’d take death by shooting, or perhaps an Astramax van.
🤣🤣🤣
Keep it coming Mr Miller 😂
"Jacket like those on an immersion heater" 😂 Enjoyed that. Loved my Cav Sri had it years till the electrics went haywire & I had to get rid, still miss it.
Mike brewer has had a lot on his plate
And he eat all of it 😂
The revised Vectra B from 1999 is really how it should’ve been from the beginning. Had that been the case it probably would’ve compared more favourably with the Mondeo.
Far better looking than a Mondeo. You were either a Vauxhall or Ford nut in the 80's and 90's. I look forward to more of these videos. Great work.
@@roryyoung6192 I liked both, but the Vectra B had a sxxt driving position. It would out brake the Ford however and was a better cruiser. To get decent sound insulation you needed at least a GLX.
You're both really getting in the swing of it now, Spot on with the Vectra and very funny with it.
The 1.6 8v was gutless in the Cavalier as well 😂😂. I was Working for Vauxhall dealers at the time. The 1.8 16v ecotec was a far better engine. The 2.0 Sri was a far better engine if you could keep it in petrol.
Great video. I own a Mk1 Mondeo, but I'd admit that time has been kinder to the design of the Vectra B
I had a V6 SRI and it was actually not too bad, I bought it when it was less than ten years old for 2.5K and ran it for a few years with only the odd drama
Ya goddamn right it deserved it.
I had an M reg 2.0 Cavalier CDX auto which was an amazing car. I then drove a P reg Vectra B and I couldn't believe how dull and boring it was to drive.
The Vectra C on the other hand was a huge improvement and I bought one.
This was almost exactly my experience. My first car was a vauxhall nova 1.2 and it was fun to drive. Then I had 2 cavaliers and they were good also. Then I made the mistake of buying a Vectra B. I nearly died in that car on numerous occasions, most notably was coming up to a roundabout and trying to turn left. The steering wheel and wheels turned left, but the car decided it was now a boat and carried on in a straight line onto the middle of the roundabout and then caught traction and slid sideways stopping on the other side of the roundabout facing the wrong way. Since then I've never owned another Vauxhall and am a ford man now. My wife owns a vauxhall vivaro van and they're a bit crap too. She's only done around 47k on it and it's had 3 clutches, a rebuilt gearbox, all shocks and springs replaced, drop links replaced, the side door fell off it's runners, a fog light replaced, there were a few other things too as well as the usual service items and there's other things that need doing that are almost broken, the exhaust is hanging on for dear life as its almost rusted through, the headlights are so cloudy they only just passed the MOT and if you get a moth or spider in the cab, expect the alarm to go off multiple times a night, starting at 2.30am (apparently this is when spiders decide to throw their party's)
Genius! Brilliant video. Had me in stitches throughout!
Brilliant. Loving the BITN series. Keep it going Steve and Paul!! Might even see if I can find you a car to review…….
I had a Cavaliier 1.7D 60 bhp non turbo Envoy in 1996. I am still waiting to get to 60 mph.
But it will do 400,000 miles
The GM diesel, vastly inferior to the Isuzu one
@@andyb3666Very true .Had a 1995 1.7TD Envoy soon after with the Isuzu engine. What a difference.
I had a Astra estate, van with doors company car, woeful, but unbreakable!
@@andyb3666 Was the Cavalier 1.7 NA not Isuzu?
The most uncomfortable car I've ever sat in. I loathed them.
Keep the great content coming lads! 😊👍❤️
Vectra was fine, Mondeo was excellent, 406, Laguna, Mazda 6, Xantia, Prmera all really good,
I drove a few of the original N & R plate Vectras in the late 90's. They were awful (especially front end grip) and the review was spot on. I had a Cav Gsi and SRi at the time. They danced around the Vectra. Remarkably in 2007 I bought (out of desparation) a 1998 SRi Vectra - by then they had sorted out the chassis problems and it was great, almost as good as my Cavs were when I had them. Recently bought a Calibra V6, a time warp moment when I got into it and turned the ignition on. At the time (earlier this year) I had a Focus CC, it out handles that. I've also had 2 mk2 Mondeos (a v6 and a 2.0 Zetec) - the Cavs and Calibra are & were better!, as were the revised mk1 Vectra. My only gripe with Vauxhalls of the time is where the window switches are (centre console). Just my 2p's worth!
This is great!
I do pride myself on being a bit contrary so after all the dull publicity the Vectra got I thought I might buy one! I took one for a quite a long test drive but in the end I didn't have it because it was a dreadful pale yellow! 🙁 Now if only I'd known the CD trim didn't come with a CD player! 😁
I had a diesel Cavalier as a company car, which I loved, then when it came to change my car I had a diesel Vectra! I hated it. It gave me a bad back as none of the controls and seat lined up! It also threw a timing belt when I was crossing a motorway interchange! Talk about brown trouser moments.
A much better review than a certain Mr C 😂😂 I always liked the Vectra especially the Mirrors. Did you check the fuel filler door to see if you got a valve cap remover??
Great duo in Berry and Mustard.
Have given you a Sub!
I had a vectra 2.5v6 sri for a bit. Earned me 6 points in two weeks, so i sold it and got a diesel much safer for my licence 😂
Had calibra 2.5v6 n was a weapon
I enjoyed this review. Please do some more Steve! My Grandfather had a Ceramic Blue (similar colour to this one) P reg Vectra 1.8 'Arctic' special edition, based on the 'LS' plus alloys, TrafficMaster and air-con. I remember the huge 'A B S' badge on the tailgate.
All dat kislux bags sssssoooooooo gorgeous
Cav sri 130 best car ever had .. run it 10 yr n no real issues
At 19 while my friends all had type Rs, GTIs etc I had a 10 year 2003 Vectra C 2.2 DTI and loved it. It wasn't wild, crazy fast or quick off the line but from 30+ and the right rev it picked up so nice, never once went wrong In 4 years cept EGR and so so comfy. I loved it's bulkiness and quirky front end. I was hit in the rear corner by a Micra, causing the smallest crease in the arch writing it off so I took the £900 and bought a BMW e39 528i. Biggest regret I ever made taking the money 😢
had the 2.5 SRI which i didn't like, gears were all 'wrong' and not SRI'y enough and later a 2.2 estate possibly a CD with the teddy bear skin interior I liked that
Great videos. Can you try to get the word "Ducati" into the next one please?
Soooo funny. Love the motorway cruise
Mike Brewers lunchbox, the arse of that car would have been dragging along the floor
You could get a 1.3 cavalier in the MK2
And I think a 1.4 in the MK3
Brilliant! forgot how good Steve is at this stuff. Your pretty good as well Paul lol ❤
This class of car and era was sensationalised by the BTCC of the time 👍
There's a 2001 Vectra 1.6 Club near me, done nearly 300,000 miles, still looks perfectly presentable & seems to be doing ok on the MOT front looking at its history (has never failed on rust amazingly. The best thing is, its ULEZ compliant, as its registered 8 weeks after the 1/3/2001 cut off point, which is handy seeing as its in that there London.. There's also a 97 R-reg V6 CDX estate inside ULEZ, & a 1-owner 96 diesel right on the boarder.
Really needed this today thanks, needs a tow bar thought for Brewer's lunch
Great to see you on YT please do some alfas but not garage queens everyday driver ones
I had 7 vectras over a 10 year period (company cars). The best one was a 98 2.5 V6 CDX saloon. Was a very quick car and lovely to drive.
Did it have a CD?😉
@richardhargrave6082 from memory all of them had a CD player apart from the 1st one that was a basic 1.8 ls with hubcaps
@@SA-zoom1 Happy days!
Brilliant and hilarious and true!
How did you getting getting rid of Ed with 74 horse power?
Great to see another saggy headlining
Funniest channel on You Tube!
Back in the day I had a Vectra for a short while and it understeered like an absolute pudding. I know all FWD cars tend to understeer but the Vectra was one of the worst I ever driven.
The Vectra was a handsome car and improved over the years. Have you forgotten the Mondeo Aspen, and how basic and horrid that was.
Always had mk 2 mk 3 cavaliers traded my mk 3 sri in 1999 for a n reg vectra 1.8 ls hatch it was three years old and rubbish only had it three months and went on to the Ford focus zetec that car was in a different league still like the mk 1 focus.
Quite possibly the very first re-make, which is better than the original
Lol i know ive said this before but 15 to 20 mins to change a windscreen on one of those .so simple yet so good .
I used to pity anyone with that engine in a vectra, at the time i had a mk3 astra with the same unit in it and it was steady in that, though at least i managed the giddy heights of LS spec, there's a lot of potential with this channel keep it up
I prepared to be controversial now the mk1 vectra was a sexy shape !.
My grandmother on my mother's side was Swedish or something , taste , minimalism who invented that and made it stylish ?.
I had a 2001 CDX 2.2 and yes it did have a cd player
Q - Does this car deserve that terrible review. A - absolutely. My father had one and to say the steering was vague and the seats were like planks is being generous. I had one as a company car and it was the worst made, design by accounts, stodgy handling chunk of junk. The Mondeo and Primera were so far ahead in every regard. The drivers armrest was a tragic design fail.
A quick check on the MOT history shows that between 2016 and 2017, the mileage changed from 128,181 to 71,119. Is this a Delorean in disguise?
It's a HubNut vectra
LOLOL Brilliant.
You can still get good use out of a 90s car if you buy right , some ppl call them shitboxes , others classics in the making, depends what you buy , I guess.
I covert a vectra mk1 believe it or not .
Steve you Norven bastard, I’ve just subscribed to the channel, where’s my £90? PMSL
Now that’s a face from the past subbed
Is that roof cloth suffering from rot I see? Mine went the same way until eventually it started letting in water. Mine was a 2.2l petrol 02 plate and I loved it. Now got a 2l Ford Mondeo Diesel
It's just the glue for the roof lining the roofs fine
Makes me want to have a Vectra😅
For doing long distance Motorway work sat in the outside lane for hour after hour they were a really good package, Must have done 300k in various types and onto the Insignia which was an unreliable pile of 💩
Oh crap , even the Vectra has headlining droop lol .
Love all the cavaliers and the vectra, till they made the barge shaped one 😂, it looked great , but it was just to big for it's boots, so to speak .
Carlson 😂😂😂.
I rember driving a vectra Sri I think I was , felt like you had hit a brick wall when you pulled up the hand break , and I wasn't even driving a Renault magnum , although I have done a windscreen on one with two other blokes 😆.
You couldn't beat a mk2 cav in the day rapid 😂.
So funny what a fantastic video you two are brilliant together 😂😂😂😂😂👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I wondered where you were going at the beginning and it was a bit of a Chore to get through.
Clarkson was a knob and still is.
The vectra B was built for a reason - to be cheap & reliable and it was very good at it. I have a very early n Reg with steelies and plastic hub caps and it was the same colour as that one (ceramic blue) and i love it. So much so i have a veccy b estate as my ULEZ car.
Testers need to test cars for what they are for, not for racing around a track or lanes at 90mph then moaning it doesnt handle like a Zonda
I would have that vectra in a heartbeat.
It maybe for sale not decided yet
@@blpoolevo06 not allowed another one at the mo, but let me know!
I had 8 vectra b Sri over the last 20 years... Clarkson full of crap... The most fun cars I have ever owned... there fast and nice handling lowered... the mondeos have dated badly compared to vectra
Another great video guys. Cavalier/Vectra was a good car but not a patch on the Sierra/Mondeo. If you look at the timelines of both brands, Vauxhall tended to copy Fords designs and improve it slightly except the driving experience. Vauxhall's had great engines but crappy paint finishes. Look forward to the next vid guys 👍
The mk 2 cavalier was light years ahead of the Sierra.
75 bhp.. oh dear.!! I had two vectra bs. A 1.8 16v with 125 bhp and a 2.6 gsi saloon with 180bhp. Also 3 vectra cs, 2 1.8 vvc and a 2.2. Good cars. Don’t deserve the flack..
They were a decent looking car - better looking than the bland Mondeo. However, I’ve driven a couple - a 1.8LS and a 2.0 (can’t remember the trim level) - they just didn’t drive anywhere near as well as a Mondeo - the ergonomics were also odd, with the gear lever placed too far back - the change was baulky too. I don’t think they deserved Clarkson’s awful review - but there were better hatchbacks available in the 90s.
I've got one of these, but in 1.8 16v 115hp powered spec, in that 'posh' Arctic II trim. It's the ideal 'an car' - perfectly reasonable at just being decent transport. It's not the best car in the world, but its lapped up 22k miles in just shy of a year - so I can't complain really.
@@teedeeayeee 125 not 115.
@kristianspencer1978 only in the later cars. Earlier ones like mine were 115hp with the big block X18XE.
@@teedeeayeee same power as the cavalier 2.0 injection.
What you doing on the 62? Stay on your own side! We don't need your nonsense over here!
❤
Ed China is on YT
I drove a vectra for years, cheap to run especially on servicing
My dad had a new
H reg 1.6 cavalier which was average but wasn't crap going uphill.Then he got a new J reg mondeo the first mondeo it was a good car i drove it learning to drive but after this he went and got a vextra P reg 1.8LS in black with tinted windows bigger alloys etc.I found this was a quicker car than the mondeo but fun times lol
The first Mondeos were K reg
@@andyb3666 no it was a L plate lol
L414 JSO
L414JSO
Had an 05 plate SRI as my company car . it was a bag of shite. Fell to bits after 80k
A 74hp engine in a 5 seater family car, not a lot.
Another example is the Skoda Octavia of the mid-late 90's, which had a 1.9 N/A SDI diesel with a whopping 67hp! & just 2 more ib•ft of torques.
The 1.4 petrol Octavia of that age was also similarly slow 😂
What gets me is I had a 1985 Astra with the 1.3 8v version of the same engine and that had 75hp. 15 years later and 300cc bigger and they somehow lost a horsepower.
Ive got a 2000 sri 140 vectra £1500 with 45000 its good cheap motoring these days. Pretty well screwed together to be honest.
Didn't Vauxhall have a massive come apart over Clarkson's review?
Yes they ran ads in the press sticking up for the Vectra even years later, showing off the various fleet awards it won. The review isn't as scathing as it seemed at the time but back then it was really shocking.
It didn't help them that it was replacing the most popular Vauxhall of all time the MK3 Cavalier, which had also just won the BTCC.
@@OnceDrivenForeverSmitten I still have a bunch of Cleland Cavalier stuff. Loved BTCC in that era.
I had a 1.6 8 valve Astra...really slow, the Vectra must be unbearably slow....
I've now got a 1.2 Clio, so much faster because they are so light!
If you ever fancy doing. a video on a late E36 BMW 3 Series with the 1.8 Automatic that has just been saved hit me up and you can borrow mine for content
I never drove a Vectra B but I had a Vectra C as a discourtesy car after someone rear ended my Astra and the Vectra C in rental spec (base model) is flat out the worst car I have ever driven. I have never felt so unsafe in a car so underpowered. It had no rear visibility (and no reversing sensors), was absolutely gutless so you couldn't safely overtake anything, and was so heavy with brakes so bad that the ABS kicked in when decelerating gently from 30mph for the traffic lights. I don't know if mine was just broken, I hope so because it felt like it never should have passed an MOT, but I had it for less than a week before I phoned up my insurer and begged them to change it for something else. I don't see eye to eye with Clarkson on much but the Vectra C was an unsafe undriveable turd. I love me a Vauxhall, I've owned 4 Astras and a VIvaro, but the Vectra to this day scares me.
Kalson who is kalson
Clarkson yes
But kalson
Where did you get that from?
Everything okay?
@@BIGinthe90s kalson you mean Clarkson?
@@BIGinthe90s you haven't explained who is kalson
Brilliant, I owend a SRi... a real crap car from new, put me off Vauxhalls for the rest of my life.
When was young punk in the 80s mate Pete used borrow his mum and dad viva 1300 flat out 55 mph that the most boring car as my mum had carpi 1.6 x flow not boring scarey when your mum 5’1 sure she cushion to see over bonnet . but hidden away in garage Pete mum and had lotus cortina mk 1 never saw light of day
Excellent stuff again
This is getting better each time