Clarkson hating and talking about the very infamous Vauxhall Vectra. Also includes Hammond as well. speed e6 s1e2 s2e1 s18e5 s19e4 s13e2 old top gear s34e2
I had that exact, star silver 1.8LS 5 door, as a company car. I once saw 28 identical vehicles in a 10 minute journey. And when I booked it into a new Vauxhall dealer for a service, he said ‘we haven’t see this one before. What colour?’, ‘guess’ and he burst out laughing 😂
@@xXshinichiconanXx3 Honestly, I love my shitbox E46. Yes it's slow (M54B22), yes it's rusty here and there and yes I ruined it with vinyls and a big wing but my god is it fun to drive and has yet to fail me (other than things I break myself). I won;t let it go until it can't be fixed
I've never had such a dependable and reliable car. I know. I have different views and needs on personal transport, but if standing at the side of the road or phoning up your local garage to enquire if your broken down car has been fixed again isn't my idea of happy motoring. It seems however it is most car salesman and motor journalists favourite hobby. Real world people don't have the time.
@@heneri6024 Who cares about looks ! The engines run through the majority of GM's products and they are reliable and cheap and use very little petrol. Thats why I own one.
The thing I hate the most about the Vectra is that it’s the most reliable car I’ve ever owned i kept it running for three years never serviced it and passed all its MOTs.
@@van0tot100 there are always exceptions - most cars die because owners don't bother to check the oil and coolant, so when some leak happens the next thing they notice is a welded engine
That shape Vectra Clarkson was driving in this video compilation was the best looking Vectra and sadly its successor was dull and boring. What were Vauxhall thinking. Even today in 2024 looking back at the shape, it still looks good proof the designers got it right. Loved how the side mirrors curved with the bonnet. 1.8 oetrol engines pre 2000 were a hoot to drive
I have one from 1997 with the x18xe. Likes to rev to the red zone, not wat you expect from this car. I think this engine is based on the 2.0 gsi with a smaller stroke?
I always found Opels a bit boring... A friend of mine has a Vectra. He neglects it completely. Doesn't service it, or change the oil. He's driven the damn thing for the past 4 years and it still runs. Now me... when you look at my profile picture it's all clear. I'm a Mercedes guy. The thing you see on my picture is my baby. The 2007 W211 E420 CDI. This is a low mileage car I bought from Germany. A car with DPF and EGR issues. I removed the DPF, swapped the EGR and added a catback sports exhaust system. I took the car for a remap and did other mods to it. Now it fires 400hp at the rear wheels. But ever since I bought it back in 2018, I've only ever done 3000km in it. Yes, for 6 years I only did 3000 km. Granted, 2 years of those were covid times, so I didn't drive it at all. But what I'm trying to say is that this car is a garage queen. Treated as best as it could be, but it still developed faults. Now it doesn't start. It's an electrical issue. It's got fuel, compression and it turns over. Surely it must start... right? Right? RIGHT?!?!?! But it doesn't. Yet my buddy's neglected and abused Vectra still runs strong. I don't know if I should praise Opel, or be disappointed with Mercedes. I think I'm gonna praise Opel for making a fairly decent car.
As a luxury brand, Mercedes-Benz (especially post 2000) is prone to certain issues. Can't have proper reliability without mechanical design simplicity.
In all honesty, I had all kind of Opels when I was younger, not one let me down then! I have a hangar queen W211 FL too, a 2.5 V6 petrol, but my daily is a 2020 Insignia with matrix LED, HUD, all the gyzmos available except panoramic roof... I still think to this day, that the Opel is the best brand in terms of what you pay for.
I used to watch the French dubbed version (in reality it was just a voice-over translation of the original, though the narrated segments are fully dubbed) and I love how everytime they say Vauxhall, the French voice actors actually says “Opel” instead.
@@JamesGore1547 that's also common when you're abroad. When we had Vauxhalls and we'd go abroad with the car, multiple times we heard people see our car, usually children who liked cars, get confused by the badge and their parents going "English" or "Opel"
@FORZAPOTENZA That reminded me about when I was in London as a kid many years ago. When I saw an Astra, I was confused that it had a Vauxhall badge in the front instead of Opel. Then my father explained that it's called Vauxhall, not Opel in the UK. 😄
@@AshEvsy I had a 1995 Cavalier CDX, nice enough car but saddled with the awful 2.0 Ecotec engine. It would randomly abruptly cut out, usually in the most dangerous places such as when going over a level crossing or a sweeping bend on an A-road. Got rid of it in the end, after the head gasket went.
Vectra was one of the most reliable and best built cars from that era, and also one of the best looking cars. Nothing wrong with that styling, maybe it was a bit boring but it wasn't ugly as many other cars back then.
It may have been plain and not very sporty to drive, but it really wasn't that bad. And I think the clean and simple styling has aged very gracefully. Plus, if you were lucky enough to get the V6 SRi or GSi, it actually WAS a fun car! Ok the basic models were dull, but the 2.0 and 2.2 engines were good, CD trim upwards was nice inside, estate version was practical and good looking. Also the build quality was noticeably better than the ubiquitous MK1 Mondeo JC seemed to heap praise on.
Clarkson did undersell the Mondeo in his first review, going on endlessly about its dullness. One remark that stood out for me was "If the Ford Mondeo was food, it would be a potato".
@@owensteele1645 Yeah thats true. But he liked the V6 model which was a "baked potato with a good serving of chilli on top" 😄 Over time he changed his mind about the car and by the time it got its major facelift for the '97 model year he was singing its praises. That's despite the fact that it was consistenly ranked poorly in owner satisfaction surveys at the time. He was a lot more stubborn about the Vectra though. As with the Mondeo, it got better the higher you went in the range, and improved significantly over it's production life. Have a look on YT and see if you can find ANYONE who drove a V6 SRi or GSi and didn't love it... I don't think you will. Jeremy just had (probably still does?) some irrational hatred of Vauxhall as a brand and was unable/unwilling to be objective and fair about their cars, and the Vectra was his favorite whipping boy of all of them.
@@owensteele1645 Thats true, but he changed his mind about it over time, and he liked the V6 version which he described as the potato with a generous helping of chilli on top 😆 For some reason he never gave the Vectra any slack despite how much it improved over it's life cycle. A late model SRi was a way different beast to those early cars he hated on so much.
People watching this in 2024 need to remember some of these clips are REALLY old. The '95 to '01 ish model was still being made when I did my GCSEs and I'm "only" 40.
Very true. October this year (2024) will mark the 29th anniversary of when that shape Vectra lauched! Those early cars (well, any that still exist) are now in legit classic territory!
I had the 2.5l V6 as a company car back in the day. It was a hoot to drive! Not a looker but what an engine. When the company car tax regulations started to bite and I got landed with a 1.6l Ford Focus I wasn't chuffed at all!
Unlike many other Guys in this comment section I really do too hate this thing, I hate how boring it looks, I hate how grey it is, I hate how 2000‘s it is, its like a wintersday with no sun, no snow, no rain but just grey clouds. It is so uninspiring, to me this is the epitome of growing older and having to change your priorities, losing your inner child and your own soul, its a dream crushing, reality checking depressing piece of metal, it genuinley makes me feel sad and as jeremy said it best: uninspired
The Tesla would be at the shop too often to actually drive it, at least the Vectra is reliable, not that you want it to be because that means you have to keep driving it
If i remember correctly Vauxhall was quite pissed at Jeremy for his "Review" on the Vectra and lead to numerous worker layoffs and cutbacks for the company.
Kind of sounds like GM were looking for a PR friendly reason for the layoffs. The amount of Vectras I still see on the roads of the UK suggests that Clarkson didn’t make much of a dent in sales.
@@Jo3man96 Yeah, Vectras are still everywhere here in Devon, though pre-facelift mk1 Vectras are getting a bit rare. Still loads more than Mondeos though.
I think there's something mythical about Vauxhall/Opel still being around. Somehow they manage to squeeze a market segment for themselves that is loyal enough to not buy a Toyota or a Skoda or something, and it keeps them alive!.
And they are basically a zombie brand too. They were part of GM, now of Stellantis. Right now Astra has random Peugeot bits and it really has no reason to exist as stand-alone brand anymore, but it does for some reason.
Great workhorse and the Japanese izuzu td plant version for economy is the one you want Loved the immerscher touring car sport kit. Thought they were a decent car.
I love these cars and most 90s cars, although tbh I just miss a time when most cars were saloons, hatchbacks and estates and not the utterly tragic “crossover SUV” rubbish we have today. The lack of good saloons in the UK is the reason im importing from Japan.
Fun fact: the Vauxhall/Opel Vectra was sold in Brazil as the Chevrolet Vectra, it was the car for the wanna be rich drug lords and the boys actually dreamed of having one ...
The story I've heard is that Vauxhall refused to let Clarkson borrow a Lotus Carlton early in his career when he was just starting out with the BBC. He really wanted to do a comparison piece with an Escort Cosworth and similar. Vauxhall spoiled things by withholding the model he wanted. And he got his revenge on the by rubbishing their cars for the next 2 decades.
I had a couple of Vectra's including a 1999 SRi 140 when it was 4 years old, then a 2003 1.8 Vectra C that I replaced with a 2004 Mondeo that had done DOUBLE the mileage... The Mondeo was better than the Vectra in every area, build quality, comfort, economy, reliability... I've had a Type R Accord, 325, Passat's and have driven virtually every car in this class and the Mondeo is where I'd put my money every time
My dad had a vectra the last generation prior to the insignia: It was by far the most confortable car i have ever ride on, it was literally more confortable than the couch and it coulb have me and my 2 sisters in the back without any problem
The 1995 vectra was a success but was the worst;the first model had better interior quality and the 2002 version had wood 🪵 luxury style but total flop
I can only imagine Clarkson had some sort of beef with Vauxhall, because there's nothing fundamentally different from the Vectra to pretty much any other typical family car of the era thru to today. Nothing says 'yawn, how original' like a typical A4, 1 series, tesla, etc today 🤷🏻♂️ Trouble is, all the elitists would moan even more of all of a sudden, we were all able to drive AMGs, Ferarris, 991s and Lambos...
A4 is boring, but 1 series are fine. Name another RWD hatch with some power that is cheap, well there really isn't one. It's way better than previous 3 series compacts.
This reminds me of the first girl I started dating and her car. And now I hate her, just like the car. Sadly I drive a Corsa. Which isn't particularly any better. She had an Astra Mk4 / G. Actually it's engine also refuses to die. Like idk what to do tryed overcooking it. I tried driving at mind boggling speeds with my car. Gave it the beans, gave it to other people. Refused to give it oil. It just refuses to die at this point. I genuinly am scratching my head to how I can get it to DIE! It's just infuriating at this point in time.
Wife had a 2002 Vectra B 2.6 Sri and it was bulletproof and is still on the road today after getting rid of it with 80k on the clock in 2009! The Vectra C was bloody awful, test drove a VXR and it could not corner at speed!!
Your not wrong i havent driven a VXR Vectra but a 3.0 Cdti as a Courtesy Car and that Torque Steered too and it only had 170bhp not a good chassis at all .
Being from the US I can only imagine this was the British version of the Toyota Corolla of the era. I’ve heard it said that when you get sick you’ve perhaps come down with a case of the Vauxhall Vectra. Maybe there’s something to that.
Maybe it was because the UK had a lot of company cars and thousands had these cars. Mondeo, vectra and that was it more or less. They could undercut prices from competitors by a lot i guess
Wouldn't go as far with beautiful, but at the time, Vectra B was one of the best looking large family cars - probably only having Peugeot 406 as competition in that regard.
I don't remember it looking good at the time. Bland was the word that came to mind. Suddenly now in 2024 it looks quite smart. The fastback look being nicely proportioned and much smarter than most modern cars.
The best thing you can do with any of Clarksons/mainstream British entertainment motoring advice is ignore it. Blah blah Saabs are not on German level. blah blah Civic MK8 hasnt got rear independent suspension so must drive terribly. Now as an adult with my own thoughts and life experience, I know that it was all just nonsense. And the Vectra was a good car.
Agree with you, belived everything he said when i was a kid. According to Clarkson, a car must be german to be a car at all… which is funny beacuse the Vectra was german..
Last time I checked, they liked Saabs despite their flaws. They even made a bid farewell video in one episode, after Saab gone bankrupt. And not everything made in Germany is worth a praise - like Porsche Cayenne (ugly), Porsche 911 (could hire new designers), Porsche Panamera (guess what), Gumpart Apollo (atrocious).
@@Kierdziol They did do that farewell to Saab piece, which was good. And the 9-5 Aero racing a jet fighter thing. But it was always with the addition of "but I don't actually want to buy one". After owning several Mercedes and BMW, I know the Saab's we had were far better cars. Front wheel drive Swedish stuff is just better in the real world. Unless you want to go sideways on a track, which top gear was mostly about I guess.
@@ben3291 It's a mass market car. And BMW don't necessarily use amazing parts on their mass market cars. Some engines and some gearboxes are better than others on the Vectra, like any other car. BMW N47 engine, amongst several others, was rubbish too.
Clarkson hated this car but loved the fiat bravo because it looked different, yep because thats what matters in the real world, i dont value his opinion never have
Annoyingly... I do like the way some generations of the Vectra's looked. The example he used in the Saab film at 1:30 for example. I don't know what it is about it, it just looks sleek and retro without looking like it is ancient. Perhaps it's a more sporty version with a body kit that makes it look nicer, I'm not sure. That era of Vectra is much better than the last one before the Insignia. The box on caster wheels where the VXR version couldn't handle the power. One of those converted to RWD would have been a monster.
I have this car and I love it more than my dad`s Dacia Logan). It's better that any soviet-russian made car and it's cheap and reliable. Never understood this hate to Vectra
As funny as Clarkson is, he has always given me the feeling that he is so out of touch with the "common" man, that he thinks we should all drive Mercedes SLRs, instead of affordable cars like this
Nah its a caricature he's playing. He's out of touch a bit, like any disgustingly wealthy person, but not snobbish with it, I don't think. He does have some good clips in normal cars that are more recent I'm sure!
To this day I still don’t understand his hatred for these cars. Always thought they were pretty decent looking. Try comparing it to a similar age Camry, surely that’s more bland.
My dad owned a vectra, it was fast, well built and confortable I really liked it, but it wasnt obviously a Lamborghini. But who would want to go get grosseries in an old Lamborghini Diablo, now that is a truly horrible car to maneuver.
04:30 A tune that always plays in my head, whenever I see one of these dreadful german ecoboxes 😆 . (and yes, despite the badge this is a dull as ditchwater Opel, with another badge slapped on) At least eels & sodium make the Vectra momentarily interesting 😌👌
@jacobrumens9601 Aye. Arguably the worst thing a car can be is dull. It's why there will likely be few MK.III Cavaliers or Daewoo... anything's... around in the coming decades, simply because nobody will want them. The MK.II Cavalier by contrast; a few of those will definitely surrvive, as they were at least well styled and somewhat cool.
God it’s so boring and sad. I cringe every time I see someone driving a new Vauxhall. You could’ve spent that money on a 2 year old car that is nicer… Fully specced Insignia (from quick google) is £20-36k but a used 2 year old 320d BMW is £25k… one is good looking and fun to drive, and the other is like driving around in a literal bowl of dishwater…
I love that his hatred of the Vectra was completely irrational, since there's essentially nothing wrong with them. 😂 just a boring family tool. My dad had one for our family car when i was a kid, and it was fine, pretty reliable spacious, and actually nicer than the equivelent Mondeo at the time.
Damn. Vectra looks great and isn't dull at all. Skoda Octavia mk1 is one ugly dull car. Looks like crap (inside out) and drives like crap. I do not care about the "legendary" TDI engine, when the rest of the car is garbage. And to top it all, in my country, Octavia 1 is the gypsies' choice because of the big trunk that can fit so many scrap metal into it!
I had that exact, star silver 1.8LS 5 door, as a company car. I once saw 28 identical vehicles in a 10 minute journey. And when I booked it into a new Vauxhall dealer for a service, he said ‘we haven’t see this one before. What colour?’, ‘guess’ and he burst out laughing 😂
HubNut used to have a Star Silver Vectra LS. He didn't like it that much, though his reasons were more valid than Clarkson's.
I'd rather drive a 25 year old bmw before choosing this as a company car.
@@xXshinichiconanXx3 I daily a 21 year old BMW and it's great
@@kapiicefruit Not a second of doubt about that. I drive a bmw myself
@@xXshinichiconanXx3 Honestly, I love my shitbox E46. Yes it's slow (M54B22), yes it's rusty here and there and yes I ruined it with vinyls and a big wing but my god is it fun to drive and has yet to fail me (other than things I break myself). I won;t let it go until it can't be fixed
Strangely this 1st generation Vectra is now quite handsome compared to many modern cars
I've never had such a dependable and reliable car. I know. I have different views and needs on personal transport, but if standing at the side of the road or phoning up your local garage to enquire if your broken down car has been fixed again isn't my idea of happy motoring.
It seems however it is most car salesman and motor journalists favourite hobby.
Real world people don't have the time.
Actually this is the second generation (B Vectra). But I do agree that B Vectra still looks great. Timeless design!
@@heneri6024 Who cares about looks ! The engines run through the majority of GM's products and they are reliable and cheap and use very little petrol. Thats why I own one.
Vectra is a sexy car nowadays.
@@Team33Team33 1.6 Ecotec absolutely drinks in my cousins astra g
The thing I hate the most about the Vectra is that it’s the most reliable car I’ve ever owned i kept it running for three years never serviced it and passed all its MOTs.
You just want them to die so you have an excuse to get something better.
But they never do
Rough mate, praying for you
It think that is not an impressive feat.
The last thing you could say about it is that is is reliable.
@@van0tot100 there are always exceptions - most cars die because owners don't bother to check the oil and coolant, so when some leak happens the next thing they notice is a welded engine
The angry Vectra people in the comments 😂
they're getting rowdy over the most boring saloon in modern history
Hey Emile
@@Eggyteevee hello
For reeeaaal
I’d feel pretty angry about my life if I’d ended up driving round in one to be fair.
That shape Vectra Clarkson was driving in this video compilation was the best looking Vectra and sadly its successor was dull and boring. What were Vauxhall thinking. Even today in 2024 looking back at the shape, it still looks good proof the designers got it right. Loved how the side mirrors curved with the bonnet. 1.8 oetrol engines pre 2000 were a hoot to drive
my father owned both generations. His Vectra VXR turns many heads. A rare car
I have one from 1997 with the x18xe. Likes to rev to the red zone, not wat you expect from this car. I think this engine is based on the 2.0 gsi with a smaller stroke?
@@asifnoaman8978rare but still very boring
Felt fast too if you went by the optimistic speedo
I got a 2000 sri140 better than I thought it would be.
I always found Opels a bit boring... A friend of mine has a Vectra. He neglects it completely. Doesn't service it, or change the oil. He's driven the damn thing for the past 4 years and it still runs.
Now me... when you look at my profile picture it's all clear. I'm a Mercedes guy. The thing you see on my picture is my baby. The 2007 W211 E420 CDI. This is a low mileage car I bought from Germany. A car with DPF and EGR issues. I removed the DPF, swapped the EGR and added a catback sports exhaust system. I took the car for a remap and did other mods to it. Now it fires 400hp at the rear wheels. But ever since I bought it back in 2018, I've only ever done 3000km in it. Yes, for 6 years I only did 3000 km. Granted, 2 years of those were covid times, so I didn't drive it at all. But what I'm trying to say is that this car is a garage queen. Treated as best as it could be, but it still developed faults. Now it doesn't start. It's an electrical issue. It's got fuel, compression and it turns over. Surely it must start... right? Right? RIGHT?!?!?! But it doesn't.
Yet my buddy's neglected and abused Vectra still runs strong. I don't know if I should praise Opel, or be disappointed with Mercedes. I think I'm gonna praise Opel for making a fairly decent car.
As a luxury brand, Mercedes-Benz (especially post 2000) is prone to certain issues.
Can't have proper reliability without mechanical design simplicity.
In all honesty, I had all kind of Opels when I was younger, not one let me down then! I have a hangar queen W211 FL too, a 2.5 V6 petrol, but my daily is a 2020 Insignia with matrix LED, HUD, all the gyzmos available except panoramic roof... I still think to this day, that the Opel is the best brand in terms of what you pay for.
Skoda Octavias are good for that reason - you'll find loads of them from 20 or so years ago still going.
Never turning on your car can’t be good for it
I would much rather watch videos on the Vauxhall Vectra than any supercar.
Agreed. I find super cars so boring.
Agreed...Carwow .
You sound like a fun person. 🙄
How easily pleased is your partner? Im guessing very easy
@@dbzdrag0n I have no partner. The birds are too ugly in my area. Avoid Exeter.🤢🤮
I used to watch the French dubbed version (in reality it was just a voice-over translation of the original, though the narrated segments are fully dubbed) and I love how everytime they say Vauxhall, the French voice actors actually says “Opel” instead.
They changed "AAAAAAHHHHH" from Hammond screaming in a challenge, to "OOOOOOOO" when I watched Top Gear in a French hotel room once
Did they call Hammond’s car an Opel Nova in the hot hatchback episode
Well, Vauxhall are re-badged Opels. 😅
@@JamesGore1547 that's also common when you're abroad. When we had Vauxhalls and we'd go abroad with the car, multiple times we heard people see our car, usually children who liked cars, get confused by the badge and their parents going "English" or "Opel"
@FORZAPOTENZA That reminded me about when I was in London as a kid many years ago. When I saw an Astra, I was confused that it had a Vauxhall badge in the front instead of Opel. Then my father explained that it's called Vauxhall, not Opel in the UK. 😄
The performance models were good. The 2.5.V6 was great fun, especially the GSI
Massive downgrade compared to the Cavalier or Carlton
Still an awful car
@@AshEvsy I had a 1995 Cavalier CDX, nice enough car but saddled with the awful 2.0 Ecotec engine. It would randomly abruptly cut out, usually in the most dangerous places such as when going over a level crossing or a sweeping bend on an A-road. Got rid of it in the end, after the head gasket went.
Yes, pretty quick enough in a straight line “very bad handling car
Vectra was one of the most reliable and best built cars from that era, and also one of the best looking cars. Nothing wrong with that styling, maybe it was a bit boring but it wasn't ugly as many other cars back then.
I had 2 of this shape vectra. Loved them . The ugly thing that came after was awful
That was the best looking Vectra shape. After that it was ugly and dull and boring inside as well.
Why did you buy 2 of the same model?
@aaronbryan5095 I meant at different times . I had the Sri saloon sold it regretted it and bought the Sri hatch
It may have been plain and not very sporty to drive, but it really wasn't that bad. And I think the clean and simple styling has aged very gracefully. Plus, if you were lucky enough to get the V6 SRi or GSi, it actually WAS a fun car! Ok the basic models were dull, but the 2.0 and 2.2 engines were good, CD trim upwards was nice inside, estate version was practical and good looking. Also the build quality was noticeably better than the ubiquitous MK1 Mondeo JC seemed to heap praise on.
Clarkson did undersell the Mondeo in his first review, going on endlessly about its dullness. One remark that stood out for me was "If the Ford Mondeo was food, it would be a potato".
@@owensteele1645 Yeah thats true. But he liked the V6 model which was a "baked potato with a good serving of chilli on top" 😄
Over time he changed his mind about the car and by the time it got its major facelift for the '97 model year he was singing its praises. That's despite the fact that it was consistenly ranked poorly in owner satisfaction surveys at the time.
He was a lot more stubborn about the Vectra though.
As with the Mondeo, it got better the higher you went in the range, and improved significantly over it's production life.
Have a look on YT and see if you can find ANYONE who drove a V6 SRi or GSi and didn't love it... I don't think you will.
Jeremy just had (probably still does?) some irrational hatred of Vauxhall as a brand and was unable/unwilling to be objective and fair about their cars, and the Vectra was his favorite whipping boy of all of them.
@@owensteele1645 Thats true, but he changed his mind about it over time, and he liked the V6 version which he described as the potato with a generous helping of chilli on top 😆 For some reason he never gave the Vectra any slack despite how much it improved over it's life cycle. A late model SRi was a way different beast to those early cars he hated on so much.
Never had a Vectra but Clarkson obviously are bit nut with it. Proper good looking car for proper price.
People watching this in 2024 need to remember some of these clips are REALLY old.
The '95 to '01 ish model was still being made when I did my GCSEs and I'm "only" 40.
Very true. October this year (2024) will mark the 29th anniversary of when that shape Vectra lauched! Those early cars (well, any that still exist) are now in legit classic territory!
What's GCSE?
@@bicyclist2 a British thing. Education.
@@bicyclist2Equivalence of the American high school diploma or GED or VCE/HSC as they call it here in the upside down country.
@@soundseeker63 isn't it still 40 yrs for that? Not trying to be awkward, genuinely curious.
I had the 2.5l V6 as a company car back in the day. It was a hoot to drive! Not a looker but what an engine. When the company car tax regulations started to bite and I got landed with a 1.6l Ford Focus I wasn't chuffed at all!
Well, in Brazil we miss the Vectra....
Unlike many other Guys in this comment section I really do too hate this thing, I hate how boring it looks, I hate how grey it is, I hate how 2000‘s it is, its like a wintersday with no sun, no snow, no rain but just grey clouds. It is so uninspiring, to me this is the epitome of growing older and having to change your priorities, losing your inner child and your own soul, its a dream crushing, reality checking depressing piece of metal, it genuinley makes me feel sad and as jeremy said it best: uninspired
@Utopian_Turtletop-vn1iui'm playing with my Action Man every 2-3 days
First world problems, If our country had this car as a common one...we would've loved it
When I was a kid it was Cavalier vs Sierra
Even in 2012 there were a few Cavaliers around, being daily driven, that refused to die!
The rep mobile. Had a couple of these great cars.
tbh if i had the chance of a Opel Vectra or a Tesla (idc wich one) i would rather thake the vectra you can atleast use it as rallycar ^^
Vectra is million times better than Electric Appliance
Than the toaster @@S500-
The Tesla would be at the shop too often to actually drive it, at least the Vectra is reliable, not that you want it to be because that means you have to keep driving it
My learning cars were astra h and vectra b. Both were very good cars, even now. But I didn't know any better at the time, so nothing to compare it to.
If i remember correctly Vauxhall was quite pissed at Jeremy for his "Review" on the Vectra and lead to numerous worker layoffs and cutbacks for the company.
Kind of sounds like GM were looking for a PR friendly reason for the layoffs. The amount of Vectras I still see on the roads of the UK suggests that Clarkson didn’t make much of a dent in sales.
@@Jo3man96 Yeah, Vectras are still everywhere here in Devon, though pre-facelift mk1 Vectras are getting a bit rare. Still loads more than Mondeos though.
@@owensteele1645 I actually got ran over by a mk1 vectra 12 years ago when I was 16, buggered up my leg for a good 18 months at least
well, Vauxhall didn't design the car, so Jeremy only ever roasted Opel, not them
My first car, 1999 vectra ( opel in europe) but a sedan, still drives, sold it to my neighbour in 2018. Love it😄
I think there's something mythical about Vauxhall/Opel still being around. Somehow they manage to squeeze a market segment for themselves that is loyal enough to not buy a Toyota or a Skoda or something, and it keeps them alive!.
And they are basically a zombie brand too. They were part of GM, now of Stellantis. Right now Astra has random Peugeot bits and it really has no reason to exist as stand-alone brand anymore, but it does for some reason.
@@MJ-uk6luthat's because Germans don't like French cars, and Opel is 'German' .....
@@pe7893 At this point they are just rebadged Peugeots
Great workhorse and the Japanese izuzu td plant version for economy is the one you want
Loved the immerscher touring car sport kit.
Thought they were a decent car.
I love these cars and most 90s cars, although tbh I just miss a time when most cars were saloons, hatchbacks and estates and not the utterly tragic “crossover SUV” rubbish we have today. The lack of good saloons in the UK is the reason im importing from Japan.
Fun fact: the Vauxhall/Opel Vectra was sold in Brazil as the Chevrolet Vectra, it was the car for the wanna be rich drug lords and the boys actually dreamed of having one ...
Funny that here in Brazil GM announced this Vectra as "a lesson of design".
The story I've heard is that Vauxhall refused to let Clarkson borrow a Lotus Carlton early in his career when he was just starting out with the BBC. He really wanted to do a comparison piece with an Escort Cosworth and similar. Vauxhall spoiled things by withholding the model he wanted. And he got his revenge on the by rubbishing their cars for the next 2 decades.
Vauxhall had the last laugh by not making good cars after that Carlton.
Wait a minute...!
I always wondered if he got some cash from Ford for this - it wasn’t that bad!
I had a couple of Vectra's including a 1999 SRi 140 when it was 4 years old, then a 2003 1.8 Vectra C that I replaced with a 2004 Mondeo that had done DOUBLE the mileage... The Mondeo was better than the Vectra in every area, build quality, comfort, economy, reliability... I've had a Type R Accord, 325, Passat's and have driven virtually every car in this class and the Mondeo is where I'd put my money every time
@@IAMJASON444For what I heard, the 2000s Mondeos were great, in terms of reliability, equipment and confort. But I hate the design of the car.
The only Vauxhall of note was the Lotus Carlton, and that was Vauxhall just giving Lotus a base car to vastly improve on...
Then there was also VX220 (based on Elise S2, but with GM engines).
Monaro and VXR8 are rebadged Holdens.
And the VXRs, and the Astra GTE, and the Victor, and the Nova SRI..
My dad had a vectra the last generation prior to the insignia:
It was by far the most confortable car i have ever ride on, it was literally more confortable than the couch and it coulb have me and my 2 sisters in the back without any problem
Its very sad but for some reason i love the old vectra
Clarkson is a liar. The Vectra isn't dull at all, even when you compare it to today's SUVs and EVs.
Tesla? Boring.
Vectra? Not boring.
This doesn't make him a liar, but rather it's sort of like a _Well, you ain't seen nothing yet!_ situation.
@stephenbanyar1874 Hmm, probably.
For its time and before Tesla was a Major brand the Vectra was boring .
@@ben3291 At least it's not as boring as the Model 3 nowadays.
@@CadanHartleyElliott no very true I cannot stand Tesla's at all .
The 1995 vectra was a success but was the worst;the first model had better interior quality and the 2002 version had wood 🪵 luxury style but total flop
I had a SRi V6 180bhp model for 8 years and never let me down once.
Had it serviced once a year and oil every 6 months and it was fine.
I can only imagine Clarkson had some sort of beef with Vauxhall, because there's nothing fundamentally different from the Vectra to pretty much any other typical family car of the era thru to today. Nothing says 'yawn, how original' like a typical A4, 1 series, tesla, etc today 🤷🏻♂️
Trouble is, all the elitists would moan even more of all of a sudden, we were all able to drive AMGs, Ferarris, 991s and Lambos...
A4 is boring, but 1 series are fine. Name another RWD hatch with some power that is cheap, well there really isn't one. It's way better than previous 3 series compacts.
Is it any worse than the Insignia?
Second gen Insignia is a decent car, but the first one - oh my, even Americans had to taste it (as Buick Regal).
The early 2000s model actually looks nice, especially the rear.
My friend had a Vectra, didnt change the oil for about 1o years and was still going 😂
Drive a Toyota for some years and you will find every single detail on the Vectra high-end and attractive.
This reminds me of the first girl I started dating and her car.
And now I hate her, just like the car. Sadly I drive a Corsa. Which isn't particularly any better. She had an Astra Mk4 / G.
Actually it's engine also refuses to die. Like idk what to do tryed overcooking it. I tried driving at mind boggling speeds with my car. Gave it the beans, gave it to other people. Refused to give it oil. It just refuses to die at this point. I genuinly am scratching my head to how I can get it to DIE! It's just infuriating at this point in time.
I can tell you for sure that Ford used to pay Top Gear to give good reviews on their cars. Vauxhall refused to pay them! Trust me this is true.
Its not often I see a 20+ year old opel in mint condition but when I do its almost always an opel vectra for some reason.
Even Quentin Wilson hated the Vectra.
He hates all cars now
They look great now, they aged well.
Looks great compared to all current cars.
My dad had a T reg vectra... I always liked it... but then I wasn't driving lol.
I see a Vectra now and immediately think of Dougie from the Once Driven Forever Smitten channel 😄
Wife had a 2002 Vectra B 2.6 Sri and it was bulletproof and is still on the road today after getting rid of it with 80k on the clock in 2009! The Vectra C was bloody awful, test drove a VXR and it could not corner at speed!!
Your not wrong i havent driven a VXR Vectra but a 3.0 Cdti as a Courtesy Car and that Torque Steered too and it only had 170bhp not a good chassis at all .
Being from the US I can only imagine this was the British version of the Toyota Corolla of the era.
I’ve heard it said that when you get sick you’ve perhaps come down with a case of the Vauxhall Vectra. Maybe there’s something to that.
More like a Chevy Malibu. Just. a. car.
It was a trash car owned by dolites, benefit scroungers, the American equivalent of rednecks.
The 2.2l petrol version was rapid !?
Maybe it was because the UK had a lot of company cars and thousands had these cars. Mondeo, vectra and that was it more or less. They could undercut prices from competitors by a lot i guess
I love vectras, especially the last one they did, i'm looking to get one at some point
Id rather a Mondeo. Clarkson's right Vectra's were dreary, uninspiring and boring.
Though nothing went wrong with them.
It's funny to think that this Vectra was one of the most revolutionary vehicles in my country.
If aliens asked me to show them the most vanilla car, this would be it.
I understand what Jeremy was saying about the Vauxhall Vectra and he hates it about it
I built them at the Luton plant...then drove home everyday in a Mondeo.
Non-Brit here but I find the Vectra beautiful (mainly the rear) and it’s in Toca 2 😂
Wouldn't go as far with beautiful, but at the time, Vectra B was one of the best looking large family cars - probably only having Peugeot 406 as competition in that regard.
It looks smarter now than it did when it came out. Has aged very well. Equivalent mondeos now look dated.
It's aged well especially compared to the mk1 Mondeo
It looked really good, too bad it was so bad
I don't remember it looking good at the time. Bland was the word that came to mind. Suddenly now in 2024 it looks quite smart. The fastback look being nicely proportioned and much smarter than most modern cars.
The best thing you can do with any of Clarksons/mainstream British entertainment motoring advice is ignore it.
Blah blah Saabs are not on German level.
blah blah Civic MK8 hasnt got rear independent suspension so must drive terribly. Now as an adult with my own thoughts and life experience, I know that it was all just nonsense.
And the Vectra was a good car.
Agree with you, belived everything he said when i was a kid. According to Clarkson, a car must be german to be a car at all… which is funny beacuse the Vectra was german..
@@John-cn4my was German Built with Cheap GM Parts thats what let it down .
Last time I checked, they liked Saabs despite their flaws.
They even made a bid farewell video in one episode, after Saab gone bankrupt.
And not everything made in Germany is worth a praise - like Porsche Cayenne (ugly), Porsche 911 (could hire new designers), Porsche Panamera (guess what), Gumpart Apollo (atrocious).
@@Kierdziol They did do that farewell to Saab piece, which was good. And the 9-5 Aero racing a jet fighter thing. But it was always with the addition of "but I don't actually want to buy one".
After owning several Mercedes and BMW, I know the Saab's we had were far better cars.
Front wheel drive Swedish stuff is just better in the real world. Unless you want to go sideways on a track, which top gear was mostly about I guess.
@@ben3291 It's a mass market car. And BMW don't necessarily use amazing parts on their mass market cars.
Some engines and some gearboxes are better than others on the Vectra, like any other car. BMW N47 engine, amongst several others, was rubbish too.
Clarkson hated this car but loved the fiat bravo because it looked different, yep because thats what matters in the real world, i dont value his opinion never have
I'd have a gsi one
Absolute boss of a car but Jeremy had to try a standard boring one…😴
Clarkson also liked the Renault velsatis which was a disaster. The vectra sold out!
I love how the vectra fans are allowed an opinion but clarkson isn’t
Who does the song at 4:30?!!
Annoyingly... I do like the way some generations of the Vectra's looked. The example he used in the Saab film at 1:30 for example. I don't know what it is about it, it just looks sleek and retro without looking like it is ancient.
Perhaps it's a more sporty version with a body kit that makes it look nicer, I'm not sure. That era of Vectra is much better than the last one before the Insignia. The box on caster wheels where the VXR version couldn't handle the power. One of those converted to RWD would have been a monster.
I know this sounds odd: but Vectra’s just “smelled” German!🤷♂️
The Vectra B SRi Estate is the best looking family estate car in the world. Ever.
Maybe if you’re blind.
If you close your eyes then
@@DittoGTI I’m just amazed Stevie Wonder can use the internet!!
@@thesausage351 HA!
@@DittoGTI 🤣
Lotus Carlton is fuckin legend that shits over bmw and mercs. It’s a true badass villain car, not stuoid e39
Yeah I mean it’s alright. I don’t understand how he hates it either. This was the styling of the 90s
2:44 red phosphorus
had it, loved it.
A cure for ADD! 😂😂😂
I have this car and I love it more than my dad`s Dacia Logan). It's better that any soviet-russian made car and it's cheap and reliable. Never understood this hate to Vectra
I would rather have double pneumonia than a vectra
As a German I call these cars Opel
should call them GM instead
Im here for the angry Opel crowd
Pööppel(opel) in finland😂
As funny as Clarkson is, he has always given me the feeling that he is so out of touch with the "common" man, that he thinks we should all drive Mercedes SLRs, instead of affordable cars like this
Funny you should say that when he's stated many times that Fast Fords are some of his favourite cars.
Nah its a caricature he's playing. He's out of touch a bit, like any disgustingly wealthy person, but not snobbish with it, I don't think. He does have some good clips in normal cars that are more recent I'm sure!
He was a huge fan of the Mondeo. Even stated a few times that he didn’t know why people bought a 3 series over one.
I had a 1.8, shall we mention how rubbish the fuel mileage is ? 😮
Vectra was the best!
There was nothing ever wrong with it, it was an average car for the average man - which Clarkson definitely isn’t.
Vectra was an excellent car ironically
He is a ford man everyone knows there's f all like vauxhall just look at the gsi world make bits of any ford😅
The pre facelift B was BS. However the C was a much better fan than the Mondeo.
To this day I still don’t understand his hatred for these cars. Always thought they were pretty decent looking. Try comparing it to a similar age Camry, surely that’s more bland.
It was a bad review of a Vectra that killed "old old" Top Gear!
what is this song 4:31
There are lots of cars/manufacturers more deserving of this level of hate.
Is It all hating? I feel most of It is sarcasm, and admition, that You buy affordable, boring car that just works!
My dad owned a vectra, it was fast, well built and confortable
I really liked it, but it wasnt obviously a Lamborghini.
But who would want to go get grosseries in an old Lamborghini Diablo, now that is a truly horrible car to maneuver.
i dont get it why he dont like vectra i mean its look cool in my opinion im stranger to england s taste so i wonder.
04:30 A tune that always plays in my head, whenever I see one of these dreadful german ecoboxes 😆 .
(and yes, despite the badge this is a dull as ditchwater Opel, with another badge slapped on)
At least eels & sodium make the Vectra momentarily interesting 😌👌
I guess your right. The Vectra is not bad, it’s just dull and uninteresting.
Can anyone tell me who does that song?!!! Google turns up nothing.
@jacobrumens9601 Aye. Arguably the worst thing a car can be is dull. It's why there will likely be few MK.III Cavaliers or Daewoo... anything's... around in the coming decades, simply because nobody will want them.
The MK.II Cavalier by contrast; a few of those will definitely surrvive, as they were at least well styled and somewhat cool.
@@landyachtfan79:
Supergrass - Feel Alright.
The vectra, is as zesty as the british war time menu.
Vauxhalls have always been just a bit dull compared to most other manufacturers, even todays corsa and astra models look so boring!
God it’s so boring and sad. I cringe every time I see someone driving a new Vauxhall. You could’ve spent that money on a 2 year old car that is nicer…
Fully specced Insignia (from quick google) is £20-36k but a used 2 year old 320d BMW is £25k… one is good looking and fun to drive, and the other is like driving around in a literal bowl of dishwater…
I love that his hatred of the Vectra was completely irrational, since there's essentially nothing wrong with them. 😂 just a boring family tool.
My dad had one for our family car when i was a kid, and it was fine, pretty reliable spacious, and actually nicer than the equivelent Mondeo at the time.
Damn. Vectra looks great and isn't dull at all. Skoda Octavia mk1 is one ugly dull car. Looks like crap (inside out) and drives like crap. I do not care about the "legendary" TDI engine, when the rest of the car is garbage. And to top it all, in my country, Octavia 1 is the gypsies' choice because of the big trunk that can fit so many scrap metal into it!
1:20-1:37
GM in a nutshell.