USED Vauxhall Vectra Hatchback (02 - 09)

My car

Bought from new in 2002 as cheap long distance hack. 82,000 miles covered on mixed road. Fine on motorways. Not too thirsty. I am 6' 4 tall and have driven long journeys in comfort. 100% reliable (touch wood!). Only had to replace broken suspension spring. Easy on tires and brakes and engine doesn't seem to have lost much power - to be fair I am generally a bit of a captain sensible when driving. Cheap to service (never been dealer serviced). Loads of room in boot to haul stuff around. I live in country so has to carry bales of hay etc so is a bit of a family workhorse.

To be honest I would prefer car with a better image but will probably drive the vectra till it dies. It has been dinged on every corner so I don't worry about it any more. Wife has a much better car but I prefer to spend my money on income generating investments!

Want sensible, solid motoring with a bigger car feel and at a budget? If you already have good self esteem - don't waste your cash on beemers etc.

My car

Just bought 11 month old 07 reg to replace old 2.2 Vectra Design. No qualms about choosing another one. You'd be a fool to buy one brand new, but as a 2nd hand purchase you get a hell of a lot car for your money. The diesel is not as smooth as the petrol, but it's performance is impressive and the fuel consumption is excellent. Half filled the tank today and the trip computer told me I had a range of 325 miles. Went to Cornwall at the beginning of Feb in my old petrol model and a full tank was offering me the same range! People who complain about them being noisy and the ride being too stiff must just be unlucky. Yes the diesels are noisier than the petrols, but we're not talking black cab noisy! I have honestly hardly noticed the diesel sound from mine. The SRi's have got stiffened sports suspension, but it's not jarring my back everytime I drive over a pothole. In fact, I find it extremely comfortable. The seats are highly adjustable and support you really well. Also, I get really annoyed when people say these cars are dull to look at. I've got a black one and it's gorgeous. Chrome trim, 17" low profile alloys. People look at it all the time. It's very spacious and the boot is massive, which is exactly what I need with two kids and a dog. My only niggles would be the clunky gear change, which seems to be par for the course in Vectras, the occasional bit of turbo lag, and a rattley boot lid, which I managed to fix with a bit of duck tape where if locks down. I love it!

My car

I paid £12,000 for this car from new in July 2007 and have now covered nearly 10,000 miles. I bought it because of the deal I was offered and generally, I've been happy with it. It cruises along at 70mph doing 2000rpm with no effort at all and I'm averaging 42mpg with 3/4 of my driving being in heavy traffic. Apart from a squeaky driver's seat, I have experienced a front wiper/washer fault when freezing (wipers do not work properly when washer fluid has frozen - easily cured using a higher concentrate but annoying nevertheless).

POSITIVES: Purchasing and running costs; External appearance; boot size; fuel economy; engine power & refinement; security and safety features; cruise control and other nice little gadgets; quality feel to the dash and trim.

NEGATIVES: Lack of rear seat head and leg room; an annoying recurring squeaky driver's seat; takes a while to warm up; air con not as powerful as expected; steering feels a bit light at speed; front seat cup holders and centre armrest poorly designed.

My car

Needed a car in a hurry, just lost my company BMW due to changing job. Amazed at the value for money at the Vectra £10.4k on the road, what a bargin. Completed nearly 6K miles since November, lovely to drive on the motorway, not so good around town, suspension a bit on the soft and bouncy side. 1.8 engine a bit slow on acceleration, can get nearly 40 to the gallon with a bit of effort, 30-32 the norm. Overall very good, certainly not a patch on the BMW, but the BMW was 3 times the price, 3 times the car !!! I don't think so. I'm converted to budget motoring with Vauxhall.