Vauxhall Vectra Estate

2:38pm Tuesday 26th June 2007

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Price: £15,875

WHAT DO a plastic castle, a climbing frame, two slides, a Wendy house and several packets of screws have in common?

Well they all managed to fit inside the Vauxhall Vectra estate at the same time, when I needed to shift some garden toys last week.

In these days of people-carriers, SUVs and cross-overs it's easy to forget that the estate reigned supreme as the practical family car choice for almost a century.

Traditional big, old-fashioned estates aren't particularly good-looking and they most certainly aren't trendy.

But sometimes the original ideas are the best and as a useful allrounder a car like the Vectra holdall still has a lot to recommend it.

There's a surprising amount of difference between the normal Vectra saloon and its estate cousin.

Because the shooting brake shares the same extended wheelbase as the dead-duck Vauxhall Signum, and the boot overhangs the rear wheels by a fair way, it's 200mm longer.

It even beats the massive Chrysler Voyager for size. And, as the Americans say, sometimes there's just no substitute for size, no matter how cleverly a car's seats fold up or take out.

With the seats folded you can stow 1,850-litres of stuff inside, more than the now-departed Omega estate, and the seat backs fold flat without you needing to find somewhere for the head rests.

The front passenger seat also folds down, meaning you can slide loads up to 2,046mm long down the left hand side of the vehicle - even my son's plastic castle turrets weren't that long!

Four chromed lashing points in the boot came in handy for holding stuff down.

The boot is fully carpeted and there are small compartments located behind the wheel arches and ahead of the rear lights. Changing bulbs should be a doddle. The parcel shelf is a roller blind fabric type.

The boot is so big it actually needs two lights, while snuggled beneath the floor is a space-saver tyre and there's a useful swing-out tow bar.

Some of the switchgear is a bit cheap (like the main light switch) and the remote door mirrors require three different buttons when one should do the job. The audio controls are complex, you have to drill down the menus to adjust the settings, and the air conditioning knobs are too low.

I've finally got to grips with Vauxhall's indicator/wiper stalk arrangement after nearly ten years of trying.

Vauxhall's instruments are clear and easy to see at a glance.

The speedo reads to 160mph and the rev counter is red-lined at 5,000rpm.

A digital clock sits in the middle of the fascia.

The Vectra's interior is vast but it betrays its age in some areas, most notably the lack of oddment storage in the cabin and the absence of cup-holders for rear occupants. A third passenger in the back has to splay their legs either side of a large transmission tunnel.

There's a fairly useless lockable plastic ski hatch in the rear seats, too, but a Vectra estate probably wouldn't be first choice for the trendy St Moritz crowd anyway.

And that's the Vectra dilemma.

It may be a good car, a great estate even, but ever since Jeremy Clarkson famously spent five minutes rubbishing its predecessor on BBC Top Gear the Vectra has suffered from an image problem.

It has spent its entire life in the shadow of the better-looking and sharper-handling Ford Mondeo.

Not that Vauxhall hasn't tried to make the Vectra better. In fact, the engineers haven't stopped fiddling from the moment the Vectra went on sale, with the result that the latest models are much improved over their predecessors.

The biggest revisions came in 2005, when significant alterations were made to the suspension with the aim of giving the car a greater dose of driver appeal.

It still doesn't feel as good as the Mondeo but the suspension, which sometimes lurched alarmingly around sharp bends, has been markedly calmed down.

Mind you, no one buys a car like this to go ragging it around their favourite country lanes. At steady-away speeds the ride is comfortable but still slightly firmer than before. Stiff springs are a boon if you're planning to make use of that cavernous boot space, as well. Without it, the sophisticated 'intelligent' swiveling front headlights would be pointing at the moon, not round corners.

The Vectra has always been a fine cruiser and all those attributes have transferred intact to the estate body-style. Even strong cross winds failed to deflect the Vectra on the motorway.

It's easy to see why so many longdistance drivers choose this car.

The engine and trim choice refects the Vectra's importance in the Vauxhall firmament. There are small engines and large ones, hatchbacks, saloons and estates, petrol and diesel plus a bewildering six different trim levels.

Something for everyone, then.

The test car was powered by the trusty General Motors' 1.9 turbodiesel that is one of the most popular Vectra choices, particularly among private drivers.

The capacity may be a bit stingey but there's nothing wrong with a 148bhp output, nor the 232 ft/lb of torque available from a mere 2,000 rpm.

The estate is a large car but the 1.9 TD can hustle it along at a surprising lick. From rest you can reach 60mph in comfortably less than ten seconds and the top speed is an autobahn-friendly 138mph, refelecting the Vectra's excellent aerodynamics. The slippery shape also contributes to the fine economy of 48.7mpg, as does the standard six-speed gearbox. In top at 60mph the engine is turning over a lazy 1,500rpm.

Those figures apply to the high-output 16-valve version of the TD engine. Derv drivers who can't quite stretch to that model should opt for the 120bhp version. It's cheaper but not much slower.

Fuel economy is just the same.

The Exclusiv (complete with dodgy spelling) trim level sounds like it should be sitting at the top-of-the-range but, in reality, it's actually a mid-range model.

Your £15,875 buys air conditioning, electric front windows, a CD player, alloy wheels and cruise control.

That's a decent haul, but as the dad of a two-year-old toddler in the back I'd want electric rear windows as well - a feature that isn't available on this model even as an extra-cost option.

The air conditioning fan is noisy as well, making a normal conversation strained even on the second of four speeds.

For a car that's in its twilight years the Vectra has matured nicely. There's loads of room in the front and back, the seats drop down at the touch of a button to reveal a giant boot and the 1.9 TD is both fast and frugal.

Before you look down your nose at the badge remember that the Vectra donates its platform and much of its running gear to the Saab 9-3 and the Cadillac BLS.

SPECIFICATION

Engine: 1910cc turbodiesel
Max power: 120bhp @ 3,500rpm
Max torque: 280Nm @ 2,000rpm
Max speed: 124mph 0-62mph: 11.5 seconds
Fuel consumption: 48.7mpg combined
Equipment: Alloy wheels, central locking, power steering, passenger, driver and side airbags, electric front windows, deadlocks, immobiliser, seat height adj, electric mirrors, cruise control.
Extras: Electric sunroof (£600), hands-free phone (£300), satellite navigation (£1,250).
What the papers said: "The Vectra is a stylish, good-to-drive family or fleet car" - What Car