I know, I know. I saw the Top Gear understeer episode but I'm still looking for a car big enough to transport the three kids in relative safety & speed. These seem to be big enough for our needs and they come in estate form which is great for throwing the bikes in the back. I reckon it's a good looking car and they aren't that expensive to buy.

Apart from the chronic understeer and shocking fuel consumption and possible dodgy build quality, what do people on here know of them?

Bit of a soft spot for the Vectra. My diesel one was as unreliable as they come, but in Sri guise it was handsome and drove really well when it worked. I imagine the VXR builds on that!

Good colour. Drove a 150bhp TDi a few years ago and I thought it was pretty quick. I always wanted a "race blue" VXR but never got around to it.

Now after seeing the top gear reviews back along I had written the Vectra VXR off as a piece of crap.

Then i drove one.

Its a very very good car and actually handles very very well. Far better than a Mk2 Octavia vRS thats for sure ( and before i get flamed, i have had a heavily tweaked mk2 vRS)

I was really taken back by it and actually considered buying either one of these or a Mazda 6 MPS.

From what I gather on top gear they removed the ESP fuse to turn traction and esp control off but the problem with this is the adaptive suspension is electronically controlled so ruined the handling.

For a less biased review read this, where it shocked the testers after being able to keep up with more powerful/expensive and more specialised machinery http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/65185/mitsubishi_evo_v_impreza_v_vectra_vxr_v_bmw_330i.html especially as that was only the older 251Hp VXR not the replacment 280hp one!!

My boss has a 1.9 (?) dizzle SRI hatchback and its actually a pretty good car. Feels pretty solidly built and handles really well - very little noticeable roll when giving it some on twisty roads - if anything it feels less roll-ey than my Octy and my previous Mondeo ST TDCI. I'd love a Vectra VXR (or a Zafira VXR) but have heard horror stories that if you get a bad one, it'll be REALLY bad...

Theres a forum I had a glance through a while back - vxronline it might have been. Get on there and get some feedback.

Oh dear... looking at arden blue VXR estates now. Flip they're cheap!

£475 a year tax!

Sorry but i just don,t like Vauxhalls.Had a few before and were terrible/unreliable etc.

Thanks for the replies. Apart from Stormchaser, most people I've spoken to have good things to say about them. I've never been a fan of Vauxhalls either, but this one seems to be a pretty good all rounder to be honest. The tax doesn't help and the fuel economy isn't even above 30mpg, but we do about 8k miles a year, so not massive miles.

As Mr D. Wonder said, the estate in blue does look really nice and had plenty of kit. Also, the Evo link from Sy wakes interesting reading.

£475 a year tax!

£490 now I think if over 255g/km. Although I could be wrong if they are in the band lower than that.

You can't hide from the running costs, so they are going to be a LOT of car for the money.

Go for it, big strong engine and handle much better than most give them credit for. Very good road car. They are well built too, much better materials than the equivalent Ford.

Not a fan of vauxhalls, i can never get comfy in them. My mum has a zafira SRi the seats adjust every which way but i still cant get comfy. Must admit the vectra vxr looks good.. Still wouldnt have one tho.

Sent from my iPhone 4s

One review I read on the Zafira said that the drivers seat doesn't even line up with the steering wheel!

I'd have a Vectra VXR estate but I'm not paying the best part of £500 a year tax when my Octy is as quick, more economical, probably better built and half the tax! Still doesn't detract from the estate above looking like a brilliant car...

buy a pre 2006 and tax is much cheaper

They look good and the engines are obviously capable if the Police use them, but the dashboards are just disgusting. Feel crap an all.

Much rather get an S4 Avant or a VRS Estate.

There is the dashboard thing. Big block shaped thing with no regard to ergonomics etc. And for a touch more you're looking at decent B6 and B7 S4s... V8, 4WD and a decent build quality!

I just love all fast estates!

I've always wanted a Phaeton for some reason. If my life changes in the near future so that I'll be doing big mileages, I might get the nod from herself too which would be good.

I've looked at all sorts recently, the Phaeton being one of them. It would fit the three children in the back no worries, but it wouldn't fit on our drive!

I agree Dave, there are all sorts of fast estates out there, but the A4 is too cramped to get our three car seats across the back and the boot is quite small. Even the A6 is a bit tight, it's all down to how they curve inwards once past the wheel arches. The Vectra is quite slab sided in comparison to a lot of cars and seems to have the extra few centimetres needed.

As crazy as it sounds, we can fit all three in the back of the 106 Rallye. The difference between it and our FRV in terms of width in the back seat is only 4cm. Yep, 4cm. I measure it over and over, but it seems that older cars have more room in them, even though they are physically smaller. Crazy.

Just checked on Confused.com and they've quoted me just under £350 fully comp on a 2008 model - not bad at all. It seems that being 40 has it's advantages after all.

They sound ridiculous lol

Been there, done that. Had one for 18 happy months.

It was a fab fast family cruiser. I'm still a member on vxr online, and drop in over there from time to time. I think there is some issue regarding stretching timing chains which is starting to cause problems on some Vectra's.

Regarding the Topgear review. Someone on vxr online had insider info that on the day of the review, they tried to turn the TC off, but it never fully goes off. So they tried pulling a few fuses to override it, and ended up killing ALL the driver aids on the VXR. They failed to mention that in the review. But Clarkson hates anything without a Ford badge doesn't he?

A good engine wrapped up in a very ordinary car?

I'm not a Vectra hater like some but they don't get my juices flowing. If I had to get a fast one it'd be a VXR8. If you're paying the top whack of tax you might as well get as much as you can with it.

Massive midrange gains from a stage 1 remap on these as well.

Been there, done that. Had one for 18 happy months.

It was a fab fast family cruiser. I'm still a member on vxr online, and drop in over there from time to time. I think there is some issue regarding stretching timing chains which is starting to cause problems on some Vectra's.

That's good to know. People who have driven them seem to be full of praise in terms of a whole package and reckon they are reasonably reliable. As for the timing chain issue I'd picked that up too. After a bit of reading, it seems that the same engine in the Saab 9-5 and the Signum doesn't seem to be affected as much but that could be down to the fact that a few VXRs are remapped to about 300bhp and the Vectras have a harder life on the whole.

A good engine wrapped up in a very ordinary car?

I'm not a Vectra hater like some but they don't get my juices flowing. If I had to get a fast one it'd be a VXR8. If you're paying the top whack of tax you might as well get as much as you can with it.

It's crossed my mind, but they are a different animal altogether and cost a heck of a lot more - well out of my reach. :(

Massive midrange gains from a stage 1 remap on these as well.

Yep, it seems that they are a bit quick once remapped. This page helps explain why,

http://www.courtenaysport.co.uk/vectra-vxr-tuning/info_87.html

They have a Remus exhaust as standard iirc, so no need to upgrade the exhaust, even with the Insignia VXR turbo upgrade, unles your after even more power. £1700 for 320Hp and well over 400lbft of torque!!!, you cant argue with that. 200Hp/ton is a nice amount, but 272lbft/ton is insane!!!

Must admit, ive found myself looking at these again as well.

I think you will be able to really drive a bargain, especially when you highlight the high tax band. I bet they arent flying out of the dealerships for that reason. Very in depth and possibly OTT thread on all the options, setups, potential problems/fixes that you might get. http://www.vxronline.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?162231-Spoons-guide-to-the-Vectra-VXR&highlight=spoon