One of the earliest surviving Vectra Bs! What's this GLS 1.8 16V like to drive today? 

Finally my vectra is Famous! Thanks for videoing the car Dougie - great to meet you. BTW i am trying to find all other n plate vectras that are still alive and i reckon there is a maximum of 36 still on the road at the moment (some will be p plates) - so far i have found 3 n plates and 11 p plates and neither of the 1995 cars

I always liked the Vectra b, that's a real survivor there. Can't believe that was 28 year's ago 😮

I also have an n reg vectra 1.8 auto gls with 105 thousand on the clock I'm the 2nd owner and had it since 2003 love it

I had a V Reg vectra b as a stop gap car many years ago. So much of a stop gap 2 years later I still had it and it never let me down. If anything I let it down in the end but that's a story for another day love the channel 90s and 00s Vauxhalls are my bread and butter tbh hence trying to start my own channel with an X Reg 2 former keeper Astra G 1.6 8v Club Z16SE 97k recent cambelt had anything it needed in its life and more since I acquired it. Great Channel keep up the good work 👍

The Vectra keeps ageing well like a fine wine, it's a very handsome design.

I genuinely like the Vectra B. I think it’s a smart design that has aged better than some of its rivals, the Mondeo of the day looks quite frumpy now in my opinion. At college back in the day, a lot of people disliked the Vectra B estate we had in our mechanics course workshop, was seriously unloved. I used to like working on it though and even went as far as putting the wheel trims back on to make it look smarter. 😂 These were still fairly common even after the disastrous 2009 Scrappage Scheme, but haven’t seen a Vectra B in ages now. Even the Vectra C is an uncommon sight today.

This was sold as a Saturn in the United States. It was available as a sedan and wagon with either a 2.2L 4cyl or a 3.0L V6 with a 5spd manual or 4-spd automatic. Early examples earned a reputation for timing belt problems with both engines. Those issues were eventually corrected and Saturn went on to sell a little over four hundred thousand examples. You still see them occasionally daily driven even though the youngest example is almost 20 years old. I bought a wagon equipped with a 3 liter V6 in 2001 and I still own it, even though nowadays it's a semi-retired dog Taxi, which has almost 350,000 miles on the original engine and transmission. It's been very very reliable and durable and has never failed to start and it's only left me stranded twice in 20 years. Once from a bad cell in a replacement battery and once when the fuel pump died at 275,000 miles.

This Vectra was one of my favourite cars at Festival Of The Unexceptional. I can remember these early Vectra's being absolutely everywhere but they all seemed to disappear around 2009/10. It's great to see an N Reg survivor looking so well

He was very lucky finding that and the Cavalier. Two real beauties there for small money 👌🏻

You still see more early Vectra's on the road than early Mondeo's! I've had both in my day and preferred the Veccy in every way!

My 2000 Sri is just as nice as that. With 48,000 miles it’s had an easy life. But even so they are a nice car to drive very pleased with the build quality on mine and the actual enjoyment of driving it

Only experience of vectra was a 2.0 gls, belonged to brother in law when it was still fairly new on an R plate, lovely lovely car.

I had one of the first MK3 Cavaliers…then I saw a Vectra in this colour blue and fell in love.. I popped into our local dealer to find out what the colour was called and there it stood, a P reg… I bought it on site. It was an absolute disaster with a dash that was always illuminated with one fault or another and I think it bankrupted the Network Q warranty but I didn’t care. I had an Irmsher spoiler and exhaust put on and at 22 I thought I was the mutts nuts! It had a pretty significant smack thanks to a dopey hgv driver and never seemed the same after it was repaired… after it started leaking oil from every orifice I decided to get shot. I last saw it being used as a taxi! Loved that colour.

I also remember the drama they had with the timing belt idlers letting go all the time ! Still think they were good cars ! I had a y reg vectra sri and loved it Dougie 👍

My 4th car, and first non Mk2 Astra was a 1995 Vectra B 1.8 16v GLS hatch in Satin Red - N237 CMP. It came with those wheels but I had Cavalier turbine alloys fitted and it looked fantastic. One of the best cars I've ever owned. The one I had was a very tired one by the time I got it in 2001 having 150k. For a 21 year old, it was fantastic - cheaper to insure than my Mk2 Astra 1.8 CDi - F54 NSR and more expensive than the 1998 Rover 825 Sterling I got as a second car... Ultimately, it lasted 2 years with me until it hit 180k, the driver's seat collapsed and the manifold had started blowing and the bolts had snapped. It sounded like a tractor at 30mph... Replaced it with' a 1999 Mk4 Astra 1.4 16v LS 3dr (better than my Dad's then brand new 2003 Focus 1.6 16v LX 5dr both to drive and ride I felt - and a much better built interior with an amazing stereo. Both things Ford has struggled with even until recently - my partner's 2016 C-Max is on it's 3rd Sync unit!). That Astra was the last Vauxhall I owned until 2006 when I replaced my 1992 Citroen BX 19TXD (the only car I regret getting rid of) with a 2001 Opel Vectra 2.0 DTi CDX estate - X302 WNN. Unfortunately, that wasn't as reliable as my first Vectra oddly enough with my local Vauxhall garage, Curtis Kirkcaldy saying that Opel were worse than Vauxhall for their build quality as some of the parts were different. Especially the Xenon bulbs and controllers (dunno how true that was - did you notice that when you fixed your CDX?). Alas, the Vectra C turned me off Vauxhall after that and I haven't had one since. I ended up going to the blue oval. I have had a string of Mondeos since and I have found they had poorer interior quality and a much worse speaker system than either Vectra and my Mk4 Titanium X just matches the number of speakers! I will say that the Mondeo Mk3 and Mk4 are more involving to drive than the Vectra B but I never once felt it was as bad as it was made out to be. I remember that Top Gear episode with Jezza and that stupid sponge on his head complaining about the ride. Never did agree with him on that nor him also singling out it's performance in the wet as being bad. Again not something I ever noticed. I will say that it was more comfortable than a Mondeo Mk3 long distance - I once drove from Helmsdale to Blackpool in the CDX and I was fine when I arrived. I drove from Edinburgh to London in a 2005 Mk3 Mondeo Ghia X and I was a bit tired and achy by the time I reached Wembley. Making me feel old now Dougie! Excellent video and a nostalgic trip down memory lane! I miss my Vauxhalls - I would love to find a Belmont CDi... But I fear those are all gone now :(.

A work collleague bought an N reg 2.0 when it was only about 12 months old. It looked lovely. Another great video Dougie.

My brother-in-law had a 'N' reg 1.8 16v LS in the same colour as this car that had the timing belt tensioner failure and the engine damaged. It was outside warranty but only main delaer service so Vauxhall pretty much paid for all of the repairs. A friend of mine has Vauxhall Supertouring 2.5 V6 hatch from 1998 with less than 10k on the clock. He doesn't use it but is happy to leave it to be a future classic.

Most the early Vectra's were brought by fleet and used by Rep's, after 3 years many ended up as Taxi's/Mini-Cabs. I got to know a Cab driver who brought one of these from new. He made last to seven hundred thousand miles before he traded it in for a new Vectra C

Had the 1.8 l Estate with automatic, A/C, cruise control and all the bells and whistles. Loved it to bits and drove it until at 300,000 km (188,000 miles) it was quite literally run down. Had an Astra and a Mokka after that. Never as happy as with the Vectra.

These cars were bought in their hundreds by my Employer at the time, and we lucky chaps got to drive them to very high mileages which they took willingly. They revolutionised the company car, and blew the competition out of the water. They were fast, economical and comfortable 👍🇬🇧😎

You're doing God's work with these videos. Takes me back every time, keep it up 👍

Had one of these P291TRF until it failed it’s mot in 2015. Done over 100000 miles in it fantastic car.

Currently fixing my Grandmothers Holden Astra manual 1.6l City for our Eldest. Passed roadworthy (MOT) last week, need to change the timing belt as it is 1/2 as wide (could be the original- 168xxx Km's), radiator decided to split the tank last week too. Its different going from a 450rwkw XR6T Falcon to driving the 74kw Astra (probably less than 74kw now!)

R792FNK that was my late dads Vectra 2litre reg number it got to around 140 thousand before the gearbox failed , my late dads fault as he had a tendency to drive a car into the ground but it was a great car 140mph top speed on the M40 4 disc brakes , really good comfy ride and good fuel economy , sadly nowadays you have 2 choices either a small 1.2 petrol car or an EV not good take me back to the late 90s !!!

I've had quite a few Vectra B's. The driving position sucks, far too high. The steering on the early cars is awful, feels like the column's made of rubber. But things got better, and post facelift cars are actually quite fun to drive. The engines are all good, I even like the 1.7 and Di.

I had 2 N Reg GLS Vectras both excellent car's N856JNM & N549GPX without a doubt the 2 most reliable cars I've ever owned!

I had one of these 2.0 GLSi on 1997 when it was still a pretty new / current car , it was a nice enough car although it didn’t quite give the same feel as the mk3 cavalier did had previous to the Vectra, I think clarkeson was unduly mean and unfair to Vauxhall’s cars.

I know a bloke who had an N reg 2.0L for many years. When he finally scrapped it due to corrosion it had done over 600k miles. One hell of a car.

Amazing vid!! Nostalgic feelings coming up 🙏

I love these videos. I had an H reg 1.8 GL Auto Cav, and S ref 1.6 16v LS Auto Vectra, both of which I actually owned. Plus lots of company Cavs and Vectras I had over the years. Correct about the size, to see one now they look so small, when they were considered big then, although they actually fitted into average garages which many cars do no nowadays.

You could chirp the wheels in second in those 1.8 16v. My dad had one brand new a 96 P reg LS, very refined and smooth, but seats filled with concrete they were so firm lol. Great nostalgic video 👌

Take me back , fond memories of my R reg 1.8 , W reg 2.0 Sri and 02 2.2 dti cdx 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Very underrated car the vectra B I always quite liked them and always fancied a v6

Thanks for the great video and top marks to Alan for his efforts.

These have always been one of my favourite cars. They were everywhere (especially in the gold colour) but seemed to disappear overnight in 2010. I’ve seen about 3 early pre facelift ones since then.

Great video Scottie, on a very nice 1990's Vauxhall car. Had an Astra J didn't get on with it, now drive an Astra K, love it.

Another great vid. I can echo the "driving in London" sentiments. Was down visiting my brother in the Squishsquosh last month (ULEZ exempt woo). Car monstered it, but roads and other drivers - yuck. My brother calls his cat bob too :D My only Vectra driving experience was a 2007 Vec C 150 CDTI auto motability got me as a hire car, when my Corsa 1.4 decided to gearbox mayo itself in Glenrothes. Had the Vevctra about 6 weeks, fantastic machine, convinced me I had to change the Corsa as it was "no longer meeting my needs" - got it back to Glasgow eventually but problem reoccured, so I never saw it again and was on a hire car until the first of my Astra's was ready.

The Vectra is certainly not a bad car, but I do remember a lot of company car owners wanting to keep their Mk3 cavaliers instead of changing. The Mk3 was so good that it was a hard act to follow.

Great review Dougie, I enjoyed hearing about the history of this prominent model in Vauxhalls range from the 90’s. This one is a beautiful example, as is the Cavalier also featured in this video❤.

Nice video Dougie I really enjoyed that one @The_Car_Stalker you presented yourself in this really nicely I thought well done gents!!!

My dad had years ago has a taxi never let him down Another great video has always Dougie 👍

Great video Dougie very interesting bits of information about the vectra and the cavalier keep the good work up 👍 👍👍

Beautiful car - had one when I worked for Carpetworld back in the late 90s. Prone to crankshaft shell failure and really needed semi-synth every 3k to keep her purring. They disappeared just over 10 yrs ago as that's when GMs built-in obsolence kicked in. Traded mine for a Probe but that's another story 😅!

My uncle bought a brand-new Vectra in early 1997, a gold 1.6LS with a few cheap options- P767ARN. It got passed around the family a lot and stayed with us for 24 and a half years, doing about 130k miles with almost no fundamentals ever going wrong- rust killed it in the end. I wasn't a fan of how it drove but really it was a brilliant car and I'm pretty sure I haven't seen an early Vectra B since

I had a N reg 1.7td gls vectra that was probably a early one had the electric sunroof and the old 1.7 diesel carried for from the cavalier which the soon changed the next year I believe it was ultra reliable 👍

My first and last Vauxhall was an N registered Vectra. A 1.8 petrol just like this one. The thing was horrifically unreliable and I swore back then (I purchased it at 3 years old) that I'd never ever buy another Vauxhall again. I'm proud to say that I've stuck to my word and a Vauxhall car has never darkened my driveway ever again. However. By brother on the other hand swears by them and says he's never owned a bad Vauxhall. 🤷‍♂️ Still..... thank you for the trip down memory lane 👍 Great videos and keep up the good work .

I had the 1.7LS TD in the same colour on a N reg. Best car i had.

A enjoyable video Dougie, really starting to appreciate this generation of Vectra, i much prefer it to the vectra C.

Your more than welcome to come and have a drive of my x reg vectra sri 140 genuine 60k car

Ah velour seats my personal favourite, they don't seem to make them like that now unfortunately

Has a s reg Sri 140 in metallic red was immaculate they were a good looking car I thought

I briefly had a 2.2 150 sri saloon on a Y reg and wished i had kept it even though the road tax was brutal 🙄😂

This was supposed to go online at 6pm I missed the premiere. Oops 😂

Nice to see low mileage n reg vectra still kicking about Good information at start as well Dougie

Had one of these in 1999 on an N plate, it was a GLS and when I brought it as an ex company car it had covered 99000 miles.

I like Alan, he says "standard" not "stock"

So much negativity about these Vectras, I enjoyed mine, 50,000 trouble free miles, up hills and down dales. Comfy on our trips to Cornwall from Home Counties

I had a company 1.8gls Vectra on a P reg in red. Not as good as my previous Cav 2.0 gls which was a flying machine!. The Vectra was uncomfortable, dull as ditch water to drive, and the headlights were as bright as a birthday cake candle! I did 80K in 2 years in it and then it was due to be changed. Ordered the same again. This one S reg, Vauxhall sold it with added alloys and aircon, but to compensate for that removed the centre arm rest, thinner carpets, cheaper seats, lower grade radio etc. Oh and an ec unit which had a mind of its own like cutting cut on roundabouts and revving its head off at traffic lights! When it went back they complained about all the boot marks on the drivers door where I had booted it every time I got out of it!!

I've always liked the Mk1 and MK11 Cavaliers but never warmed to the Vectra, I've driven quite a few of all of them. I had a 05 Astra 1.8 for a week from work and the fuel consumption on that was shocking.

I had the exact spec car brand new in 1996. Ended up having five gearboxes 😂

Hi dougie, great video on the vectra! A mate of mines dad has an N reg vectra LS 1.8 16v in metallic green with 28k on it i believe, can't be many left! He also has an R reg corse diesel van and a vx4/90!

The problem with the Cav 1.8 was the single point injection.

Nice car, lucky lad.

I'm putting it's saloon twin back on the road

Another excellent video Doug. 😃 Did you spot the Tigra next to your Cadillac in the car park? 🙂 A very nice car, and a sad reminder of when people bought proper cars, instead of crap suvs/crossovers or "premium" german rubbish. 🙁

My old chap had a 1.8gls on an early n plate, binned it within months for the 2litre and then a year later went for the V6. Was easy to see the quality improvements across the 3 cars.

the 1.8L 113HP models were no slouch 😉

I have a chance of a nice early GLS 2 litre in red ..mint condition I'm thinking of turning it into gsi preface with Courtney tuned 3.0 V6 .and gsi kit from a rotten Gsi .would it ruin the car always wanted red preface gsi there rare now long gone

Alternative new catchphrase ? - get out of the car Bob

I Know someone with a T plate facelift sri 130 with 17k on the clock, sat rotting away 😢

I think you were unnecessarily kind to Jeremy Clarkson. He killed the Vectra at birth and I am willing to bet that he had a decent payday from Ford. Don't forget he had an escort cosworth as a long term car in the early 90's

My neighbour had a diesel. N604 AUY

Already looking forward to another ODFS vid. Hows the respray coming along on the Diplomat?

Sadly Vauxhall is dead - thanks to so many marques they are just a badge engineering exercise as a result of buy outs etc - I mean Ford just going to EV's and so on - car design is dead - just look at all the white vans on the road - they are all the same van with a different grille

We had a 1.8LS Automatic on a 99/Twhich was bloody hateful to drive (especially in the cold the gearbox hated letting go of gears!) but the 2.5 SRI V6 manual (97/R) we had was a different beast altogether - much better car in every single way. Interior was nicer, body kit it had on made it look beefier and of course the V6 engine with its awesome noise and bags of torque. I'd have one now.

Only £500 for a cavalier is a great deal

identical clone of my mums old one, p361umr i think

Had a vectra 2.0 GLS hatch then had a 1.8 arctic saloon. But the cavalier 2.0 GLi I saloon i had was far the better car.

I have a 97 Daewoo Espero

have you reviewed a Carlton (Rekord E or Omega A) and an Omega?

When we going to see gsi on channel

Vauxhall vectra A Opel vectra B

Was this filmed near Chelmsford?

When you uploading the NC500 Video?

Love this guys content follow it love his vids... But why butter up a ancient vectra b, ive got a 1.6 astra g and itl beat all of them, and no knocks or bangs... Wud like to see this guy cover the astra h-g models just my view

The Vectra is nothing more than a facelifted Cavalier like when the Morris Marina and Austin Princess became Ital and Ambassador.

The vectra's were terrible then & most definitely terrible now

I had a 2.2 SRi 150. Failed every single MOT miserbly costing over £400 everytime. Chain snapped twice. Rose bushes and trailing arms always needed changing. Went through tyres like nobody's business. Worse car I have even owned. Finally died when it could no longer pass MOT on emotions and water pump went on it. Good riddance.

Dullest car i ever owned!

boring then boring now.

The talking bit at the beginning is like your reading a script.not good but everything else is fantastic 👍🚙

I've sent u a message on fb and Instagram I have a corsa b issue and after ur advise 😊