welshwizard
10-19-2002, 11:35 AM
Finally, the day has arrived to have my double header test drive - a Vector 2.Ot Auto and a Vectra 2.2 SRi.
I only managed to sit in the Vectra as Nidd Vale decided to have one of their used car weekends (the sort where £500 is chopped of the price of the used car and you face getting £700 less for your trade-in) - back to the Vectra later.....
Like the 9-3 H brought to the midlands meet it was a silver vector saloon with the auto box, but with park assist and sports chassis.
Verdict? I loved it, the things that impressed me were visibility, refinement (it was so quiet), comfort level (the seats and wonderful), performance from the 175brake turbo engine and the handling (it felt as if it was on rails).
Took a while to get accustomed to the auto box, yes I have driven autos before, but not with turbocharged cars, so if you're not careful you find that auto box changing up at the wrong moment. So this is where the manual shift option comes in useful and I found the setup so easy to use after a while.
Yes, the ride was a bit choppy, so is my Vectra's. Handling was superb, it felt incredibly agile through the corners
As to the quality of the interior trim, I had no complaints. It is definitely classier than the Vectra SRi, slightly less spacious but it is a physically smaller car. The main complaint I had about the old 9-3 was the space in the footwell, no such problem with the new car.
Lookswise - it does have presence, but it would be better with the lip spoiler from the Aero.
would I buy one? - yes, but I would not be able to afford a brand new one (car is listed at £26k) but I want to wait until the Aero comes out and see what that's like.
Went back to the Vectra - dealership was too busy with teenage girls cooing at the Corsas so I had to be content with sitting in the SRi in the showroom, I will reserve my verdict but it is reassuring to know that GM Europe has succeeded in producing two entirely different cars from the ground up using some similar components, one is a repmobile and the other being a sports saloon. It could have been tempting for GM to force Saab to build a clone of the Vectra, but they haven't (unlike the X and S-types which are Ford/Lincoln's in drag). I know the Vectra does have it many critics, but having owned one (an SRi, admittedly the best of a bad bunch) I really like them and I would consider having another one.
But after driving the new 9-3, well I know which one I would rather have...
Just to waste dealer's time I am also going to have a look at the following:
MG ZT 160 (just for the hell of it)
BMW 3-series (just to see if BMW dealers are any more or less arrogant than my last test drive)
Audi A4 - (as above)
Fdraud Mundano Zetec (just to see how bad they are)
Volvo S60 (if I can actually fit inside - I struggled inside the one in the Volvo Museum in GOthenburg).
I'm not wasting my time with the Passat - as the petrols are not refined and customer service is diabolical. The 9-3 is vastly superior. Why on earth do people consider the Passat a benchmark?
I know VW diesels are good but when it comes to petrol engines they fall behind.
And there are those who rant on about Honda Accords - wonderful engines the VTEC's they say! Ever driven a 1.8 Accord? It is the motoring equivalent of a Mogadon tablet. I was given one for a loan car, because I foolishly asked for a car larger than the Astra I was offered, and I wished I had taken the Astra. They are also insipid - a Lada Samara has more character.
After all that ranting, I think I've made my point. I like the new 9-3
I only managed to sit in the Vectra as Nidd Vale decided to have one of their used car weekends (the sort where £500 is chopped of the price of the used car and you face getting £700 less for your trade-in) - back to the Vectra later.....
Like the 9-3 H brought to the midlands meet it was a silver vector saloon with the auto box, but with park assist and sports chassis.
Verdict? I loved it, the things that impressed me were visibility, refinement (it was so quiet), comfort level (the seats and wonderful), performance from the 175brake turbo engine and the handling (it felt as if it was on rails).
Took a while to get accustomed to the auto box, yes I have driven autos before, but not with turbocharged cars, so if you're not careful you find that auto box changing up at the wrong moment. So this is where the manual shift option comes in useful and I found the setup so easy to use after a while.
Yes, the ride was a bit choppy, so is my Vectra's. Handling was superb, it felt incredibly agile through the corners
As to the quality of the interior trim, I had no complaints. It is definitely classier than the Vectra SRi, slightly less spacious but it is a physically smaller car. The main complaint I had about the old 9-3 was the space in the footwell, no such problem with the new car.
Lookswise - it does have presence, but it would be better with the lip spoiler from the Aero.
would I buy one? - yes, but I would not be able to afford a brand new one (car is listed at £26k) but I want to wait until the Aero comes out and see what that's like.
Went back to the Vectra - dealership was too busy with teenage girls cooing at the Corsas so I had to be content with sitting in the SRi in the showroom, I will reserve my verdict but it is reassuring to know that GM Europe has succeeded in producing two entirely different cars from the ground up using some similar components, one is a repmobile and the other being a sports saloon. It could have been tempting for GM to force Saab to build a clone of the Vectra, but they haven't (unlike the X and S-types which are Ford/Lincoln's in drag). I know the Vectra does have it many critics, but having owned one (an SRi, admittedly the best of a bad bunch) I really like them and I would consider having another one.
But after driving the new 9-3, well I know which one I would rather have...
Just to waste dealer's time I am also going to have a look at the following:
MG ZT 160 (just for the hell of it)
BMW 3-series (just to see if BMW dealers are any more or less arrogant than my last test drive)
Audi A4 - (as above)
Fdraud Mundano Zetec (just to see how bad they are)
Volvo S60 (if I can actually fit inside - I struggled inside the one in the Volvo Museum in GOthenburg).
I'm not wasting my time with the Passat - as the petrols are not refined and customer service is diabolical. The 9-3 is vastly superior. Why on earth do people consider the Passat a benchmark?
I know VW diesels are good but when it comes to petrol engines they fall behind.
And there are those who rant on about Honda Accords - wonderful engines the VTEC's they say! Ever driven a 1.8 Accord? It is the motoring equivalent of a Mogadon tablet. I was given one for a loan car, because I foolishly asked for a car larger than the Astra I was offered, and I wished I had taken the Astra. They are also insipid - a Lada Samara has more character.
After all that ranting, I think I've made my point. I like the new 9-3