2006/7 Vectra 1.8 Sri

[moorlander]

Hi

a newbie qn for you all regarding the above. I am looking to buy an SRi & popped to my local dealers to test one out, I liked the ride & handling but unfortunately could not give it much wellie due to trafffic. I am not a boy-racer (too old!) but would like to drive something with a bit of spirit, is there much difference between the 1.8 & 2.2 engines (& the 1.9 for that matter) in terms of performance ? is the 1.8 more than capable as its quite a big car? I currently own a 02 vectra 1.8LS and its a bit flat...any comments would be welcome

[Steel]

My personal feeling is that the 1.8 is too underpowered for a car the size of the Vectra, both the old B and certainly the C which is a much lerger car. One of the problem with modern engine from all manufacturers is that even though they produce a lot of power for their size you have to thrash the living daylights out of them to get them to produce it. This is not a new thing, I remember a friend of mine changing his Senator 24 valve for an Omega MV6 and he was terminally disappointed with the pulling power, this was due to the lack of torque at low revs, thrash it and it went like stink but he was used to just putting his foot down at low speeds in high gear and the grunt pulling it through.

I know I am probably biased because I have a 1.9 cdti 150 but it seems an ideal compromise to me with torque, power, perfomance and economy all rolled into one. the 2.2 after all only has 5 horsepower more in standard form.

[ryan.d]

Hi
i believe the 06/07 1.8 engine comes with VVT (varaible Valve Timing) and will have about 20 more BHP than your current 1.8 of 122 BHP. So you should notice a fair improvement in acceleration with similar fuel consumption (if not better).
I drive an 05 1.8 with the same engine as your current one but with a short ratio gearbox. I find it more than enough for day to day driving and cruises well on the motorway. It can keep up with many of the bigger boys but can feel strained when fully packed up especially in 4th gear. Tows a large caravan to france well enough though!
I previously had a 2.2 SXI. This was alot better at pickup and did feel alot more relaxed but only got around 30mpg. (getting 41 out of the 1.8)
The 1.9 diesels are a totally different game, you should really test drive one but in my opinion the diesel gearbox's and noise levels dont match the petrol engines. But all the engines in our vecys are decent ones.

[Stevel]

I agree with Steel. Got a hired 1.8 Sri outside now and although the car itself is fabulous the overtaking performance coming up from Birmingham on the A41 yesterday was very frustrating.

Fine on the motorways though.

[mushy2007]

I had a 2.2 dti which i changed for a 2.2 direct and i really missed the turbo on the motorway where most of mine time is spent.

So i swapped the 2.2 for new 1.9cdti and is fantastic.

In january i had a 1.8 sri xp on hire from vx and it handles and rides very well but seriously lacks power.

[moorlander]

Thanks for the replies, I will have to test drive the 1.8 again & the 1.9 . the 2.2 engine seems quite rare (from a buyers point of view)

Ryan.d - what do you mean by "The 1.9 diesels are a totally different game", you should really test drive one" ?

edit - I presume the 150 diesel is the one to go for?

Thanks!

[learoy69]

oh yes 1.9 cdti sri 150 by far the best

[Steel]

I changed from a Vectra B 2.0 DTI. I wanted a Vectra C SRI diesel to replace it. My local dealer had what I thought was exactly what I wanted, a black SRI with sat nav so I went for a test drive. The difference between my old Vectra and the one I drove was unbelieveable, I thought 'great', then I asked the salesman 'is this a 120 or a 150?' he replied 'it's a 120, we have a 150 in but my boss reckons there isn't a lot of difference'. Me being me said 'well can I just try it before I make my mind up?'

The response from the salesman after the test drive was 'my boss was wrong wasn't he?'

I don't think you would be disappointed with the perfomance of a 1.9 cdti 150 and if you have a quiet word with nutron you can put another 100 hp on top!

[ryan.d]

as in they are very different to the 1.8! They have plenty of torque and im sure you would be impressed with the cdti's.

[sonic]

As usual, views on the 1.8 VVT by people who dont own one! (Don't shoot, only joking!)

I have the 1.8 VVT engine in an SRi estate, so a failry big heavy chunk of metal for it to move around.
It is a totally different type of engine from the CDTi and the petrol 2.2, in repsect to how you drive it.
It is a VVT engine so it thrives on revs, you need to give it some to get the power out of it.
For general day to day driving, in traffic etc it's a good engine, you just bimble around and it gives better MPG than the 2.2, mine returns mid 30's MPG around town. High 30's on a run, the hatchback is even better.

When you want to get a move on you need to rev it. The engine comes alive at 4000RPM and it loves it. It's a cracking engine a good balance of Power V MPG.

If you want an all rounder then the the 1.9 CDTi is superb.
Lots of power, lots of low end grunt and great MPG, but expect to pay £1000-£1500 more than the same spec car with a VVTi engine.

I figured £1000-£1500 will buy a lot of petrol so I got a VVTi ! (and it doesn't go wrong as often as the CDTi!)