Another "What car?" thread

[kerzo]

OK guys I have had a look through this forum and it's good to see a resource where people seem to know their stuff! Sorry if this question has been asked to death but I could only find bits and pieces of info that I required.

I have been away from the Vauxhall fraternity for a few years now and wish to return. I am looking at a CDTi Vectra mainly for motorway commuting (~ 70miles per day) however there are a few things I am still unsure of:


- Are there any differences between the facelift and pre-facelift Vectras aside from the obvious cosmetic changes?

- What are the advantages/disadvantages between the CDTi 120 and 150 engines?

- Should I discount the DTi models altogether?

- Is the gearbox the same in both the 120 and 150 models and if so what is the engine speed at say 70mph?

- What MPG should I expect to see on 35 mile motorway journeys? Am I being unrealistic with 60mpg+ ?



Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for contributing!

[Sean-2.2Direct]

[H0885]

Welcome Kerzo

I have owned a 52 plate 2.0 dti for three years. I have done about 60000 ish miles in that time. Apart from a little problem with the heater it’s been fine. I wouldn’t discount the dti because they're reasonably priced and very well equipped. A good all round motor. I have driven the 1.9cdti and think it’s an excellent car. I use BP Ultimate diesel and always have, it’s helped with emissions, injectors and with fuel consumption.

H0885

[ditchp]

- Are there any differences between the facelift and pre-facelift Vectras aside from the obvious cosmetic changes?

pre-facelift vec's seem to have a bit better standard spec to facelift model's......

- What are the advantages/disadvantages between the CDTi 120 and 150 engines?

120 engine is stronger than the 150, both easily tunable with either box or re-map 120 will get about 170 - 150 will get about 190 with either box or map.

- Should I discount the DTi models altogether?

dti on pre-facelift only and are pretty good

- Is the gearbox the same in both the 120 and 150 models and if so what is the engine speed at say 70mph?

not sure on this one but both have the DMF which can cause vibration's if it has not been replaced with newer/better one, engine speed @ 70mph is about 2.5k in my 120 cdti

- What MPG should I expect to see on 35 mile motorway journeys? Am I being unrealistic with 60mpg+ ?

60mpg+ is a bit tooooo much in reality, my 120 give's about 55mpg on a good run (did a 1500 mile trip to germany earlier in the year with the club and managed 55mpg iirc and it used 2 1/2 tanks of fuel....





Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for contributing!

hth in some way mate, my car is a 120 cdti with a tuning box fitted, goes really well, has had a few issues but overall i am well happy with the car, if you do buy a CDTI i would make sure that the DMF has been replaced for starter's

[cameraman]

- Are there any differences between the facelift and pre-facelift Vectras aside from the obvious cosmetic changes?
There were a few internal bits & pieces taken off from the facelift, but if you get a higher spec one (say a Design) you won't miss out

- What are the advantages/disadvantages between the CDTi 120 and 150 engines?
I've got a 1.9CDTi 150, with a tuning box kicking out 193bhp with 69000 on the clock in 2 years

- Should I discount the DTi models altogether?
The 2.2dti was nice, I wouldn't bother with the 2.0DTi only 100bhp

- Is the gearbox the same in both the 120 and 150 models and if so what is the engine speed at say 70mph?
The 150 cruises at 70 at around 2k

- What MPG should I expect to see on 35 mile motorway journeys? Am I being unrealistic with 60mpg+ ?
Yes I'm afraid so, If you drove really carefully you might get mid-50s, I'm averaging mid to low 40's but the car is so much better mid range than my old 2.2 pertrol & that was low 30's mpg

Problems I've had

1) EGR valve at about 30,000
2) Alternator at 68,000

[chrisvectra]

if you do buy a CDTI i would make sure that the DMF has been replaced for starter's


whats a dmf??

[kerzo]

Thanks guys, been reading around in between and found the MPG thread for the 150 engine so my wishes in that respect have been dashed! I have a pretty light right foot and currently managing to scrape ~38mpg from a Rover 414 so hopefully I can get an extra 15 or so from a Vectra. I'm not too interested in a remap or box as 120 or 150 will be more than enough for all I need.

One more thing I forgot to mention - what models do Xenons come with and is it only the Elite with leather interior? Also, are the standard seats heated?

[ditchp]

if you do buy a CDTI i would make sure that the DMF has been replaced for starter's


whats a dmf??

DMF = Dual Mass Flywheel

[cameraman]

One more thing I forgot to mention - what models do Xenons come with and is it only the Elite with leather interior? Also, are the standard seats heated?

I think Xenons were an optional extra, the Elite is the only one with full leather (was an option on the pre-facelift SRI), only the leather seats are heated as standard, (although this could be specced as an option on the pre facelift, I had them in my 03 Elegance but couldn't have them in my Design)

[kerzo]

Great, thanks for clearing that all up for me! Are there any other common problems that I should be on the lookout for?

I did a couple of insurance quotes for the 150 models and it's about £200 more expensive so I think I will just aim for a 120, if I feel it's lacking power it can be remapped as mentioned above!