Opinions on the new 1.8 vvt engine

[videodoctor]

I have now driven my new vectra 1.8 vvt exclusive for a couple of months and can now comment on it.

1. The car only does 29mpg around town(which is the official fuel figure) but if its got vvt then whats it for.My old vectra returned the same mpg without vvt so i cannot see any advantage.

2. The tyre noise, is in my opinion, excessive.
3. The engine noise is excessive(compared to my old 1.8 vectra)
4. The electronic accelerator is a pig to get used to.I have great difficulty changing from 1st to 2nd smoothly.I seem to either rev it too much or dont press the accelerator enough.I put it down to the drive by wire cos i had no difficulty before.
5.The drivers seat,no matter how much i adjust it,still hurts my back.I choose the vectra because the vectra b seats were supremely comfortable.

Other than these comments i still like the car but i would like to know what other people think who have bought a 1.8 vvt brand new.Do you agree with the above comments or is it just me?

[S888 SRB]

I've heard the same comments from Mark (GSI3.2), he had one as a loaner IIRC?

By the sounds of it i should be glad i got the pre-facelift, are you unhappy with it or can you put up with it?

[Gsi3.2]

yep, lets just say that it is a completely different drive from my brothers 1800 pre facelift...of the two i prefer the earlier 1800 engine..

[videodoctor]

I always thought that as they changed the model ,it was for the better but not in this case.

I still like the car but the above are my criticisms.The other thing was that on the pre facelift it had air vents between the front seats facing into the back.I always thought that this was an excellent idea so that you could blow air conditioned air at the kids faces.Unfortunately they have removed this feature from the facelift so no cool air for the dustbin lids

[VectraV6CDTi]

The other thing was that on the pre facelift it had air vents between the front seats facing into the back.I always thought that this was an excellent idea so that you could blow air conditioned air at the kids faces.Unfortunately they have removed this feature from the facelift so no cool air for the dustbin lids

Depends on the year and model. My facelift Jan 2006 SRi has them. But I test driven an 06 plate SRi and it didnt have them.

[S888 SRB]

Trust me mate, they only kick them anyway, i've got two ankle biters and one on the way

Also if you have wind up rear windows like me, they kick the handle and edge the window down so it leaks when you jetwash it

[pacarcher]

I've had the 1.8 vvt SRI as a courtesy car for a week now, and my take on it are as follows.

1. Agree about the mpg. I've done a lot of motorway and A roads in the week and it's returned 33mpg.
2. Tyre noise is about the same as my old vectra c with 17's but is slightly quieter than my current one with 19s
3. Engine noise is good at idle (remember I'm comparing with a diesel) but when pushing on it's fairly noisy and on the motorway it's quite intrusive. I find it quite irritating at motorway speeds.
4. Electronic accelerator. I thought it was just me that couldn't change from 1st to 2nd without smacking my face against the windscreen!! In my car which also has an electronic accelerator, I have no problem at all. Smooth as anything.
5. Cant comment on the exclusive seats as mine, and the courtesy car are both SRI and for me are great.

I expected there to be a bit more 'go' in the engine, but compared to the mondeo 1.8lx I used to own, it feels very similar, and that was only 125bhp. I was quite disappointed with it in that respect.

[S888 SRB]

i must admit, 3800 rpm at seventy is not exactly pleasant but thats the only criticism i'd have

[VectraV6CDTi]

Trust me mate, they only kick them anyway, i've got two ankle biters and one on the way

Also if you have wind up rear windows like me, they kick the handle and edge the window down so it leaks when you jetwash it

The thing my kids keep kicking is the rear ashtray! Its always on the floor every time I look in the rear seats !

[videodoctor]

The thing my kids keep kicking is the rear ashtray! Its always on the floor every time I look in the rear seats !

Ha Ha ,Same here.One of my kids friends said,"Whats this on the floor?" and handed me the ash tray.I thought he'd broke it at first.Nearly wrapped it round his little neck.But yes it keeps coming out when then kids are in the back