Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Wed 30 Dec 2015 11:44
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - beanstalker

Hello,

I looked at a new Viva yesterday and was amazed by what I found. When one or both front seats are pushed back it is impossible to have a level floor when one or both rear seats are dropped. I currently have a Corsa and both front seats are always pushed back and there is a definite gap between them and the extended capacity into which items can be put. I was impressed before I saw the car by the seat bases being tiltable also but that is a complete waste of time in my opinion if the front seats have to be well forward all the time. Both my wife and I need the front seats pushed back, to move them forward would be to make driving impossible for me as I would be right up against the steering wheel. Again, my wife needs the legroom, travelling would be very difficult for her otherwise. So, for us, the Viva has to be treated as a small car( fine) with a miniscule boot which cannot be extended as I had hoped. Have other contributors found this problem? If so, are there any useful suggestions for overcoming this?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 30 Dec 2015 12:08
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - RT

The new Viva is a whole size smaller than the Corsa, just as Corsa is a whole size smaller than Astra.

You're comparing apples and cabbages!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 30 Dec 2015 13:38
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - madf

If so, are there any useful suggestions for overcoming this?

Buy a Honda Jazz. Lots of room, flat rear seat folding and magic seats.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Dec 2015 00:26
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - Peter.N.

Don't think I have seen a Viva since the '70s

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Dec 2015 07:53
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - RT

Don't think I have seen a Viva since the '70s

The name has been re-used for Vauxhall's version of the Opel Karl city car which is the European version of the Daewoo Matiz / Chevrolet Spark - it's been on sale since April 2015.

Edited by RT on 31/12/2015 at 07:53

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Dec 2015 08:15
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - Bolt

Don't think I have seen a Viva since the '70s

Pity they did not make it as big as original,may have been better as front wheel drive, new one can almost be hidden in boot of old one ;) rubbish imo

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Dec 2015 09:06
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - RT

Don't think I have seen a Viva since the '70s

Pity they did not make it as big as original,may have been better as front wheel drive, new one can almost be hidden in boot of old one ;) rubbish imo

The original Viva was replaced by Chevette and then Astra - the new Viva is a name reuse two sizes down.

Or were folks expecting the Viva to be much bigger than the original, like BMW Mini and new Fiat 500 ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Dec 2015 09:36
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - Peter.N.

They did the HA van version, that was bigger, we had one of those.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Dec 2015 10:32
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - bathtub tom

They did the HA van version, that was bigger, we had one of those.

The BT version of those had around 20 BHP! The seats had what felt like 5mm of foam cushioning - one of the most comfortable I've ever sat on.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Dec 2015 17:57
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - Bolt

Don't think I have seen a Viva since the '70s

Pity they did not make it as big as original,may have been better as front wheel drive, new one can almost be hidden in boot of old one ;) rubbish imo

The original Viva was replaced by Chevette and then Astra - the new Viva is a name reuse two sizes down.

Or were folks expecting the Viva to be much bigger than the original, like BMW Mini and new Fiat 500 ?

I was expecting it to be as big, if not larger than the original, I had several HB vivas in the late 70s because they were cheap to buy, probably because the gearbox and diff/half shaft bearings were terrible but were easy to repair/replace

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Dec 2015 19:32
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - Galad

The' 70's version had an awful gearbox. 'If you can't find it, grind it'. I remember it well....

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 3 Jan 2016 00:55
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - A3 A4

Not true, the Viva was replaced by the Astra in 1980 (V Reg).

The Chevette lasted very nearly as long as the Astra Mk1 into 1984, being seen off by the arrival of the Nova.

When the Astra Mk1 was launched as the Opel Kadett D in 1980, Vauxhall actually exported LHD Chevettes as there was still a market for the previous RWD Kadett, it was sold through Opel dealers...

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 31 Dec 2015 22:45
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - Avant

The most useful suggestion I can come up with for overcoming your problem is not to buy a Viva!

If you want a city car, the ones generally consideard best buys are the VW Up (and Skoda and SEAT equivalents) and the Hyundai i10. Autocar have had a Suzuki Celerio on lo g-term test and liked it a lot.

You'd need to try lowering the back seatbacks in each of these with the front seats where you need them: but I haven't heard of your particular problem in road tests that I've seen. My choice would be the Hyundai - my daughter is on her second and both have been great. I think it's a bit roomier than the other city cars: it also has a 5-year warranty.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Jan 2016 02:00
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - alan1302

. So, for us, the Viva has to be treated as a small car( fine)o

Which it is...always going to be a compromise with a small car.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Jan 2016 16:22
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - SteveLee

The Adam should have been called the Viva - a waste of a historic model name on this rebadged budget shopping trolley.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Jan 2016 16:43
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - RT

Both Opel and Vauxhall call their version of the "lifestyle" city car the Adam, as they have since the rationalisation of the '90s but for some reason chose to use different names for their budget city car to try to compete with Dacia - Opel chose Karl, a strange reference to Carl Opel, son of founder Adam Opel.

Since Nova became Corsa at rationalisation and is still in production, the smallest model name used previously by Vauxhall was Viva.

Edited by RT on 01/01/2016 at 16:44

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Jan 2016 16:59
Vauxhall Viva - Poor design for extended carrying capacity - Bromptonaut

Not unique to Viva. Plenty of hatchbacks and estates, by no means all small, have restricted front seat travel when rears are fully folded.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Cold-snap snow-how: Advice on coping with the freezing weather, including videos, facts and winter driving advice.

Honest John's Guide To Winter Tyres

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....