Life 1.8i 16v 5dr Hatchback

A hidden gem

As usual I needed some cheap wheels, and a folorn Vectra on the road outside a second hand car dealers caught my eye. I've always thought these looked quite handsome in a solid, chunky way. £300 later it was mine, with 124000 on the clock and 3 months MOT.

Pro's:
Excellent built quality - rust free after 15 years, and rattle free interior.

Absolutely huge car, roomy and comfortable with enormous boot.

Surprisingly economical - I average approx 40mpg on mixture of town, dual carriageway/motorway, more on long runs, excellent for a large car.

Very reliable - I've done 11000 trouble free miles in 9 months.

Fantastically ?cheap parts - a kit to overhaul the key £3.50, front springs £15 pair, full exhaust £99 etc.

Devours long trips, very quiet and comfortable. Been in other much newer cars and they arnt much better.

Cruise control - a marvel on long trips!

Quite easy to look after for the home mechanic. Servicing cheap and a dodle.

Cons:
1.8 not quick, but fine for sensible daily driving. Cruses well.

Very long car, I've reversed into a number of things. Oops.

Road tax £22 per month - but then the car itself is very cheap.

I never considered a Vauxhall before, but I'll definitely do so again. I've recently spent some money on this car, including a full timing belt kit and water pump - not cheap but I don't see any reason why it won't last a good while now, and I can't think of much else this comfortable and satisfying to own for the price.

No it's not exciting, and that's the point - it's an agreeable, comfortable and satisfying car that does nothing wrong, and most things rather nicely.

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