I had that exact, star silver 1.8LS 5 door, as a company car. I once saw 28 identical vehicles in a 10 minute journey. And when I booked it into a new Vauxhall dealer for a service, he said ‘we haven’t see this one before. What colour?’, ‘guess’ and he burst out laughing 😂

The thing I hate the most about the Vectra is that it’s the most reliable car I’ve ever owned i kept it running for three years never serviced it and passed all its MOTs.

That shape Vectra Clarkson was driving in this video compilation was the best looking Vectra and sadly its successor was dull and boring. What were Vauxhall thinking. Even today in 2024 looking back at the shape, it still looks good proof the designers got it right. Loved how the side mirrors curved with the bonnet. 1.8 oetrol engines pre 2000 were a hoot to drive

Strangely this 1st generation Vectra is now quite handsome compared to many modern cars

People watching this in 2024 need to remember some of these clips are REALLY old. The '95 to '01 ish model was still being made when I did my GCSEs and I'm "only" 40.

funny thing,i had a silver vectra 1.8 i swapped it for my brothers 1.8 Mondeo,the mondeo rocked, good on fuel handled well,went like a rocket,we have not spoken since then 16 yes ago,oh well i still miss that ford,

The angry Vectra people in the comments 😂

Vectra was one of the most reliable and best built cars from that era, and also one of the best looking cars. Nothing wrong with that styling, maybe it was a bit boring but it wasn't ugly as many other cars back then.

I always found Opels a bit boring... A friend of mine has a Vectra. He neglects it completely. Doesn't service it, or change the oil. He's driven the damn thing for the past 4 years and it still runs. Now me... when you look at my profile picture it's all clear. I'm a Mercedes guy. The thing you see on my picture is my baby. The 2007 W211 E420 CDI. This is a low mileage car I bought from Germany. A car with DPF and EGR issues. I removed the DPF, swapped the EGR and added a catback sports exhaust system. I took the car for a remap and did other mods to it. Now it fires 400hp at the rear wheels. But ever since I bought it back in 2018, I've only ever done 3000km in it. Yes, for 6 years I only did 3000 km. Granted, 2 years of those were covid times, so I didn't drive it at all. But what I'm trying to say is that this car is a garage queen. Treated as best as it could be, but it still developed faults. Now it doesn't start. It's an electrical issue. It's got fuel, compression and it turns over. Surely it must start... right? Right? RIGHT?!?!?! But it doesn't. Yet my buddy's neglected and abused Vectra still runs strong. I don't know if I should praise Opel, or be disappointed with Mercedes. I think I'm gonna praise Opel for making a fairly decent car.

The performance models were good. The 2.5.V6 was great fun, especially the GSI

I always wondered if he got some cash from Ford for this - it wasn’t that bad!

I had 2 of this shape vectra. Loved them . The ugly thing that came after was awful

I used to watch the French dubbed version (in reality it was just a voice-over translation of the original, though the narrated segments are fully dubbed) and I love how everytime they say Vauxhall, the French voice actors actually says “Opel” instead.

The rep mobile. Had a couple of these great cars.

Never understood why Clarkson hates Vauxhalls so much. I mean, they're normal everyday cars, like everything else in their classes.

Never had a Vectra but Clarkson obviously are bit nut with it. Proper good looking car for proper price.

Rather take that than cars of today

I can only imagine Clarkson had some sort of beef with Vauxhall, because there's nothing fundamentally different from the Vectra to pretty much any other typical family car of the era thru to today. Nothing says 'yawn, how original' like a typical A4, 1 series, tesla, etc today 🤷🏻‍♂️ Trouble is, all the elitists would moan even more of all of a sudden, we were all able to drive AMGs, Ferarris, 991s and Lambos...

tbh if i had the chance of a Opel Vectra or a Tesla (idc wich one) i would rather thake the vectra you can atleast use it as rallycar ^^

I like to see old clips like this and see cars used in them with their history. I check mot and for example, KL02 AVZ used in this clip still exists, has been SORNed but in 2019 had only 4k miles on clock.

It may have been plain and not very sporty to drive, but it really wasn't that bad. And I think the clean and simple styling has aged very gracefully. Plus, if you were lucky enough to get the V6 SRi or GSi, it actually WAS a fun car! Ok the basic models were dull, but the 2.0 and 2.2 engines were good, CD trim upwards was nice inside, estate version was practical and good looking. Also the build quality was noticeably better than the ubiquitous MK1 Mondeo JC seemed to heap praise on.

Unlike many other Guys in this comment section I really do too hate this thing, I hate how boring it looks, I hate how grey it is, I hate how 2000‘s it is, its like a wintersday with no sun, no snow, no rain but just grey clouds. It is so uninspiring, to me this is the epitome of growing older and having to change your priorities, losing your inner child and your own soul, its a dream crushing, reality checking depressing piece of metal, it genuinley makes me feel sad and as jeremy said it best: uninspired

I would much rather watch videos on the Vauxhall Vectra than any supercar.

I had a '97 Vectra V6 SRi. Ran it for nearly 4 years over 70000 miles (once ran it back to newcastle from sussex so fast i had to refill twice) and the only tjing that went wrong was an exhaust flexi. I miss that car

The story I've heard is that Vauxhall refused to let Clarkson borrow a Lotus Carlton early in his career when he was just starting out with the BBC. He really wanted to do a comparison piece with an Escort Cosworth and similar. Vauxhall spoiled things by withholding the model he wanted. And he got his revenge on the by rubbishing their cars for the next 2 decades.

If i remember correctly Vauxhall was quite pissed at Jeremy for his "Review" on the Vectra and lead to numerous worker layoffs and cutbacks for the company.

I had a 1996 Opel Vectra Estate 1.8. Equipment almost didn't exist at all and was getting rusty, but if not these two, it was a good car. I really liked it, despite being a little bit too slow for me. I still regret that I sold it.

Fun fact: the Vauxhall/Opel Vectra was sold in Brazil as the Chevrolet Vectra, it was the car for the wanna be rich drug lords and the boys actually dreamed of having one ...

The Vectra B SRi Estate is the best looking family estate car in the world. Ever.

It's funny to think that this Vectra was one of the most revolutionary vehicles in my country.

The only Vauxhall of note was the Lotus Carlton, and that was Vauxhall just giving Lotus a base car to vastly improve on...

Well, in Brazil we miss the Vectra....

Its not often I see a 20+ year old opel in mint condition but when I do its almost always an opel vectra for some reason.

My learning cars were astra h and vectra b. Both were very good cars, even now. But I didn't know any better at the time, so nothing to compare it to.

The 1995 vectra was a success but was the worst;the first model had better interior quality and the 2002 version had wood 🪵 luxury style but total flop

What were Opel thinking about when they designed this Vectra? 🤔

I love vectras, especially the last one they did, i'm looking to get one at some point

Non-Brit here but I find the Vectra beautiful (mainly the rear) and it’s in Toca 2 😂

Maybe it was because the UK had a lot of company cars and thousands had these cars. Mondeo, vectra and that was it more or less. They could undercut prices from competitors by a lot i guess

Surely this can't be worse than an early 2000's Nissan Almera sedan with a basic petrol engine. It looked like a car and supposedly did "car things" but it was not. It was the single most awful experience behind a steering wheel ever. It felt like _everything_ in it had been designed to be in a permanent limp mode. The vagueness of the thing was surreal. The other honorable mention goes to a Peugeot 306 sedan. I think it had quite a lot of miles behind it and I guess it was a 1.6 liter petrol. I described it as a "sloppy Baltic herring". I was shocked by it because I did drive other 306's back then and that one was _nothing_ like them.

This reminds me of the first girl I started dating and her car. And now I hate her, just like the car. Sadly I drive a Corsa. Which isn't particularly any better. She had an Astra Mk4 / G. Actually it's engine also refuses to die. Like idk what to do tryed overcooking it. I tried driving at mind boggling speeds with my car. Gave it the beans, gave it to other people. Refused to give it oil. It just refuses to die at this point. I genuinly am scratching my head to how I can get it to DIE! It's just infuriating at this point in time.

Wife had a 2002 Vectra B 2.6 Sri and it was bulletproof and is still on the road today after getting rid of it with 80k on the clock in 2009! The Vectra C was bloody awful, test drove a VXR and it could not corner at speed!!

Didn`t Richie Edwards have the car before disappear?

Clarkson is such a twonk. The best controversy will always be to pick a big selling 'people's car' and then use it as the fall guy to massage his enormous ego in the pursuit of entertainment. Top Gear stopped properly reviewing cars when he got his feet under the production table.

Is it any worse than the Insignia?

Clarkson is a liar. The Vectra isn't dull at all, even when you compare it to today's SUVs and EVs. Tesla? Boring. Vectra? Not boring.

i love the vectra they are all great cars

Im here for the angry Opel crowd

Vectra was an excellent car ironically

My dad owned a vectra, it was fast, well built and confortable I really liked it, but it wasnt obviously a Lamborghini. But who would want to go get grosseries in an old Lamborghini Diablo, now that is a truly horrible car to maneuver.

I love how the vectra fans are allowed an opinion but clarkson isn’t

I'd have a gsi one

To this day I still don’t understand his hatred for these cars. Always thought they were pretty decent looking. Try comparing it to a similar age Camry, surely that’s more bland.

If aliens asked me to show them the most vanilla car, this would be it.

Even Quentin Wilson hated the Vectra.

I dream in owning a Vectra sedan one day, since the very first time I saw it I thought "damn that thing is nice" But I really dont like the gens that came after this one, they look even more boring

I have this car and I love it more than my dad`s Dacia Logan). It's better that any soviet-russian made car and it's cheap and reliable. Never understood this hate to Vectra

There was nothing ever wrong with it, it was an average car for the average man - which Clarkson definitely isn’t.

I'd have a vectra over a mondeo any day (and did)

The pre facelift B was BS. However the C was a much better fan than the Mondeo.

I love the vectra .-.

Holy cow this is blowing up

I love that his hatred of the Vectra was completely irrational, since there's essentially nothing wrong with them. 😂 just a boring family tool. My dad had one for our family car when i was a kid, and it was fine, pretty reliable spacious, and actually nicer than the equivelent Mondeo at the time.

Maybe, some day... the Brits would come to realization... an epiphany if you will: Vauxhall ceased to exist long time ago. That name? Just the badge. For the past 40 years, you've been driving around in Opel(s) (formerly Adam Opel AG) with the Vauxhall's badge🌈

I can tell you for sure that Ford used to pay Top Gear to give good reviews on their cars. Vauxhall refused to pay them! Trust me this is true.

Millionaire Clarkson's only requirements in a car are high top speed, very fast acceleration and track car handling. Those 3 qualities are not on my requirements list when I'm buying cars.

04:30 A tune that always plays in my head, whenever I see one of these dreadful german ecoboxes 😆 . (and yes, despite the badge this is a dull as ditchwater Opel, with another badge slapped on) At least eels & sodium make the Vectra momentarily interesting 😌👌

There are lots of cars/manufacturers more deserving of this level of hate.

I had a SRi V6 180bhp model for 8 years and never let me down once. Had it serviced once a year and oil every 6 months and it was fine.

As average as it was in its time . Compared to what opel makes now the vectra’s & omega’s where great cars for their price . On 17. Inch wheels you could even call it sporty . 😹

I know this sounds odd: but Vectra’s just “smelled” German!🤷‍♂️

Let’s be honest, the Vectra is absolutely fantastic at doing exactly what you want it to in a way that can only be described as ‘just fine’.

Музон из кухни на 3:04

Honestly an NPC car

Pööppel(opel) in finland😂

He feels that way about the Vectra, I feel the same about the Lexus RX, WORST CAR EVER MADE.

The best thing you can do with any of Clarksons/mainstream British entertainment motoring advice is ignore it. Blah blah Saabs are not on German level. blah blah Civic MK8 hasnt got rear independent suspension so must drive terribly. Now as an adult with my own thoughts and life experience, I know that it was all just nonsense. And the Vectra was a good car.

I love the Vauxhall Vectra. It was my dream car in 1995 when I was 19.

opel

When I was younger & admittedly a boy racer, I used to take his advice seriously. Now I realise how silly he is.

I hate it to

It's a freezing cold night in January. You're on the south coast of England and you have to drive back to Scotland. The traffic's bad and there could be frost and fog. Visibility is poor, the road is greasy and many roads are badly surfaced. Do you want to do the journey in a Vectra or some low-slung temperamental exciting car? I'd take the Vectra every time. Clarkson doesn't understand that most people buy a car to do a job. They're not toys to us.

the mirrors are awful

He should have tested i500 v6 ... Or the 2.6 station wagon Its way better looking than those shitboxes from 2003 with that ugly ford scorpio front Frog eyes and dash...

It's about as boring and reliable as the Toyota Corollas of the day

As funny as Clarkson is, he has always given me the feeling that he is so out of touch with the "common" man, that he thinks we should all drive Mercedes SLRs, instead of affordable cars like this

I had a vectra until the fuel pump started spraying fuel ontop on the engine Everything in this video is true