"(Many years ago) I refused to road-test the Vectra on Top Gear, arguing that if Vauxhall couldn’t be bothered to make the car interesting in any way whatsoever, I couldn’t be bothered to drive it. To understand just how dull this car was, you need to visualise a chartered accountant in a tweed jacket with elbow patches, playing cricket, in a period drama by Jane Austen, in Belgium, while reading out details of the Enron scandal in a Birmingham accent." - Clarkson on why he hated the Vectra, 2002

N667DUR - scrapped in 27-06-2008 N684DUR - Untaxed since 2009

didn't Vauxhall lose their shit when they saw this? Apparently asked the BBC to FORCE Clarkson into a proper review and he refused haha.

Thing is I still see some of those Vectra's on the roads, and none of the competition.

Oh dear, this car got destroyed in this review back then ... but you know what ... I still have , AND USE, my tyre dust cap removing tool :)

It was 1999 and I was a sales manager working in Berkshire. Our cars were replaced every 4 years, with most of them racking up 40k a year plus. I ignored the 318's and 1.8 A4's all my colleagues chose and went for a 4 door Vectra 2.6 SRI, the budget even stretched to adding electric rear windows, CC and metallic paint! My colleagues all 'enjoyed' their wheezing 'premium' German models, while I left them behind with a throaty roar. I bought it off the company with 170k on the clock, the only thing it needed before I sold it with 190k was a new exhaust manifold and a alternator.

Arguably the beginning of new top gear lol

The dustcap removal tool is a neat feature. It prevents you from getting your fingers dirty when checking the tyre pressure.

That was my first car. Same color also hatchback. I loved the car it never let me down. Good memories ^^

The Vectra that Clarkson drives in this video is the GLS 1.8 and it looks depressing and it doesn't even have air-conditioning 4:07. The red one is a CDX V6, that's the one he should have reviewed.

They've aged quite nicely. Hard to think they turn 21 this year

I had an all leather SRI 140. Stonking car. Engine was lovely and it never missed a beat in 3 years.

What the hell! 30+ years of driving and I've just found out what that stick of plastic behind the fuel cap was. Wish I'd kept one now.

JC showing his colours long before 'new Top Gear'. He was special even then.

Good, solid motor, aged far better than than its rivals. I know of one that achieved in excess of half a million miles and would have done more with a new gearbox.

I had a V6 SRi I bought for £800. Was a riot. Great engine note and made me smile. Clarkson is right though. Box on wheels.

My 2001 Opel Vectra B 1.6 is now 21 years old and still runs strong.

The only remotely interesting thing I can remember about this car (other than Jezza roasting it), is when I had to inspect one for contraband (whilst working in security), and noticed that it had a Vauxhall badge on the bonnet, and an Opel one on the boot. I joked with the driver that "seems you've got a cut and shut here".

Joking aside. The last laugh is on Clarkson. The Vectra has definitely aged better than him 😆😆😆

i have one of these cars ,bought it second hand and its been one of the best cars i have ever had still going strong . the bbc should of let jeremy try it out with a caravan towed on the back that would have upset him.

The Vectra was really a facelifted Cavalier like when British Leyland updated the Austin Princess and Morris Marina to the Ambassador and Ital.

My dad had 3 vectras all used and cheap as chips, used as work horses (very hard lives) and ran like dreams to be honest they are not bad, have enough room to fit his market stock in every week end and his ladders on the roof with a roof rack for his window cleaning. Great work horses and comfortable enough.

I just bought the salon 1.6 16V Vectra and really love it (my first car). Even compared to all it's rivals at the end I think it is the best by looks and all else, granted when it was new the price was a lot and at that time it may not have been something great but now in 2017 I think they are actually quite nice and for a first car really good. Only thing I really want to change on mine is the fabrics of the interior.

Sleek & stylish - _I loved the Vectras body work!_ My only gripe was the rigid wing mirrors - in a tight spot you want retractable mirrors!

When top gear reviewed realistic people's cars and not £200,000 super cars

I owned a Mondeo. Didn't know what the "biro holder" was for until I saw this.

A seminal TV moment, when the review is more about Clarkson than the Vectra. Ok so it did not set the world on fire, doesn't change direction like a housefly or accelerate to sixty in a gazillionth of a second. Nor did it cost £200,000. It was driven by decent folks doing a solid job and it did so pretty well,. From now on TG was all about JC, the Hamster and Captain Slow... blowing up caravans, hanging the tail out in those £200k cars, launching Reliant three wheeler rockets and generally trashing anything that the mortal public drove. Insight, information and a good review were dead. Because of course that is a little bit harder to do well. Bring back William Woolard. And yes, I had a 2.5 V6 back in the day - it went well and it was a decent family car. I've had them all since then including the more exciting Italians, but nothing forgives a review like this. The Jezster may still despise the Vectra, but its aged better than the man himself.

In my opinion B Vectra looked very good in comparison to other cars in it's segment. However the driving qualities weren't that good and the low end torque was weak in motors 1.6-2.0. All and all I would have chosen the Mondeo even though I always liked the looks of Vectra better.

Believe it or not my vectra was the most reliable car I've owned. 170 k miles with no issues. Was very dull tho.

His finest performance.... { Search: [applause] - no emoji found } ... it was downhill from then on

The thing was, Vauxhall was calling it a new model, when in reality it was scarcely changed from the preceding model. The 1990 Escort was similarly slated when launched. Reviewers won't say it's good if it's not significantly better than the outgoing model. The vectra was as if Vauxhall simply accepted that the bulk of sales were going to be as rep cars and hardly bothered to make the car in any way appealing, as its most drivers would have no choice in the matter

top gear was so ahead of his time

I remember watching this episode when it went out on the telly

This was my dream car in 1995. I got the CD from a number on the magazine advert. I had parts of the car cut out from brochures and stuck on the wall in my student digs.

This is why literally everyone in the UK now drives a 3-Series

these were sold as a chevrolet vectra in brazil and they were my childhood dream car... but yeah all the competitors shown in the video were at the time sold as higher segment, they were all imported. I believe the vectra was produced in brazil. it shows that this car was intended to be a lower segment car compared to what it was being sold by vauxhall, hence the blandness

My old local taxi firm that took me to and from school had 2 of these Vectras!! One was a maroon 2.0dti ls not too sure what the other silver one was, might have been the same! They were eventually replaced by mainly Skoda Octavias! The boss also liked the newer Vectra so had few of them in the fleet as well!

I drive one for 9 years now, after 12 to 16 months we will celebrate a half a milli - still stock, still runnin smooth, still lookin good among newer cars, timeless. Most reliabe - I can get in it any time and go anywhere and Im 1000% sure it gonna take me there and back. Haters gonna hate, my Vectra gonna drive. muHahahaha... :)

Always thought this Vectra looked brilliant. It's funny how Clarkson says no boy would ever grow up wanting one but it is one of the more memorable cars from the late 90s BTCC; Cleland, Plato and Muller all drove it. I've never quite understood his hatred for it because yes, it's a boring A-B car but there are l o a d s of boring A-B cars but none of them get anywhere near the disproportionate hatred that he gives this Vectra.

My Dad bought a Vectra in 2000. 2.6 Litre V6 170bhp. Fantastic Car! You can go 240km/h in that car!

Its probably the car that made that brought out the Jezza we have today.

these cars handled like they were on rails... when you turn the wheel it kept going straight....

Clarkson was always Clarkson :))

I still like those door mirrors. Always quietly reminded me of a tiny part of female anatomy, but I'm willing to accept that's just me.

In the 1990s, fleets of these were bought by many companies, including rental giants for up to 40% less than the public paid. They sold them to the public when 18 months old at what they paid or more. Car firms achieved massive sales targets, rental firms did fine and the public thought that they were getting a good buy at auction.

i owned one of these. best seats ever!

4 wheels and a fucking seat.

that guy at 4:46 is right! a vauxhall vector is not an apollo moon mission! genius.

Might have been dull, but the one Clarkson drove had his last MOT in 2008 with 127,549 miles on the clock. Not bad I think

I have one. Awful rust damage to internal support parts, but I love and keep it. My silver arrow will get a full restoration somewhen, once I have the budget and time. My opel Vectra is great!

I had this car. Infact identical. Never had a problem at all and was brilliant. So this review is harsh. Personally mine was awesome and lived it.

The Vectra was designed for people that aren't into cars....they just want something that is comfortable, and will get them from point A to point B with little fuss or drama.

I love how they used Alright by Supergrass in this review, which came out around the same time!

"I would rather have double pneumonia than a Vectra."

people in the 90s didnt know how good they had it. indicators? controls? its 2024!

I always liked the Vectra, had a 51 reg which was 8 months old at the time, pretty much a brand new car and it felt amazing driving it back in 2002, had presence on the road. Rarely see them now. The CD model was nice and comfy, they had something modern day Vauxhall lack, even though i now have a Insignia and it is a good car, it does just feel like a car and I think ill have more nostalgia for my old Vectra in years to come.

Yes, this is the review that caused GM to pretty much sever relations with Jeremy Clarkson.

For a beginner, this car is good . After a few years you look for more performance

A box on wheels?The Vectra B have shapes and curves.

With all respect Clarkson was wrong with his attitude. Thousands of those 90's Vectras still drive in the entire world. But you won't fund thousands of Lagunas or Xantias... and thousands of BMW from 90's. Vectras got rusty, but still reliable. While 25 years old BMWs become just a pain. Lagunas got "de-electricized", Citroens got "de-suspensionised". Maybe those years Fords are close to survive... but not so much.

Had nothing but trouble with my 96 1.8 ecotec vectra camshaft sensor, crankshaft, sensor, airflow sensor spent more time in the garage then on the road

This was when Top gear became more about the Presenter than the car

I remember seeing this when it was first shown. It was, I think, the first time Clarkson was relentlessly rude about a car on the show and it divided opinion quite a bit at first. But funny how the show ended up going downhill rather quickly once he left. I can't help wondering if history is going to repeat itself...

It’s aged far better than Clarkson.

My dad used to own one and it was boring, but the seats where some of the most comfortable i have ever come across in an Opel.

Great cars my grandad had one from new put it twice around the clock never any trouble because he looked after it h

He single handedly effected Vauxhall sales figures and they hated him for it. the best thing they could have done is take his opinions on board and used them to make a better car...win win situation. He would have made a mint out of them they would have an even stupider car that people would buy and sell well...

this is so famous - killed the vectra's sales

Really don't understand Clarkson on this one. I liked the design of the Vectra when it came out. And actually, the United States spend over $100 billion on the Apollo Moon mission in 1996 prices, which is almost 100 times as much as GM spend on developing the Vectra. Hence, this episode is factually incorrect as well. However, the Vectra did seem to have a lot of quality issues.

I bought a Vectra 5 years ago to keep the commuter miles off my BMW 535d. It had 88k miles on it when I got it and it now has 160k miles. It is a bit boring but I am amazed that it just keeps chugging along reliably. The clock - when I first got it I thought the previous owner must have been a bit anal because the clock was always spot on. Now I know why. I have grown to really like it.

I don’t how well these cars aged in Britain for long term ownership. But here in a Australia sold under the Holden name they fell apart and melted like an ice cream on a hot summer’s day.

Not everything in life has to be exciting, women, cars, vacations ... etc etc. Sometimes, I just want something nice and reliable.

I served my time on Opel in Ireland in the late 90s early 00s I remember them braking timing belts and doing head gaskets All the time but thay were very easy car's to work on

Wikipedia alleges that Jeremy Clarkson never drove one....perhaps it would be more accurate to say he drove one with TREMENDOUS Protest all the way...

The Silver one N667 DUR No tax data available no Mot etails held by the DVLA it's last MOT was May 2008 127,549 Miles passed with 3 advisories Offside Front Tyre worn to the limit brake disc slightly pitted All exhaust corroded The red one N684 DUR Untaxed since 27th November 2009 No MOT Expired 8th Feb 2008 passed its last MOT with 123,285 Miles on the clock Basically they're both dead

" It's just a box on wheels. "

Now you know why this is the family car of the Dursleys in Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone.

Never have I ever seen Vectra B with working computer. :D

Best in V6 but not Vauxhalls finest moment

Opel or Vauxhall Calibra was still the best of their creations.

Never understood why exactly he held the Vectra grudge even years after this, going as far as saying he'd rather have some sort of plague than drive it. Besides being a boring car, it was a decently reliable one. Bought a Vectra 1.6 for 380 pounds worth . The clock never worked but besides that the thing ran 3 years without any major fixes or basically any maintenance.

Got to be said - you still see Vectras (and would see more if it wasn't for the scrappage scheme). When was the last time you saw a Laguna outside of this video and old touring car highlights?

I honestly don't any1 who had bought a Vectra. i've tried my best to find someone who i can talk to and ask him why he bought it. Turnes out everyone i met driving a Vectra drove someone else's car that had been given to them. Few of my freinds where on that verge of buying it, but at the last minute got their hands on a Jetta or Vento. And it's the same with the Insignia nowdays - everyone i ask tell me it's their company car. As for the "resolved" problems with rust - down the street there is a 5 year old Insignia and it's already rusting underneath with a 2cm hole in the floor; WTF ?!

I wonder how many of the few remaining Vectras in service still have the tyre valve dust cover removal tool?

The succsessor looked so much better. Yet the racecar looked fire

This was a Saturn L300 in America. We either had a 140hp 2.2 4 cylinder, or the 3.0 V6 carried over from the Vectra. It was a popular car when introduced, but reliability problems plauged it. Only sold from 1999-2005 and they killed it for the Aura, also based on your Vectra. We used a 252hp 3.6 V6 with 6 speed auto. It was fast. Alas, Saturn died in 2008. Americans no longer receive Vauxhall rebrands.

What was the guy at 4.20 on about? How does it look in any way like a BMW?

IMO his finest hour. Just enough tongue in cheek to avoid being completely unsufferable. Unfortunately, like children picking on a chosen kid at school, once he had set the precedent, the Vectra, and eventually Vauxhall, ended up with an embarrassing image, and being tacitly avoided by those doing the choosing. As a result I daresay there are those in Luton who would genuinely have him lynched were he to set foot there for the harm he did to peoples' livelihoods in the area. . He may have had a point that the Vectra was unexciting, but his ire could have just as easily been directed at any of the others in the segment, these were bread and butter cars. And thus Top Gear ceased to become a motoring magazine show and became the very popular farce it remains.

The saloon looks bad ass.

Actually it is look similar to Cavalier, because in the rest of the world your Cavalier is just first gen Vectra, and this is the second one. It is a pretty reliable car and cheap for maintenance. I have one from 10 years and now she is on 24 years old and still driving well and faster than many modern cars.

Toyota, Subaru or Lexus if you want a car to last many years. Buy a good one, look after it, keep it. People waste too much money trading cars in all their lives for newer models, when there is probably nothing wrong with the one they already have.

I love them

my god where did twenty five years go.

Had two very old ones didn't pay much, they were reliable and comfy .. well then again, i wasn't used to much better.

Citroen xantia all day long -Although the clutch pedal kept failing off 😂😂

Had one when i was 19 great car loved it

Clarkson just didn't review the right cars, we had a fleet of Vectras when they first came out at our company and they all had a problem of randomly stalling. This made them very interesting indeed, especially at roundabouts and running bump starts became the thing to do. They had strong engine mounts though.

They still look good even today! Yeh boring and bland but theyve outlasted all the other shite from that era ....!

1995 Vauxhall Cavalier SRI 16v any day of the week

The 2.0 is quick!