I love how in every Vauxhall/Opel from the '90s the clutch pedal squeaks in exactly the same way.

One of the greatest cars of all time in my opinion I've had 3 mk3 Cavaliers and two calibras. greatest Vauxhalls live in the 1990s nice video thank you.

The 90's had just the right amount of technology and society in balance.

I bought a beautiful red Sri Saloon in 1990, it was 11 months old with 11,000 miles on the clock. As soon as I drove it, I fell in love with it. They were only 8 valve, no turbo, there was a little switch over you could change if you wanted to use four star or the new unleaded. The only time I used that was when there was a shortage of unleaded one year (very handy) but, it didn’t really make any difference. That car was super quick from a standing start and went right up to 135mph (on the clock) quickly too. Everything about it was good, the suspension, the steering, economy, comfort. I bought a 2..0 litre, 16 valve Vectra GLS next. Not in the same class, not as fast, not as nice to drive and, the engine fault light used to come on all the time. I wish I’d kept the old Sri, best car I ever had sorts wise. Having said that, I sold the Vectra in 2008 and bought a 2004 VW 1.9 Passat TDi Highline which had 61,000 on the clock at the time. That has 130 bhp too, not quite as quick of the mark as my old Cavalier but for diesel pretty amazing, drives just as well as it did when I bought it, never let me down, no warning lights 267,000 miles and still going. That SRi was the last great car Vauxhall made...in my humble opinion.

Really enjoyed this back to back review. I'm old enough to remember the 60s and the 90s and I have to agree - the 90s had a similar upbeat feel to the 60's, something that has largely disappeared from the current day. I've heard it said that early 90s car design is actually a high point for many of the reasons you have given - just enough tech, but not too much, functional and efficient styling amongst other things. As you say, the SRi in this review is now pretty much 30 years old, yet still feels capable and quite modern. Wind back to 1990 and compare the SRi with a 30 year old car then - that would be1960. We would be talking Victor FA, Austin A55 Farina, Hillman Minx series 3. All of those cars would have felt very old fashioned by 1990, so car development in that 30 years was pretty impressive.

I absolutely luv the Cavalier had 3 best one was a GLS gutted when they replaced them with the horrible vectra 👀👌👍💕

A girlfriend's dad had a new SRI. The first new car I ever drove. Before that I'd only driven clapped out old shitters limping along on their last MoT. When I first hit the brakes with the family in it I thought I was just brushing the pedal. I'd got so conditioned to weak brakes that I threw the family forward on their belts like we'd hit a wall and got a flea in my ear. A couple of years later he got a new GSi. He went on holiday and left it in the custody of a regular from his pub knowing full well that I needed a car for a few weeks. The guy he trusted it to cracked the screen, kerbed it enough to wollop the tracking out, put a dent in the cill and left the interior like a bin. I was quite pleased about that because I would have cherished the vehicle as if it were my own.

Outside the UK, those were the first Opel Vectra, it cause some confusion when the Opel and Vauxhall names became the same. Astra and Kadett, Cavalier and Vectra, Carlton and Omega, Nova and Corsa, etc.

The early SRi had 130bhp. Don’t forget the red top 150bhp, V6 170bhp and turbo 201bhp.

Great video, thanks. I had a Mk3 Cavalier SRi in the 90s. Really, liked that car and only parted with it to get a diesel as I was clocking up a lot of miles. The gearing meant it was not very fast off the mark but at mid speeds it would accelerate up to 70 and beyond very nicely. Very reliable also. Clocked up about 100,000 miles and only serious breakdown was a timing belt slip. Luckily no valve damage, new timing belt on next day and back on the road. Very comfortable and pleasant cabin. You could also carry ladders or long planks of wood by sticking the end through the sunroof. Really liked the handling which seemed to be well suited to motorways and twisty roads. Can't say I remembered clutch being heavy on mine or any gear change problems (although it was 25 years ago). BTW get what you mean about the 90s being a kind of golden era when cars were pretty much as good as modern ones but you could still do most maintenance yourself with basic tools.

Over on the Isle of Man my dad owns the only running Mk 3 Cavalier . It’s a 1995 LS Hatchback but has Alloy Wheels & the 2.0 16V Ecotec engine mated with the Auto Gearbox . Earlier this year it’s had quite a bit of work on it to get it back in the Road such as new fuel tank ( old one had some small rust holes) new brake pipes both rubber ones and underbody ones , New calipers , new struts .. Also it was under sealed to protect it . Cambelt etc with a service and cam sensor was done last year. Good motor indeed.

The best gearbox in the early Cavaliers, you could change the clutch without gearbox removal. Took around 2 hours to change half bell housing came off and main shaft pulled out the side.

That Squeeky clutch pedal brings back so many memories of the MK3. Wd40 works but the mice will return!

Just saw a 30 min yt about vauxhall. Timely to see your review; it adds to my knowledge of a car company that started well over 100 yrs ago. Subs keeping their steady climb. Nice work.

My Dad had a 1990 1.6L in dark blue, it wasn't metallic just a standard off the shelf blue! It was our first and only brand new car and I loved it, felt so modern and sleek compared to everything else! We had it for 11 years and it didn't let us down once, great car.

Interesting review as always. These Cavs were capable of big mileage so long as the oil change intervals were adhered to. Not the widest cabin in its class but not an unpleasant place to be on a long drive. Damn sight better than being in a low spec Ford Escort of the time. Ford only caught up when the Mondeo hit the market.

I always love the noise of older Vauxhall engines, they have a nice grunt to them

Where is the GSi? That was the ultimate cavalier second only to the Turbo although they shared the same tasty bodykit. But shame there wasn't an actual GSi to review it was a very decent performance car with the fantastic 16v cosworth head.

Fantastic video, loved it! Some great shots there, and the rather lovely & slightly gruff note of the 90s Vauxhall 8v engine was captured very well. Couple of nods to “A to B: Tales of Modern Motoring” did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Great work 👍

I had the pleasure of owning a K plate cavalier 2.0i diplomat in metallic gun metal grey with full leathers, A/C etc etc. It was an absolute beauty. My dad had a white G plate 1.6 LS, it went on and on, it had covered nearly 200k miles when he got rid, and it was still running well and pretty tidy. Great cars.

I enjoyed your review. I had a brace of Cavs; both did over 200k miles. Easy to work on, comfy, reliable and economical. Vauxhall was making good cars in this era.

Another good video. 1980 - 1995 Vauxhall's (GM's) best era. I recall the 1988 launch ad for the Mk3 'A Car Of The Future' along the lines of a 50s Sci Fi movie. It would seem that not only do they not make cars like they used to, you could say the same for car ads as well 'Once Driven Forever Smitten...' It would be good if you could get your hands on a Mk1 or 2 Astra to test, more lowly versions other than the GTEs, the bread and butter cars. Keep up the good work!

The squeek from the clutch pedal spring brings back old vauxhall memories!! I can also smell the interior wothout even being in the car 👍

I’ve owned several, many 1.8s. Glad to hear the clutch pedal squeak is present and correct in your video! I’ve never owned a car more comfortable than a Cavalier. I have a current shape Astra for my company car now, and it ain’t a patch on any Cav 👍

Loved these at the time. My 1989 Sri was a "nearly new" one from Vauxhall. I then bought an 1991Sri as a mileage hack which had a 169000 on the clock, everything still worked and drove like a new one, this was replaced by a 92hack. Both cars paid for themselves at around 45p a mile mileage I was getting from work. Great cars.

The Australian version was the Holden Camira, the GM J cars was my favorite. I owned for a short while an 85 Chevrolet Cavalier type 10 CL 2d coupe, it was a nice car before my foster mother left the keys in the car and it was stolen, I believe it was intentional but could not prove it, but was a nice car while I owned it.

I miss those sincere and tastefull cars. Those were the last simple cars. Today everything is over designed and over engineered and sometimes even over complicated...

I can easily see why many taxi drivers loved the mk3 Cavalier. My brother had two mk3 Cavaliers. The first was a 1.8GSi and then a 2.0 Diplomat. Both had the Family engine. I love that engine and the 1.8 is the same in my mk1 Astra GTE but with 115bhp instead of 95.

Brilliant! The nostalgia, reminds me of mam and dads 1993 K Reg Cavalier, they both were blown away when they purchased it in 1993 as it was so modern compared to what they had before! The squeaky clutch, how thT come straight back to me 😂 What has happened to Vauxhall they build nothing like the old ones!

I had a 1.6L which had seats designed by the Spanish inquisition. After spending two weeks off work with a bad back I sourced some Ricarro's from an SRi and it was transformed. It gave incredible economy and just ran and ran to over 150k with no money spent.

Wow!- brings back memories. I fondly recall the prwvious Cav SRi with the Recarro's- they stood out. Later Cavs were great workhorses. Feeling v.nostalgic now.

I loved Cavaliers. My first car was an X reg mark 2 saloon in terracotta. Then after a few years in a a G reg XR3i, I then had 2 mark 3 Cavaliers, in K reg and L reg, the latter lasting for many years. I yearned for an SRi or GSi 2000.

That clutch pedal squeak lol oh the memories

Vauxhall's always beautiful. Even today, the insignia is beautiful

I had a 1987 MK3 CDi then swapped it for a 1993 MK3 SRi 16v Red Top (designed by Cosworth, I think some were built with Cosworth). Both mine were saloons, both lovely cars and so much better than the Vectra they were replaced with. The only issue with the 16v Red Top was a common issue of porous water ways which could seep through to the oil. I think the CosCast (Cosworth built) engines did not suffer so much from this. The Cavalier V6 was very nippy even faster than the standard Cavalier Turbo 4X4 from what I could remember. Bring on the Cavalier V6 and Turbo models :-)

Great video, I have a cavalier SRi on a G plate, mine is a 130bhp 8v as the early ones were, the one you featured had a gsi grille fitted too, originally it would have had a black, slatted grille in case you didn't know 👌 loving the videos mate

Great video. I had a 1995 1.6LS in the Silk Cut-esque purple back in 2001. The 75hp lump was stunningly slow and there were a few oil leak and suspension and brake issues (the front discs were a real sod to remove). First car I took round 100,000 miles though and I know it kept going for quite a while afterwards.

I have a 2016 insignia which i bought at 1 year old and funny enough i was only talking about how comfortable Vauxhalls of yesteryear used to be, paticulary my parents Cavalier which was the same model as tested. My Insignia has firm seats and i wish Vauxhall would go back to those comfy seats!

I grew up in these aswell as the vectra and seeing this brings me back so many memories, i just got my first car which is a 2003 astra bertone coupe , making more memories with vauxhall 😊

His excitement for other rare old models when he sees them and just stops mid sentence to announce it is funny and makes these a bit more watchable as hes a true car nerd. I was a What Car anorak back in the 90s 2000s my dirty little secret 🤣. Shame I have missed the You Tube boat now but love watching these style of reviews with guys like this doing their thing, enjoying it and hopefully making money. Im aware its not his full time job. Think hes done something with filming but a good channel. Next time I’m down 7 mile lane or Wateringbury way I will be looking for this chappy in some 90s repmobile and give a bib.

My brother had a 1993 Cavalier SRI 130 bhp up to the end of 2000. He finally let me drive it in December 2000 and up to that point was the nicest thing I'd ever driven.

Friend was a traffic cop and he gave me a run out in his North Yorkshire SRI traffic car . To me , it felt really quick or it was just the way he drove it . Anyway, I was sold on SRI and bought a new G reg bright red. Had it for three years and many miles.Totally reliable . But it was subject to someone trying to nick it. But, I had a fuel cut out switch fitted in the fuse box and that saved it ! The Sierra (next to it in the car park) was nicked instead and used in a ram raid on a Harrogate jeweller . So a lucky escape for my SRI.Agree 90’s cars were the best .

Takes me back to when my Mum had a '90 G 1.6 GL. Thinking back it was pretty well equipped, with electric front windows (auto lift with NO anti-trap!), electric mirrors, adjustable steering column and 6 speaker stereo. The most nostalgic noise is the squeaky clutch...

My first car when I passed my test was a 1995 mk3 cavalier Sri which I still have now. I’m now doing a Saab 9-3 running gear conversion b204 on her. With Astra gte digi dash remote locking etc. She will be pushing around 380bph when done👍

'There ain't no way somebody goes past in a Base,....not if they're going the same place as me.' Quoted from 'A to B Tales of Modern Motoring', 1994. That always goes through my head every time I see any mid-high spec Cavalier in deep blue.

Only owned 3 Vauxhall's F Cavalier 2.0 CD, G Cavalier 2000 GSi 16v without Cat and W Vectra 2.5 V6. But I worked for a company owened by GM and got to drive various models of Nova, Astra, Belmont, Cavalier, Carlton and Senator, what I always liked was it didn't matter whether it was Nova or a Senator the basic controls where the same.

Ive had a SRi, SRI130, GSi, GL, & better still the 2.0 4x4i, the 4x4i from new (only made to order in Germany) - was an SRI in everything but the badge (same insurance group), held the road amazingly, without the SRI badge & the extra traction it confused lots of hot hatch drivers. As an employee I had lots of free extras & got it at over a third off the new price with employee discount & GM Card points, lasted me over 10 years/100K - less than £1000 per year. A couple of minor problems in all that time & a crankshaft position sensor that I replaced myself - best car I had access to in its day & far better than any of the vectra's I had as company cars later.

I watched this a year ago, and it inspired me to get one. I've got the LS model. low mileage 66k on the clock and I absolutely love it !!! Love this video. Thank you 😊

Loved my K reg SRi saloon company car. I had it from new and put huge miles on it (company petrol card). All us field engineers selected the Cavalier SRi over various other alternatives. The cool took off the plastic wheel covers and had a new car looking filthy and worn out as soon as poss. That was the badge of office.

Drove 2 of these as a rep in the 90's. The 1.6l saloon, covered 135,000 miles and only let me down once on a weekend, when the rotor arm failed , a common faulty the AA man told me, as they always carried a spare for that problem. The second one, was a 1.8 auto hatchback, which was the best of the two. Unfortunately it was an unlucky car, being hit twice, the second one being write off. The management claimed it was ti heavy on fuel, being an auto and would not let me have another one, even though I was covering 48,000 miles a year!!!! So they got me a 1.6 manual Vectra next, which was awful. Described as the car designed in some ones lunch hour. As a protest used to drive it in 4th gear as much as possible, instead of using fifth gear, so as the consumption, was no better then the previous auto model. It blew up with oil pump failure, good riddance. Firm closed soon after.

I had a Cavalier for a few months in the late 90’s. Overall not a bad car, but wasnt happy with the Vauxhall dealership I took to once due to the engine cutting out at random times which is obviously dangerous. They charged me hundreds without ever knowing what the fault was and then driving it afterwards the issue occurred again. I called the AA and the guy found the fault within minutes. It was the fuel relay plug which had corroded. He gave it a quick clean with a wire brush and told me to replace it, which I did and I never had an issue again. How the mechanics couldn’t find this with their diagnostics I’ll never know, but shows either how poor their knowledge was or how stupid I was for taking the car to them to start with. It was the first and last Vauxhall I ever owned. Its been Alfa Romeo and Audi for me ever since.

Wonderful! Owned a Vectra 1.8S GL, which I transformed into a CD-version. Later I bought a 1.8iGT. Both were great cars to drive.

Nice to see Cavaliers driven and nice that you mentioned the grill upgrade twice. 😊

Cool memories. I owned an ex rep 1989 20Li 115bhp hatch in solid black back in 1993 with 149 thousand miles on the clock. I colour matched the bumpers, slammed it, fitted a twin upswept exuast, front splitter and a huge set of wheels. "Come on" I was only 19 at the time Lol. 5 reliable years later and i sold it with 196 thousand on the clock. LEGEND..

I always had Fords in my misspent youth, more by chance than choice, and also drove many Vauxhall cars through work. I always felt that the GM cars had a much better and more comfortable ride, and also had better engines. Great review, many thanks!

I had a 1991 H 1.6L, keep fit everything, even the steering, Still it was an interesting car right up to the point where the brakes failed & I crashed it... (Whilst on the way to the garage to get the brakes sorted)

My favourite Cavalier was the Calibra.

My dad my brother in law both had a GSi at the same time, white one and gold one... mainly I remember the squeaky clutch pedal! 😂👍

Car nerd here to make some corrections and clarifications.The G reg car has the facelift grille which is why it's hard to tell the difference. The Mondeo was launched in 93 and was the first European market car to have an airbag as standard. Their competitors wanted to fit them too but Ford initially exhausted all supplies. Vauxhall used full sized US spec airbags designed for people not wearing safety belts whereas Ford and others used a smaller airbag designed to protect people wearing safety belts. See through head restraints had been a thing on European GM cars since the mid 80s before they took over Saab. I drove a mk3 Cavalier briefly, one without power steering and it handled like a truck. Thanks for another interesting video.

The clutch pedal noise at 12 mins-odd, i’d know that sound anywhere lol weird how distinctive it is and how the noise has stuck with me

I bought a Cavalier mk3 1.8i Colorado in 2000 for a family car. Very good car still have it 19 years later! It’s now used as a second car but it’s still a useful car. In 2016 it was used at short notice for a holiday. 1000 miles in a week no problem. Doubt I will sell it.

These were very good cars indeed. A mate of mine had a 1.6 Cavalier that was both fast, and pretty frugal too. He sold it to my brother in law who kept it for years afterwards.

loved theses cavs, had a few from the 1.6 right through to the v6

I use to own a 2litre GLS cavalier automatic. I think it was a 94 Model? Very nice car. Very responsive, smooth and quiet to drive. Think it was one of my favourite cars I ever owned

My biggest regret was selling my 1995 black Cavalier SRi 16v mint condition with leather seats. Sold in 2008 havnt seen a single 1 for sale since lol,why so RARE

My Dad had a 1995 M reg GLS 1.8 M783DGK had it for years until it got stolen, they then tried to burn it out with the windows closed. Which went about as well as you would think.It also had the same squeak on the clutch pedal.

A true rep's special! I had a mk2 E344 MAJ. I loved it... And yes, I was a rep doing 2500 miles per week. Fully agree about 90's cars. Just found a 1992 Renault 21 2.1 turbo diesel Alizé for my son's first car. I guess this was the French compétition for the Cavalier/Vectra.

My parents had a Red g-reg Cavalier LS when I was a kid. That gearstick creek takes me back...

The caviler a great car had 7 of them lol. When I worked for Vauxhall. They are really nice driver's car. Miles better than the follow on vectra.😎👍

I lived in England in the latter half of the '90s. I learned to drive in a Mk3 GL, with the 16v 2 l motor. I remember it being a rather nice car to drive, even with only 130 HP. It was nice driving back then, when people weren't so distracted. It is worth noting, the Mk3 chassis is basically that of a SAAB 9000.

I hear what you’re saying about 90s cars. I think we all want to drive something that means more to us than a mere vehicle. Something that reminds us of a certain time and place. I’m currently chasing down a MK2 Mondeo Ghia X 2.5 V6 although I’ll take the ultimate ST24 if one was available at the right price. For me that car takes me right back to the late 90s.

These used to be everywhere but I can’t remember last time I saw one.

A video yah don’t see often, hard to beat the old school Vauxhall’s. Loved the sri cav, had many in the late 90s early 00s. Sadly they’ve all mostly been stole and burnt out here in Northern Ireland.

mine was a H plate 1600 (not L) in fire engine red, very nice. I'm with you on the 90s, a great middle point before it got heavy and complicated, and we had Rozalla!

The i is definitely for important 😉 The blue cav certainly is squeaky! I thought you had a trapped bird in there!

Good video thanks had a 2.0l Sri 8 v then the last of the Mark 3 2.0 16 v it woos lovely driving the car at the time

I saw one of these recently in 2023! It was from 1993, 30 years is pretty good for a car

Miss cars like these, solid, dependable and smooth gear shift with reasonable power and excellent handling...great video as always, thanks man 😎✌️

Vauxhall Cavalier is known here in mainland Europe as the Opel Vectra, I once went to load parts for the former GM warehouse at Hazeldonk, Breda, the Netherlands, at a Vauxhall factory in Luton.

I found you via Hub Nut and I am glad I did- you really know what you are talking about even though you speak at 2x the speed of Ian ! [but I am getting used to it !!!!]

had one of the last MK2 cavaliers, loved it , glacier white if I remember correctly

I had a turquoise 93 sri saloon for 13 years. My most reliable car, only wear and tear, brakes, exhaust etc. Surprisingly efficient for a petrol. Freising to Bedford in 12 hours on one tank of fuel...

Early burgundy version is the GL and the blue is the LS. Neither are GSi. Had a number of them over the years including a GSi. Fantastic car in any trim level or engine spec.

Lol those indicator stalks were used in my 2009 Tigra B. If it ain't broke, I guess....

I had the 115 bhp engine in a 1992 Astra CD. It was a torquey engine and packed quite a decent punch when pressed.

I has a burgundy 2.0Gli MkIII. Most reliable car I ever owned, sold it to a friend who tooled around in it for another 4 years to almost 200k. He never serviced or maintained it and it still kept going regardless.

What a awesome video,two cars in one,I do remember the CD version of these,the saloon one I did like them,this red one with the expression wheels is tidy.the blue one was the one I saw on here that's nice for the year as well.

Had loads of these,models ranged from a g reg 1.6 gl to a m reg 2.0 16v cdx.One of my favourites was a L reg 2.0 Sri hatch 8v model which had wheel trims which I soon swapped for the fan blade alloys,quite a quick car loads of grunt better engine than the 16v.

Had a few variants of mk3 cavaliers from 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0i the 2.0GLSi I had I sold it at 9 yrs old with 269000 miles on it, (ex company car) it went on to be a Taxi for some time after I sold it, absolutely bomb proof engine even at that mileage it didn’t use any notable amount of oil, I note the Vauxhall’s signature creeky clutch pedal 😁

I had a H reg 2.0GLS, really liked that car. must have, I kept it 8 years. Only criticism was it could have done with a reach adjustable steering wheel.

I've got a concours mk3 turbo, 45k miles. It doesnt drive like an old car, quiet on the inside and just a nice place to be. The only thing that makes you know it's old is the steering, clutch and gearshift

I owned 4 Mk2 Cavs but never bought a Mk3 as I got a Golf instead. Always thought the Mk2 was better looks wise and the 2.0 litre I had would do wee wees all over a mates Sierra. Good review!

1 of my most loved cars was my 91 H reg Cavalier SRi 130 but as much as i loved it i always wanted a GSi , lovely car though it was back in i think 95-96 so was only 4 years old when i got it.

Think I've had 4 Sierras, 3 Mk2 Cavaliers and 1 Mk3. The Vauxhalls always felt faster than a Sierra of same engine capacity, but lacked the rear slide fun. Also, and it may be due to the sub £300 budget I always bought at, the Vauxhall engines were more fragile. One of my Mk2 Cavaliers put a conrod through the block and out through the radiator!

Just caught up with this video and you’re right it is the last great Vauxhall. Sadly the Vectra and Insignia and various Astras which followed were never much more than average - the Cav mk3 was ahead of its time - still looks fresh 33 years after launch

Loved my Cavvy mk 3s. Had white Sri and white GLi great cars and great review. From memory, access to the ”tea tray" was gained by pulling lid of glove box down firmly. This clicked it down flatter than when accessing the glove box, allowing better access to the cup holders. Many a day I had the bone china "country garden" tea cups and teapot on there along with three tier plate filled with cucumber sandwiches and scones. Actually that last bits a lie! 😂

The preface grill isn't there, its just slatted like the carlton.

my dad drove a second hand mark 3 sri in the late 1990s. it was a dark blue one with the red stripe and it is now a car i really want. gotta learn to drive first though lol

In 2013 I got a Vxl Astra 2.0CDTI SRI Sports Tourer &loved it.

I've had a Cavalier SRi 16v with the red top engine for years. I'll never get rid of it. Only comes out in good weather so it only dose a couple of hundred miles a year.