My new car arrived the other week so after driving it for the last three weeks I thought I’d write up my thoughts now I have sold on the Vectra.



Exterior

I had the choice of Black, White or grey. I chose white because of the contrast between the roof and body it has black mirrors that look pretty cool. Looking at other cars on the market, I’d say it has the best cabin and rear design. I am less keen on the front which is a little weedy for me. A Grille would have made a difference. I prefer the GT line nose, but for the time being, the current one stays put.











I did alittle vid of the roof conversion Apparently its the fastest out there. Not sure how to embed it in this write up:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brocksuk/5822399032/in/photostream/

Interior

The front is pretty good and seats are comfy. Having a Renault Scenic in the household with its nice colour computer graphic dash, I find this a step back with big LCD display reminding me of 1980s pocket computer games like donkey Kong. The built in TOM TOM is basically a Go Live with all the features you find on higher end TOM TOMs. Its controls seamed a little clumsy at first compared to a traditional device but I am used to it now and it is pretty intuitive. The large screen is clear and easy to read.



The biggest cock up as I see it is the Aux input. Renault have used RCA connectors (although a 3mm jack and USB connection are options). However they have been placed near the drinks holder and removeable ash try/pot. The result is that using the aux in plugs makes it impossible to use the drinks holder or place the removeable pot in the stowage.





The rear is a no go zone for adults. I have put my 3 and 5 year olds in there but they didn’t have much room. There are also only two rear seats so for me, family trips out are not possible unless we leave one behind. ( some may say that is not a bad thing ).



The roof is glass so even with the roof up, the light inside is amazing. It
does have a sun screen though I never use it.




Boot

As expected, the boot as small and not that practical. However I see that as a plus. You would not believe the number of bin bags I have filled with stuff from the back of the Vectra that was just left in the boot as it was out of the way. Now I have no boots space I am keeping it much tidier!





Driving

The car is pretty frugal on the motorway giving me 68 MPG. That soon nose dives off the motorway and is am averaging about 43MPG overall. The car is designed with comfort rather than speed which sounds kinda backward for a coupe. There are some drains on the shartston link between the M60 and M56 that would shake the Vectra Sri to bits. The Megane hardly notices them. However with a softer suspension and more body roll, I am less tempted to throw the car into a corner.

It gets worse with the roof down. I can see the windscreen flexing and looking in the mirror I am convincd there is a universal joint connecting the front to the rear. That said cruising at 70MPH with the roof up is very quiet and even with the roof down the built in wind defector keeps a lot of the air noise down.

With the foot down it does pick up well but with the weight of the rear hydraulics, it is not as quick as I expected and the tail does seam to want to do its own thing.

I have bought a back seat wind deflector that means that even at 70mph, the draft in the car is minimal.



Over all, It is no speed merchant but is a comfortable and relaxing ride. The small boot and removeable roof makes it impossible for me personally to use it as a dumping ground for stray tools, bits of golf and camera kit etc. The modding opportunities are not so great which again is not a bad thing. Overall I am happy....Now where that detailing product price list?

Bad car for leaks this one.

I like it mate, my mother had the prvious hard top, the interior is not as nice as I'd like but the outside makes up for it.

Dava, Not sure where you got this idea of leaks from. The car has only been on the market 6 months. No info on Google other than older cars leaking but then thats true of all older convertables. The warranty on the EOS and Astra roof seal is 1 year.

They've definitely made it look nicer than the last one. I didn't like the last one at all.

Not a massive fan of white cars but it works on this one and with the contrasting roof and mirrors it looks rather nice.

Roof is quite quick, I assume it's one of the faster hard tops, as my soft top is much quicker.

Did you mention what engine is in it? Presume a diesel to get that sort of MPG from it, which is pretty impressive!

Its a 130 BHP DCi. Apparently its the fastest roof conversion in class. I chose white because of the black mirrors and roof. I nearly got a black one because of the silver windscreen pillar and boot trim.

I'll be honest and say my Brother in Law had a Z4. We went to Le Mans in it a few years back. I found it too cramped with the roof on.

A good few of them returned back to the garage with leaks. So it is abit more than an idea.

Yeah they're quite small inside but I don't really find it too cramped, plus the roof is rarely up

Was just showing this thread to my bro and he told me that the roof is pretty good on these things and that the roof goes up and down quicker than it can get to 60mph

Well didn't I just make a tit of myself, said hello to someone at the cash point in Liscard who got out of an 11 plate one of these.

Made a quick getaway when he said "who the fucks Brocks" and looked really angry.

Nice car Brocks,i like the shape and colour combo too.

Cant believe the MPG thats really good,my slk 350 wont do anywhere near that,but i didnt buy it for the economy lol.

I had a co car megane dci last year and it was a great car,good choice you made there.

Proof is a great thing to back up a story bud....

Hardly a comparable car is it!

Well they are both hard top convertibles

very expensive when goes faulty

Yeah and they both have 4 wheels