A Vectra may vie for the title of least cool car it is possible to buy, but if you’re lucky enough to be untroubled by the fickle finger of fashion and would rather just have a quiet and comfortable life, a Vectra is by no means a silly choice.
For a start you’ll get one dirt cheap as Vauxhall is used to hacking huge chunks off the list price for the fleet market and demand for saloons like this is dwindling at a quite terrifying rate. Don’t think you’ve done a great deal if you get a few hundred quid knocked off, you should be looking for thousands.
Get one at the right price and come to terms with the fact that it will still depreciate heavily and a Vectra will, if nothing else, be a very easy car with which to live. The interior is very spacious in the front and adequately so in the back while even in saloon form the boot is bigger than that of a Bentley Continental Flying Spur. There’s an excellent driving position and a dashboard of better quality than you might expect of such a mass market car. The controls are logical enough too, if you except the weird indicators which take a reasonable amount of acclimatisation.
The ‘Club’ equipment level is the most sensible one to choose. You’ll get enough goodies as standard not to miss out on anything important but you won’t be paying thousands extra for gimmicks that will be worthless come sale time. The Club comes with alloys, air con, electric windows and mirrors, cruise and a full suite of front and side airbags. The only things missing are an electronic stability programme, priced at £400 on the options sheet, and metallic paint - yours for a further £335.