Volvo s40 Vs Opel Vectra

cold_filter

Ok having been persuaded not to buy a renault laguna.

I am now undecided between a 02 ish Volvo s40 and a 03 Opel Vectra,
somebody help me decide!

RobAMerc

Is there no Mondeos available ?
Way better than any of these, Vectras are pure rubbish while the S40 of that era had long passed its sell by date.

cold_filter

There are but my GF really doesnt want a mondeo, i think there fine but i need to keep her happy!

I know the volvos look a but dated but the one i want has the square grill rather than just the straight line grill, it makes it look a bit newer

furtzy

RobAMerc wrote:

Is there no Mondeos available ?
Way better than any of these, Vectras are pure rubbish while the S40 of that era had long passed its sell by date.

Interested to hear your Vectra experiences to think they're rubbish. I've had 3 with no probs

delly

I have a '06 Vectra and other than a problem with it pulling to the left when I got it, I find it a very comfortable car.

RobAMerc

cold_filter - I was not talking about the looks of the S40 - the car itself is quite an old design ( chassis and suspension ). A spin in one back to back with a similarly aged Mondeo I think would show a marked difference between one and a more "modern" chassis. With road noise and poor ride quality and handling. Just becuse cars were built in the same year does not mean they were designed in the same era, and this really shows in old volvos I am afraid.

As for the vectra - I dont judge a car on its reliability entirely,( please dont ruin this thread harping on about this ), I am more interested in the dynamic ability of a cars chassis as described above and Opels in general ( until very recently ) have always scaled the heights of mediocrity rather than sparkled in this area.

If reliability is all that matters to you then an older Toyota would probably still be a better bet than either of the tow your suggesting.

just my two cents -

furtzy

RobAMerc wrote:

As for the vectra - I dont judge a car on its reliability entirely,( please dont ruin this thread harping on about this ), I am more interested in the dynamic ability of a cars chassis as described above and Opels in general ( until very recently ) have always scaled the heights of mediocrity rather than sparkled in this area.

just my two cents -

Wasn't getting at you. I was genuinely interested to find out other peoples experiences of the car I own.

Theres an awful lot of Alfa's are crap.....Renaults are crap etc rubbish that goes on boards from people who have no experience of the product they're slagging off.

To the OP. Test drive both and buy whatever one you prefer. You can't always break a decision down to pros and cons.....go for the one you like better.

just my two cents

cold_filter

Thanks for the input, i've a busy day of test drives on saturday with 3 s40's 2 alfas maybe even a renault, a passat and a couple of mondeos!!

patrickc

I've a 01 Nov 01 s40, it's the 1.9d 115bhp, I have to say it's a good all rounder, comfy, loads of extras, not very comfortable on dodgy country roads, suspension is a little hard,.. all in all I'm very happy with the car

cold_filter

I'm looking at 02 though i may go for a 01, probably get the petrol as the diesels ive seen have mileage very very high. I've liked them for a while and as im trading up from a fiat anything is an improvement!

unkel

@OP - what engine size are you going for and is it petrol or diesel? What's your budget? What is most important in a car for you (i.e. reliability, fuel consumption, resale value, drivers car, space, value for money, etc.)

The current Vectra is actually quite a good car. Test drive it

Also, the Volvo S40 is cleverly marketed as being in the D-segment, but it isn't really. It's a lot smaller than any of the other cars mentioned

kc66

I also have an 01 S40 1.8SE. As mentioned already its very comfortable, loads of extras, has the power when required. Bought with 87k miles on it last May, now have 115k without any problems. Good reliable car and will probably buy another S40 when this one bites the dust. Getting 41mpg according to computer but I think its more like 36/37.

Only small problem is that I have replaced bulbs around 7/8 times.

patrickc

kc66 wrote:

I also have an 01 S40 1.8SE. As mentioned already its very comfortable, loads of extras, has the power when required. Bought with 87k miles on it last May, now have 115k without any problems. Good reliable car and will probably buy another S40 when this one bites the dust. Getting 41mpg according to computer but I think its more like 36/37.

Only small problem is that I have replaced bulbs around 7/8 times.

one bulb has gone on me in 4 months thats all, I've put 10k miles on it in that 4 months and mines been trouble free also..

gyppo

unkel wrote:

Also, the Volvo S40 is cleverly marketed as being in the D-segment, but it isn't really. It's a lot smaller than any of the other cars mentioned

Spot on, the S40 is a focus/astra/corolla sized saloon.

I did own an '00 S40 for about 6 months, and found it very disappointing from almost every aspect. Rough ride on poor roads due to a very firm suspension, unreliable and costly to sort out (eg vvt camshaft pump £££s, MAF sensor£££s, etc), unrefined and noisy engine, and not very economical. The one thing I did like on it was the excellent seats - it was very comfy when parked!

I traded it in for a 02 Mondeo, which outshone it on all counts.

E92

The S40(96-04) is 4520 mm long, which is comparable in size to cars like the Vectra, Mondeo, Avensis(4490 mm) of that era. My old pair have the 1.8i SE with that dreaded Mitsubishi engine,which sounds like a diesel when its cold,and makes that sound normally made by cars when the tappets arent working properly(that tick tick tick sound,at least I think thats the sound made by malfunctioning tappets:) ). Inside you cant hear those sounds, although when the car is using indirect injection you can hear the ticking, but oddly when the engine is in direct injection mode, its quieter(I say oddly because for some reason direct injection petrols are noiser than indirect injection, which of course is the exact opposite to diesels, and the trip computer displays the letter E when its in direct injection mode). Very economical on an open road(the trip computer says it does 60+ mpg easily at about 60 mph driving), not economical at all in town(mid 20s at best). Its a lovely car, but its quite slow, always has been, and the Mistsubishi engine decided 3 years ago that its malfunction light(it needed a fuel pump, ECU and other engine related items) would come on and left the old pair €3.3k out of pocket, though between Volvo and the dealer, the old pair ended up paying a bit over €1600. Other than that its been proplem free, apart from the bulbs which need to be replaced more often than one expects, its a very nice car. We go over some of the worst roads in the country, and ride is more than acceptable, though the rear suspension makes itself heard(ours is a 00), and the ride improved hugely when it got facelifted(and the suspension noises practically disappeared with it) in 01. Stick with 15 inch wheels(it bounces like a roller coaster all over the place on anything bigger), and avoid sports suspension at all costs. If you stay away from the Mitsubishi engine, I'd certainly recommend the S40, and certainly I'd prefer it to the Vectra. The S40 always does a lot better than the Vectra(either the current one or the '96-'02 model) in reliability and consumer satisfaction surveys, indeed the V40, which is the estate version of the S40 seems to come top of the class in those What Car? reliability surveys(the one they do with warrany Direct, not the JD Power survey)IIRC. The S40 is better IMO than the Vectra, provided you ignore the 1.6 and Mitsubishi 1.8, the Volvo 1.8 is quieter, quicker(the old pair said it is anyway) and probably more reliable, it has the better badge(I hope Volvo prejudices are well and truely buried at this stage:D ) for a start.The interior feels to be much better built. It will hold its value better than the Vectra(dearer to buy though as well).It has more in the way of safety and luxury kit, the current model Vectra supposedly has really high gearing, which means that it takes an age to pick up speed(either way the Vectra is supposed to be slow), although when it is up to speed there will be less noise from the engine for the same reason. The Vectra isnt a bad car either at all though.

Edit: I'd have the Mondeo or a 03 onwards Avensis over either car, and as was already mentioned stay away from the Laguna, I know someone who bought anew Laguna in 03 and it had to go to the garage 10 times in 2 years(this from a car which is supposed to have 2 year(or 18000 mile) service intervals), and after 2 years he was so sick of it he got a new A4 instead, he said he couldnt bear owning it any longer.

unkel

E92 wrote:

The S40(96-04) is 4520 mm long, which is comparable in size to cars like the Vectra, Mondeo, Avensis(4490 mm) of that era

No it isn't. We're talking about '02 / '03 cars here. The only car only marginally bigger than the S40 (4.48m) is the old Avensis (4.52m), which was replaced in '03. BTW the S40 has a width of 1.72m

Typical in the class for '02 / '03 i s a length of 4.60m to 4.75m and a width of around 1.80m. Significantly bigger than the S40

BTW the new S40 has a length of 4.47m but it is quite wide at 1.77m

cold_filter

Thanks for the input folks,i have 2 test drives on saturday, one in a 01 s40 and a 02 s40 the other is a vectra 03 passat 02 and probably a mondeo, personally i'd prefer the 02 s40 but i'll see how the ride is in each

bazz26

Cannot speak about the 2002 onwards model Vectra but having had a 1999 Vectra it was total rubbish. Lots of issues with electrics, poor fuel economy and shocking depreciation. Just my experience.

Of the two you mentioned the Vectra would be the more modern design and roomier car. Rear leg room and boot space in the S40 is also tight if you value your space. The S40 is probably better equipped than a similar Vectra, most having air conditioning and even leather seats as standard. I would try and find a nice clean diesel S40 from 2001 onwards as they are pretty nippy and economy is good.

OP never mentioned what budget he has, a 2002 Mazda 6 should also be looked at, they are pretty cheap second hand these days and the best looking of the bunch imo:
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=621189

Another to consider is the Honda Accord:
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=648980
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=616019

cold_filter

sorry lads looking to spend about 10k + a trade in of a fiat brava 01 so probably get about 2k aswell for that

furtzy

I'll give you the low down on the Vectra since I've owned 3 of them in a row. Avoid the 1.6 petrol as it struggles in such a large car. The 1.8 petrol from 03 is very hard on fuel. I should know I had one. It struggled to give 20mpg in town. Diesels from 03 include the 2.0DTi and the rare 2.2 DTi. I had the 2.2 and it was a superb engine with lots of torque...not very refined though. The 2.0 DTi is a little lacking in grunt but perfectly o.k. The new Alfa common rail diesels are fantastic especially the 150 bhp version.

They all suffer from one fault which Opel have decided to ignore and let you find and fix that is the cup in which the spring sits is designed in such a way as to sometimes allow movement of the spring. This movement causes the spring to catch on the shock absorber and cause a loud thud.

This is easily rectified by fitting a moulding on the cup to prevent the sprin moving which Opel will do free of charge even if it is out of warranty. This fault has been present in every Vectra I've owned. Its easily fixed but annoying that they won't change the design.

Apart from that they are as reliable as any other car on the road.

Hope that helps...any other questions feel free to ask

cold_filter

I have driven the 1.6 2005 model and its very under powered, i have been looking at the 1.8 as i can really find a diesel without a shed load of miles on it.

furtzy

cold_filter wrote:

I have driven the 1.6 2005 model and its very under powered, i have been looking at the 1.8 as i can really find a diesel without a shed load of miles on it.

It was mostly city driving I did in my 1.8 to get the bad fuel comsumption. On the open road it was fine. Was a lovely car apart from that. It was the elegance spec so had all the toys. Avoid the basic spec models as the higher specs will go for the same price

Drove the newer VVT 1.8 model in Scotland recently and it was a lot easier on fuel. These have only been out since last though

cold_filter

The one im looking at is the elegance so hopefully it'll have some good toys in it

furtzy

cold_filter wrote:

The one im looking at is the elegance so hopefully it'll have some good toys in it

Is it the oyster colour?....and is the reg 03 D 16***...just asking because the Elegance was rare enough so was wondering was it my old one?

cold_filter

furtzy wrote:

Is it the oyster colour?....and is the reg 03 D 16***...just asking because the Elegance was rare enough so was wondering was it my old one?

no its 03 D 100**

furtzy

cold_filter wrote:

no its 03 D 100**

Fair nuff... Hope you like it as the elegance is definitely the pick of the bunch. The one touch indicators on the Vectra take a while to get used to but don't let that put you off!!

cold_filter

it'll be fine... i hope!!

MaxFlower

cold_filter wrote:

I have driven the 1.6 2005 model and its very under powered, i have been looking at the 1.8 as i can really find a diesel without a shed load of miles on it.

I bough a 00 Vectra 2.0D with 163,000 miles (not kms) as a 3 year old. I got a very good deal (basically 50% off) and it was obvious the car was not abused. I've put another 85,000 on it and it has been fairly trouble free. I've had to do a few things to it (suspension and injector seals) but these were mostly due to our rubbish roads.

Would I buy a Vectra diesel again - yes. The only reason I probably won't is I intend to import from the UK and I think I would take a pasting trying to sell a Vauxhall.