Built over the GM Epsilon platform the Opel Vectra C of 2002 was initially available as a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback, known as the GTS.[1] A five-door station wagon was added in 2003,[2] along with an "executive hatchback" sold under the Signum nameplate. The Signum, which is based partly on the Vectra C features a completely different layout in the rear.[3]
The engine range was substantially modified to account for an increased curb weight. While a 90 kW (121 hp) 1.8 litre Family 1 Ecotec engine was reserved for the base model, a 2.0 litre turbocharged Family II engine with 129 kW (173 hp) was also offered,[4] along with a new 3.2 litre V6, with 155 kW (208 hp).[5] Diesel power, which by now was an important for commercial success in Europe,[6] is provided by an Isuzu-sourced 3.0 litre V6 outputting 132 kW (177 hp),[7] but the four-cylinder diesel engine was replaced in 2004 by a Fiat-designed 1.9 litre Ecotec CDTI engine capable of outputting 110 kW (148 hp).[8] Handling is reported to be much better than the old car, but reviews still criticise the overlight feel of the steering, complicated indicator switches and the rather ungainly styling of the sedan version.
2005-2008 facelifted Vectra C.
The Vectra received a facelift near the end of 2005, and the V6 engine was replaced by an Australian-built a turbocharged 2.8 litre High Feature V6 unit. More importantly, Opel introduced, for the first time, an OPC version the Vectra was launched, using the VXR name in the United Kingdom. These high-performance variants were available only in the hatchback and station wagon bodies. In the United Kingdom, the power on the High Feature engine was increased to 188 kW (252 hp), and maximum speed just falls short of 250 km/h (155 mph). In Australia and New Zealand, the Holden Vectra ZC series was dropped and replaced with the Holden Epica, a badge-engineered Daewoo Tosca in 2007.[9] Due to stockpiling of 2005 model Vectras for the Australasian market, there was enough supply of the car for deliveries to last through to 2007, as a result facelifted Vectra Cs were not sold in those markets.[citation needed]
Sales of the Vectra in the United Kingdom have not been as strong as its predecessor's. For much of its production life, the original Vectra was the fourth best selling car in the country, yet the Vectra C has never come higher than tenth in the country's car sales charts, though it is still the second best selling car in its sector behind the Ford Mondeo. In 2007, it finally made the top 10 of Britain's car sales charts, being the nation's tenth most popular new car with over 50,000 sales, outselling the Ford Mondeo for the first time since 1999.[10] Also in 2007, the station wagon variant garnered the Estate Car of the Year 2007 award by What Car? magazine.[11]
While the Vectra C is sold in Mexico and Chile as the Chevrolet Vectra, it is not marketed in Brazil, where a new, locally designed Chevrolet Vectra sedan, based on the Astra H was released in October 2005.
The engine range was substantially modified to account for an increased curb weight. While a 90 kW (121 hp) 1.8 litre Family 1 Ecotec engine was reserved for the base model, a 2.0 litre turbocharged Family II engine with 129 kW (173 hp) was also offered,[4] along with a new 3.2 litre V6, with 155 kW (208 hp).[5] Diesel power, which by now was an important for commercial success in Europe,[6] is provided by an Isuzu-sourced 3.0 litre V6 outputting 132 kW (177 hp),[7] but the four-cylinder diesel engine was replaced in 2004 by a Fiat-designed 1.9 litre Ecotec CDTI engine capable of outputting 110 kW (148 hp).[8] Handling is reported to be much better than the old car, but reviews still criticise the overlight feel of the steering, complicated indicator switches and the rather ungainly styling of the sedan version.
2005-2008 facelifted Vectra C.
The Vectra received a facelift near the end of 2005, and the V6 engine was replaced by an Australian-built a turbocharged 2.8 litre High Feature V6 unit. More importantly, Opel introduced, for the first time, an OPC version the Vectra was launched, using the VXR name in the United Kingdom. These high-performance variants were available only in the hatchback and station wagon bodies. In the United Kingdom, the power on the High Feature engine was increased to 188 kW (252 hp), and maximum speed just falls short of 250 km/h (155 mph). In Australia and New Zealand, the Holden Vectra ZC series was dropped and replaced with the Holden Epica, a badge-engineered Daewoo Tosca in 2007.[9] Due to stockpiling of 2005 model Vectras for the Australasian market, there was enough supply of the car for deliveries to last through to 2007, as a result facelifted Vectra Cs were not sold in those markets.[citation needed]
Sales of the Vectra in the United Kingdom have not been as strong as its predecessor's. For much of its production life, the original Vectra was the fourth best selling car in the country, yet the Vectra C has never come higher than tenth in the country's car sales charts, though it is still the second best selling car in its sector behind the Ford Mondeo. In 2007, it finally made the top 10 of Britain's car sales charts, being the nation's tenth most popular new car with over 50,000 sales, outselling the Ford Mondeo for the first time since 1999.[10] Also in 2007, the station wagon variant garnered the Estate Car of the Year 2007 award by What Car? magazine.[11]
While the Vectra C is sold in Mexico and Chile as the Chevrolet Vectra, it is not marketed in Brazil, where a new, locally designed Chevrolet Vectra sedan, based on the Astra H was released in October 2005.
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