I use my 56 plate Vectra 1.9cdti Sri 150 for towing 6 berth sterling Europa and can't fault it for power. Stability can feel a little wobbly but I think I loaded the car and caravan wrong the 1st few trips. Now I feel more confident and can comfortably drive in 6th gear on most journeys on flat roads. I love the power of these older cars
I have a 08 Vauxhall Vectra 1.9 cdti Sri 150 hatchback towing on motorway I am average about 30mpg and when towing my Bailey Burgundy S5 but I can't use 6th gear so I would use 5th gear as top gear when towing my caravan.
2008 150 cdti . Same as other people say , 6th gear not used too much. But going up hills the vectra is great. Just ordered some MAD rear coil springs as vehicle sit abit low when is loaded with being SRI
I have no problems not even in the Scottish Highlands. Smooth and fast on the roads and motorways on the way there. No problems on the narrow roads with passing places. On the steeper hills first gear will cope with no problem. Fuel consumption is good, this year 2013 we covered 1550 miles averaging around 36/38 mpg. I never had to stop on any of the steeper hills so can not comment regarding very steep hill starts. My Vectra is a manual geared vehicle with 69000 miles on the clock.
Bought the car 8months old, caravan new in 2006. Car has averaged 42.3mpg for 60,000 miles (this includes 12,000 miles towing) so the economy is good.
Wide, long, low centre-of-gravity car is very stable when towing using the standard hitch with no additional stabilisers. Caravan tows rock-steady in all circumstances. Power is more than adequate and 6th gear + cruise control makes motorway towing easy.
Obviously the traction on wet or snowy grass is not very good, but the motor-mover is used in these circumstances. Ride quality in the car is excellent when towing, no detectable movement caused by the caravan. I would replace this (very reliable) car with a similar one if possible.
towing cristall with vectra no problems did feel like i was towing
Done about 20 trips with my 2006 1.9 120bhp vectra estate and have found no problems
We just arrived a 1900km holiday trip in Lapland (north Finland). Opel is towing gradients of 11% uphill good: with speed 65km/h without teasing the car. "D" position is applicable but AT allows the biggest gear on flat road. It's useful to select "3" position when driving roads often uphills.
When accelerating, the torque coverter slip lock is activated after 60km/h if lightly torque in powerline. It's useful to lift up the accelerator pedal a little at 65km/h and allow the AT to lock turbine. This saves energy and avoids heating of transmission oil.
Fuel consumption was average 12...13 liters/100 km.
i tow a pegasus 514 with my vectra 54 plate 150 bhp as previous comments forget 6th gear when towing,but apart from this what a lovely towcar.i used to tow with a discovery,but economy wise ihad to change to a more economical towcar.i borrowed a 120 bhp.vectra for a weekend.slightly underpowerd but convinced me a 150 bhp would do the job.i am glad fuel economy is much better @ iam very pleased with setup.LES.
the vectra 1.8 petrol can easily tow on motorways in 5th gear at 60mph and also as the power for overtaking and handles well the only downside is when pulling off from standstill especially in wet conditions and hill starts as you tend to need to slip the clutch as you get wheel spin , otherwise plenty of power and nice handling combination
Towing my Swift Charisma is OK but you have to make good use of the gears. Will accelerate reasonably well to over take again with a drop down to 4th gear. Performance overall is good but fuel consumption when towing is poor 20mpg on a good day.
i thought my 2 ltr 150bhp mondeo was good bt this is just brill
Car pulls very well in 5th on motorways 6th not really useable, brilliant economy when towing. Only complaint is the cluch gets very hot and smelly in slow traffic and when reversing the caravan onto a pitch.
You need to be a little careful with this set up as the MTPLW is 50kg higher than the vehicles towing weight. However, if you are not loading it up too much you should be ok. I don't bother with an awning, use plastic crockery, and that saves a lot of weight.
In terms of towing, its not as good as a diesel, but not terrible either. Vauxhall manufacturer guidelines recommend petrols tow between 2500-3000 rpm, and towing ability is ok within this band. It may mean sitting in 4th at 50mph when going up slight gradients, but hey, its a petrol and it handles the revs ok. I have rarely used 5th gear im afraid, but to be honest it drives comfortably in 4th at 55. If power is urgently needed, this car does pull well if you take it up to 6000rpm, but you wouldn't want to do this routinely. One tip: i find that economy is better when cruise control is switched on as much as possible, as it can control acceleration better than i can- in economy terms. I get roughly 25 mpg, not great, but not disastrous either.
If your towing long distances with this set up, your better with the diesel models, otherwise this set up is OK.
swear buy the good old vectra cdti sri chipped up now 190 bhp , pulls a 1590kg van front end of nearly with that much power.
I have a vectra estate sri 150bhp i has a tuning box fitted it gives 206bhp.This car is awesome pulls like a train goes up hills like they are not there.Forget 4x4s try one of these you wont be disappointed.
Further to previous notes, with over 1000 miles towed with this combination.
This car should be very easy on the clutch. It will pull away at tickover, even on a slight incline, then when clutch fully engaged pull strongly away. This is very useful when manouvering on site.
Average speed achived on long motorway journey was 56mph. Average fuel consumption was 30.3mpg in good conditions. Lowest was 28.1mpg after crossing the Pennines (A66 Scotch Corner to Penrith) and incurring heavy headwinds.
Only need to change down on steeper motorway inclines, but if there is no danger of holding up other traffic I usually allow the speed to drop until the reduced drag balances the load of climbing the hill. Speed seldom drops below 50mph in this way on UK Motorways.
Overall I am (pleasantly) surprised at how well this car deals with towing it's own weight. The soft-blown turbo with it's modest peak power output belies the capabilities where it counts, between 1500 and 2500rpm.
Had the Vectra a year, bought it specifically to tow our Eldis. No great issues, tows fine. Yep 6th gear struggles but in 5th no problems. Good economy, no overheating problems. Slight problem pushing van back up hill on to pitch - needs a bit of revving. Other than that a good tow car.
I was happy to contemplate towing 1:1 with this car as the torque is very strong from low revs, even though peak output is modest. The car has done 220k miles (350K kilometers).
It is very drivable around town / minor roads with good flexibility through the gears. On the motorway is easily achieves 60 mph (96 k/h) and can hold top gear on gentle inclines.
It seems to perform slightly better than the statistics suggest on this web-site.
We own a 2006 Abbey GTS Vogue 420, and tow with a 2008 Vectra 150bhp SRi. Of the 3 journeys we've made so far, hav'nt encountered any probs. I do however try to keep the weight at least 75kgs below MTPLM. Great car 'thou.
my vectra exclusive 1.9 150 auto diesel tows my fleetwood sonata nocturne a dream and returns excellent mpg 10/10
We bought the Geist as our first caravan 2 years ago and bought the Vectra SRi to match and the only issue I have had is that reversing up even a slight incline does make the clutch very hot. Apart from that the car has been brilliant with plenty of smooth power and it will cruise all day and at 60 withthe van on the back and average 32 mpg. I especially like the excellent seats, which are just about the best in any car I have owned, very important for the longer journies.
2006 Vectra 1.9 CDTI 16v (150) with tuning box providing 180 bhp pulls the Elddis Avante with ease. Can use 6th gear more since addition of tuning box. Fuel economy good at 32mpg average towing. Car really excells running up steep motorway inclines and leaves 4x4 towcars behind!
We've had to change our caravan to a Swift Challenger 520se. (1418kgs). Coming home from Devon on the A38 she towed the 'van at 60mph uphill !! It really is an awesome towcar and I cannot praise it enough
Used to tow with a Peugot 406 2litre turbo and the Vectra is miles better. Both are diesel powered and the economy for the Vectra is around 25 - 30mpg during towing. I have had no real issues and would buy this combination again.
i tow a swift charisma 570 i feel like the suspension is tolow as it makes my van look nose heavie been told must up grade my springs its a shame as car handeling is superp a lot better than my old 4x4
I tow a 2003 Swift Charisma 565 (139kgs max), unable to find on list! Just bought a 2008 150ps SRi, from a Vectra 2.0dti. No comparison, this tows the caravan very well and I'm really impressed. When 'light engine' it's a flying machine too!!!
I tow a 2003 Swift Charisma 565 (1339kgs) with a 1.9 CDTi 150ps, SRi, and she pulls this caravan without effort, I'm really impressed, economical too.Previously had 2.0DTi. No comparison !!!
only just purchased our caravan so not done much towing. on motorway the car felt a little light and didnt feel too confident, but the car had plenty of pulling power although 6th gear was never used.
We recently changed from a folding camper to a Swift 565 Charisma 2003. MTPLM 1339kgs. Car tows well. More 'bulk' after folding camper, but steady. Alko hitch lock fitted. pulls well on A roads and motorway(s). I do keep an eye on the nose weight thou'
towed the same caravan with citroen c5 turbo diesel estate.the vectra was far better ,more acceleration ,more power and a much smoother ride all together.im very pleased with it
I have a 56 plate Vectra estate 1.9 cdti (120) with 113000 on the clock and tow a 2005 Charisma 570. The car pulls the van with ease and feels very stable. The only gripe I have is the 1st gear could do with a little more torque for pullling off, the need to slip the clutch a little is often called for. Overall though what a lovely partnership.
i used to tow my abbey adventura with a toyota avensis 1.8 t3s, swapped to the vectra and found it to be an excellent towing vehicle like someone said earlier no problem passing a 4x4 with or without the van
I know this is above the recommended balance for the UK, but this outfit is not for the newcomers anyway. it handles well, with fantastic acceleration, passing lorries and slower cars on hill is certainly not a problem. You have to keep an eye on the speed as there is so much power. 21 to the gallon towing. and around 27 mpg as an all round figure. A good tow even when getting low on fuel. but I don't overload the van anyway.
My 2.2 auto vectra towed my caravan very well i managed to get 29.3mph,unfortunately the match given here is not quite accurate as the caravan max is 1477kg not 1500kg which does then take it down to 89%. all in all an extremely good tower
Confirm the findings that the Lexon SE is probably at the limit for comfortable handling by the Vectra 2Dti. Have not experienced any problems towing at a fairly constant 50 mph. The Vectra tows well whether negotiating. motorways or steep hills in North Yorkshire. Grantham Caravans who supplied the new Lunar last year advised the match would be OK and so far it has.
This car is brilliant for towing. The 150bhp makes it so easy considering the Amara 535 is close to the limit. I do not understand the people moaning over the cruising 6 Gear. The answer is you don't use it ! Still getting 33mpg so I'm well pleased. Go for the estate, loads more space and the car looks better.
Excellent ! I previously towed with a 2.5L petrol Omega and was surprised and delighted to find the Vectra was a better tow car. Around 33mpg towing on the level in 5th and 50mpg on the level solo in 6th. Glad most of the motoring press don't seem to like them - it keeps the price right!!
Excellent tow car, normal run gives 29 MPG, with van you can achieve 25 MPG. Outfit very stable and most motorway hills allow you to stay in 5th gear. Side wind and passing lorries seem to have minimal effect on stability, with normal stabiliser fitted.
This car is the best tow car I have had .Previous car was a 3.0 v6 shogun sport.The vectra put it to shame.Towed from Windermere to Padstow on one tank .Cruise control at 60mph all the way.Packed to the gills wife 3 kids 5 bikes roofbox the all shootin match.If you want a Tow Car buy this car
The Vectra Estate with factory fit retractable tow bar and self levelling suspension is a great match with the Swift 570, almost effortless towing and very stable, even at the higher speeds allowed in France.
Fantastic car just keeps pulling, lots of grunt, great on hills average 21mpg towing if you keep to 60mph very hard to as so much power, don't know what i can replace it with that will be better.
My 1.8 Vectra Exclusive towed well when I went up to North Wales from West Wales using "A" Class roads. I have also been to the Brecon Beacons and it performed well. Due to the type of roads didn't get to use 5th gear much but when I did it towed fine
Tows great. Does anyone else have a noisy back end on their Vectra whether towing or not? Ir's been checked over by three different garages and none of them have found what the problem is. Any suggestions?
The Vectra and the Elddis are an excellent match together. With its 150 bhp the Vectra was able to tow with ease on inclines and handles very well on uneven, twisty roads which is ideal if your going to the Lake District or heading to Scotland.
I have an 08 19cd sri (150bhp) vectra, i tow a Sterling Europa 540. The vectra is brilliant, plenty of power against this 23ft van. On the flat i can get into 6th gear all be it there is not a lot of acceleration, all the same it does cut down on fuel use. Up hill no problem at all, even on the steep inclines this car has enough power. Fuel economy without is excellent and with still very respectable. I try to go away once a month in season and for a 2 week break in the summer and wouldn't say that fuel is top of my thoughts. I also added a roof box and coupled with the large boot space makes packing up no problem. My only concern with the SRI is that it has sports suspension so it sits lower than your normal vectra. Looking along the line of my car to van it does sit down past the horizontal at the hitching point, but only just. The up side is that the suspension is stiffer so it doesn't travel down much on uneven surfaces. These 2 are a perfect match and in real life they work well together. Fully packed the vectra performs well.
I have no problem towing this weight , very stable rarely drop below 60 , on long motorway inclines can drop to 50 .All in all i am more than happy with this combination .
The Vectra 1.8 SRI 140bhp towing a Bailey Burgundy 1425KG OMG !! Short trip to Wales my pulse never dropped below 100 ! This is a dangerous combination, the Vectra is rated at 140 ponies but i think 40 died during this trip, pull a Burgundy ? this car wouldn't pull me out of bed ! 5th gear, Whats that ? During the trip i told my wife we had to lose some weight so we ended up jettisoning the 15 tins of beans we had taken, oh oh, it made no difference, if you're looking for a scary ride try this combo, bettered only by the Pepsi Max at blackpool.
Excellent, can't tell it'sthere, better than Passat
Nice combination. On steep climbs (7%) in 30mph limit it needs 3rd gear at the top but if you can get speed up before you hit a slope you can stay in 5th most of the time.
Engine temperature doesn't rise above that when driving solo so engine doesn't seem to labour. With noseweight of just over 75Kg stability was fine.
This Vectra is a very good towcar, on motorways cruises easily at 60mph as long as the caravan nose weight is kept below 75kg. it is perfectly stable. The only downside is fuel consumption drops to about 30mpg. But all in all a very good car for the caravaner.(I have done about 2000 miles towing with this car.
My 1.8 Vectra Exclusive has not performed very well, really poor when faced with long climbs, have to make real use of gears, fine / stable on flat.
Fantastic combo, You forget the van's there , which is the biggest problem with the outfit when you find yourself doing 70+ on the motorway !
Unfortunately this size of van ids disappearing , my new one is over 1200Kg loaded but towcar says it will tow so ,,,.....
Its pants and has a crap nose weight
I drive a 150bhp SRI version and have enjoyed effortless towing, cant rate it enough........even stocked to the gills with kids and luggage !! As reviewed by others, the only down side is the 6th gear towing, but hey drop into 5th and away you go....its no big issue !
Hopeless on hill starts, slight incline clutch starts to slip. Great disapointment!!!!!!!
Just purchased this car,taken caravan out once on a short trip,found that this is fantastic plenty power on start off and just loves hills, just keeps pulling.cant wait to take it on motorway to see how she goes.I was getting around 28mpg with the caravan on doing normal roads and hills, I think this will increase on motorway driving will let you know.
Horrible combination max speed 60 km/h. Caravan takes the lead. Takes 18l/100km gasoline. My Old Omega 2.0 pulls that caravan very nice and take 13l/100 km
The Vectra tows the bailey ok but looses power when confronted with climbing mediocre gradients which gets rather frustrating when you have change down to 3rd or 2nd gear to obtain more pull. Stability is fine however, hill starts can be a little tricky.
The car is an awesome towcar. Drove from Derby to Padstow (300miles)with ease had to drop down to 5th on some of the more serious hills on the A30. The car returned 34.9MPG. There is no need for 4X4's as everyone towing with a 4X4 I overtook (mostly on hills)
My Vectra towed my caravan very well i got 27.5mpg it has a Kenlowe auto gearbox oil cooler fitted as well as the original cooler which keeps the gearbox much cooler when towing, which you need as the original one is not sufficent in my view, i hope this information helps anybody out there.
I tow with an 06 Vectra Sri 150. Performance is more than enough if you use the gears right. This model on the 06 plate's unladen weight (1455KG) is lower than the earlier SRI CDTI 150 models(1525KG). Towing at approx. 62 mph is ideal for allowing the engine to pull quite happily in 6th on flat and small inclines. Fuel consumption is excellent returning about 32 / gal and I would recommend the car to anyone who wants a good affordable family towcar.low car tax and excellent fuel economy, towing and solo.no need for the 4x4.!
The 3 litre diesel Vectra pulls the caravan really well. There is no performance drop when coming up motorway inclines and it'll pull away on a hill start, no problem. Because the Vectra is front-wheel drive, starting an incline on wet grass is a non-starter, however. But all in all, I'm very satisfied.
Towing the Bailey Pagent Champagne with my Vectra 1.9 cdti is a breeze,fuel economy is good too,it pulls well on the flat in 6th gear,using the gearbox properly there is no problem towing anywhere.Would recommend the Vectra as a tug any day with this combination.
My 1.8 Vectra easily pulls my Bailey Ranger on most roads but on inclines I have to drop down to third but still pulls OK and on hill starts have not experienced any problems moving off.
On municipal weighbridge caravan weighed 1100kg loaded and car 1475kg empty with half tank of fuel. Outfit is very stable when towing. Good performance, easy to maintain 110 kph, easy to keep up with traffic. No need to fit extension mirrors due to relative widths.
BEST Tow car I have ever had ( excluding 4x4)
Good solid handling and stable tow.
Auto box copes admirably and does a lot in 5th gear- providing you are sensible with your right foot.(use cruise)
I tow a 2007 Bailey Pageant Monarch (MTPLM 1239Kg) with an 06 Vectra Sri 150. Performance is more than enough even up long, steep highland hills if you use tghe gears right. Towing at approx. 62 mph on the clock (which seems to be a genuine 60 mph) is ideal for allowing the engine to pull quite happily in 6th on flat and small inclines. Fuel consumption is excellent and I would recommend the car to anyone who wants seriously capable towcar.
We have towed this Avondale/Mayfly 1999 with our 2000 Vectra B for 7 years without any problems. We have travelled as far as the south of France and average approx 28-30mpgwhile towing.
I tow a 2004 Abbey Aventura 330 with my Vectra CDTi SRi 150 bhp and have encountered no problems. Car pulls very well, no issues with over heating. Good economy even though my car has a tuning chip giving around 185 bhp. Great combination!!
towing caravan ok but struggle on inclines had engine management system re-mapped £200 pushed car to 140bhp towing is no longer a problem
The vectra /moonstone is a perfect match .Even with the Vectra fully laden it pulls with little effort.Touring the north of Scotland this summer I averaged 39 MPG.
Towing with 2006 Vectra Hatchback Exlusiv. 1.9cdti 150bhp version coupled to a 2006 Lunar 524. I find this outfit to tow very well, I load very little in the van when towing, prefering to put the weight in the car instead. These cars are fairly high geared especially the 6th gear so it never really gets used, but in all other gears it pulls very well and is still quite frugal on diesel. I would probably have liked the vectra's weight to have been a little more with this van, but with sensible loading it always feels stable with little effect if any from passing vehicles etc. No problems whatsoever when towing.
My 2006 Vauxhall Vectra Elite 150 psi diesel pulls the Sterling fine but it is not happy with 6th gear, biggest issue is when in very slow traffic the clutch starts to get hot and when the traffic starts to move again we get what appears to be clutch slip before the car settles down. but apart from this we are vey happy with the performance.
hi i find my vectra perfect for towing my fleetwood sonata
1400kg i also carry a generator food and 2small dogs
plus me and my wife in my car (estate) 2.2dti i average
27mpg diesel i do about 10 rallies a year now we are retired and belong to the retired caravanners club
Use of gear box more frequent when towing. Perfectly capable for this size of caravan.
I have had my 82 model Fleetwood Sonata Serenade for 3 years and have found it a dream to tow with my 2.2Dti Vauxhall Vectra. Having just returned from 3 weeks touring the North and West coast of Scotland on single track and extremely hilly roads, I am even more impressed with my cars perpormance. In excess of 30mpg over the 3 weeks is excellent I think. My max speed is always 60mph where safe to do so.
Just had my first year towing Bailey Senator Arizona with Vectra SRI 150 BHP Diesel. It struggled on the motorway in 6th gear and engine overheated on steep hills. Changing it for a bigger and better tow car. The car is great - but not for towing my caravan!
Good smooth motorway driving assuming you can keep at 60mph in 5th gear, any changes in incline affects speed quickly. Good overtaking when you drop to third gear. Fuel economy on long journeys is approx 36 miles per gallon. Good pulling power in first gear when pulling out at junctions. Do not overload caravan, put heavy weight items in car boot if possible.
Vauxhall Vectra C 2.2 dti elegance, fantastic towcar plenty of low down grunt for when you need it. Very stable on B, A class roads and a dream on motor way. Normal buffeting from HGV and slight decrease in power on steep inclines but use the gearbox correctly and you won't notice it at all. Solo 44+ mpg towing 32+ mpg well pleased very comfortable, wlfe could not get comfortable in previous mondeo seats but not a word out of her in the vectra, good load space easy to get your load in and out.
I have been towing for a number of years and tried different cars, however, I now have the Vauxhall Vectra SRI 150 BHP diesel - Kerb weight 1555 kg, towing 1400kg of Caravan MTLPM, she performs superbly, loads of guts uphill and on the straights no comparison with other cars such as the Ford Mondeos 138 BHP. The car has achieved overall whilst towing 32 MPG. As well as the performance whilst towing the whole outfit looks brilliant and makes heads turn. So don't bother with the 4+4s this outfit eats them all and very safely to boot.
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