By the looks of it, Vauxhall have compromised the boot space on the Signum by giving rear seat passengers more leg room than in the Vectra. Don't know why, as there's ample leg room in the back of my Vectra as it is.
Not when you have a long legged driver there isn't.
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Wasn't the Signum meant to be a passenger's Vectra?
Well, I would love a Signum 3.0CDTi V6 Elite to replace my 6 year old Omega Elite, but I expect prices will drop even more as a facelift one is due late spring which will look a lot like the new Astra and have a classier interior, will it make the MkIs as cheap as chips and Omegas?
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Not when you have a long legged driver there isn't.
Which Vectra? The current model, "C", or the "B"?
The drivers seat in my "C" is all but two clicks right back, and there's still ample room behind for the rear passenger. My previous "B" was a tad more cramped for people in the rear though.
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I'd be interested in a car like the Signum for when my boys are in their teens and need the space.
The only thing that puts me off one is that the current one looks too much like the Vectra for me. Leaving aside views on the Vectra's looks, there just isn't enough difference to justify spending the extra cash for a new one. From the front they're identical.
So to the uninitiated, you've spent £25,000 on a truncated Vectra.
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Nearly everyone you talk to says they ride/drive well.
But after actually finding one, to lookat properly in the metal & sit in it, (the dealer forgot to offer a test drive!!), I couldn't see how they could possibly justify list price.
Looks better outside, than interior does. I't'll be interesting to see how all this plastic, stray painted silver lasts!!
Probably not for me!!
VB
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I am sure I recall HJ giving it the huge thumbs down.
reg's...........M.
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...and now from someone who actually owns a Signum:
From what I have read in the forums, and this is not meant to be offensive to anyone, I may be the first person to add a post here who is truely in a position to comment with any accuracy having owned one for heading towards a year now. I am more than happy to acknowledge that this car is not everyone's cup of tea and in some ways that's a factor I like about it. No matter what others may say, yes it is a Vectra front half with a weird back end. Lets be honest this car's only really meant to be a big cruiser - big seats, obscenely big amount of legroom both front and back, a big dash and more cubby holes and "laziness compensators" than you can shake a stick at. The 2.2DTI Design version that I drive is very smooth despite the tighter suspension, is no noisier than my father's Diesel BMW, and a lot quieter than my bother's Diesel RAV4. I would agree with HJ that the traction control does kick in a moment or two before I would like it to but apart from that the handling is very sharp for the type of car that it is meant to be. The turning circle naturally suffers slightly because of the enlongated wheel base but not to any great inconvenience that I have found. It would be hard to justify that the Jag X-Type and Lexus IS-200 would be direct competitors as the intended uses and features are too different but from personal experience, the Signum beats the Vel Satis well into second place for build quality, comfort, noise, positioning of equipment for driver e.g. handbrake, gearstick, electronic controls etc. and overall driving experience. I drive a Celica deliberatley for the bone juddering sports suspension and g-force cornering. I drive the Signum so that I can serve tea and coffee while cruising at some rediculous speed on holiday with two labradors in the boot, full load of family, roofbox of luggage and whatever I want on tow without a second thought. The car is strange looking, agreed, but it is easy to drive, does eacatly what it says on the tin and is very practical for me(apart from the middle seat business - cured by turning upside down and putting a cushion on top for the very occasional fifth person!). Not sure why a previous comment described the boot as being smaller as I recently transfered a "full to the roof" vectra bootload into the Signum and it all fitted. Maybe a few litres less but the taller nature compensates a little for orientation of items. Two things I have found to be a problem (HJ PLEASE NOTE!!) - rear passenger shock gave up at 33000 miles but Vauxhall have replaced both sides under Net Q warranty, and the front passenger ball joint at the bottom of the suspension was found to need replacing at the same time but this was covered by the Manufacturer's Warranty. As far as I am concerned, it's individual, spacious, reliable, efficient, fun to drive, my wife loves it and considering I got it ex-demo for less than half the original value, it's a bargain for the amount of car you get. If it's not your cup of tea, that's fine, there's no point in complaining about it as the features probably aren't what you're looking for in that case and isn't that the great thing about choice - go get a Mondeo or Avensis or Laguna or 407 :-)
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Well said. I had a lift in one on an evening out. I was impressed. I would certainly consider one and as said before am strangely drawn to it.
The bottom line is probably I am a badge snob and the Signum made me realise this. The 5 and 3s that I have recently owned/driven would certainly leave it in a cloud of blue diesel fumes knocking it into a tin hat as regards handling and performance but it is a convincing second hand buy for a long term tenure.
Vauxhall should sell it under a premium badge - really.
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Garth, good to hear that you like it, it interests me too but it definitely needs a nose job to set it apart from the Vectra!
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I like it because it doesn't have a premium badge.
I hate brands, I hate Burberry, I hate Nike, I hate CocaCola. I hate BMW.
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Ditto on brands apart from my beloved Beemer !
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I will not pay a premium for a brand for anything - but I will pay a premium for better quality, whether in terms of performance or durability, if the situation demands it.
That is why a £25k Signum makes no sense at all. At that money you're dangerously close to a 5 Series which may not have the kit, but which is undoubtedly a better car. At least a fully loaded Omega might have made more sense to some people than a base spec 520i, 7 years ago.
Of course, as a used car, if it's cheap enough, it makes sense, although I genuinely cannot see what appeal it has that a Vectra lacks - and however big the depreciation, so far, the Vectra is still cheaper used on the same basis. (Except for the legroom of course).
So ironically, if the appeal of the Signum is the anti-snob value, it still loses by charging a premium by comparison to the very similar Vectra.
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Well I've yet to see a Signum on the road - the only one I've seen was up for sale at a Vx dealership and on their frontage. Wasn't it supposed to be an Omega replacement?? If so it's a pretty poor one according to what I saw of an old review by JC on Top Gear last night. 2 nice rear seats and then a miniscule middle seat/hatch, storage compartments only fit for sticks of celery etc. There doesn't appear to be anywhere near the amount of space that was available in the Omega estate so unless there's a larger variant out there or on the way how can it be a replacement for the Omega? One thing they do obviously have in common though is the fact that they shed ££££'s faster than a rat up a drainpipe. Could this is be the result of totally unrealistic list pricing?
Although badges don't interest me at all, I'd never pay that sort of money for that car - buying used is the only scenario which makes any sense IMO. Why do Vx insist on making cars which so few people want to buy new?
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Although I haven't compared the measurements I suspect the Vectra estate (Signum floorpan)is much closer in size to the Omega estate, for people who want laod ccarrying capability.
In terms of pricing I don't think the Signum is any more unrealistic than the Omega was; and they kept that going for 9 years! I can only assume the majority of Omega, and presumably Signum, sales were fleet buyers, paying vastly below list price.
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Wasn't it supposed to be an Omega replacement??
It was, but looks like the Omega is making a comeback next year.
www.germancarfans.com/spyphotos.cfm/spyphotoid/604...l
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Nothing wrong with that at all, except for the interior trim/colours which remind me of a Doctor's Office waiting room, circa 1975.
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