1.9CDTi (150) Design

Great performance and completely reliable until the gearbox failed at 70,000 miles!

Gruff engine but great fun to drive. Can wear out front tyres very quickly if you try hard. Quite economical - typically 48 mpg but up to 56 on holiday in France. Quite well equipped but, surprisingly, no driver info on fuel consumption etc.
My wife found the passenger seat uncomfortable on longer journeys until we bought a backrest which sorted the problem completely.
My [non-franchised] garage warned me about the gearbox weakness at last service but I was too slow changing the car and it failed with no warning. Vauxhall deny there is any known problem.
Only this engine/gearbox combination seems vulnerable apart from VXRs. So I rather wish I'd bought a less powerful version.
Took some research to find out that cam belt changes are 10 years or 100,000 miles. I think they have modified it from earlier versions which used to destroy themselves at low mileages.

Report as offensive