Vauxhall Cascada (2013 – 2018) Review

If this four-seat cabrio was made by a premium brand you would see a lot more of them. But the Vauxhall Cascada is a rare sight on the used market. That’s good news for those who can see past the badge, then, and bag a very decent rival to the likes of the MINI Convertible or retro-inspired Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet. Read on for our full Vauxhall Cascada review.

At first glance, you might think the Vauxhall Cascada is a convertible version of the Vauxhall Astra – but it was built in the USA and is more similar in size to the Audi A5 Cabriolet.

That means there is a generous amount of space on offer, with room for four adults plus a reasonably sized boot – providing the fabric roof isn’t folded down.

The roof is dual-layered as standard, but it can be upgraded to a very impressive triple layer one that offers almost as much refinement as you’d expect from a fixed-roof car.

It takes 17 seconds to fold and can be raised or lowered at speeds up to 30mph, which is handy if you’re caught in a sudden downpour while stuck in traffic.

There’s a broad choice of engines, comprising a 1.4-litre petrol with 140PS, a 1.6-litre petrol and a 2.0-litre CDTi with either 165PS, 170PS or 195PS.

The Vauxhall Cascada is a heavy car, so the 140PS engine is a little lacklustre when it comes to performance. The rest of the engines offer reasonable everyday get-up-and-go, though.

Regardless of engine, this drop-top is more at home cruising at a gentle pace rather than attacking corners with gusto. It’s relaxed and easy to drive, but there’s little excitement on offer.

That said, there’s a lot to like about it, as it is impressively well built and offers good levels of refinement.

Unfortunately, that badge is the biggest problem, as a Vauxhall simply doesn’t hold the same prestige as that of a BMW or Audi for new or used car buyers. It does mean this car undercuts its rivals on price, though.

Fancy a second opinion? Read heycar’s Vauxhall Cascada review here.

One of the Vauxhall Cascada’s major plus points is passenger space. There’s room in the back for two adults, although access isn’t great and headroom isn’t too impressive with the roof up, either.

But with the roof down, rear-seat passengers will be perfectly comfortable, unless you’re travelling at motorway speeds, where wind buffeting will become a problem.

From the outside, the Vauxhall Cascada is very reminiscent of the Vauxhall Astra and that theme continues in the cabin – the instrument binnacle and centre stack look very much like those seen in the popular hatchback, right down to the dials.

That’s not bad news – the material quality is good, plus the controls are well finished and pleasant to operate.

It’s not all positive, though. The centre stack itself is cluttered, with a confusing number of buttons to control everything from the radio to the ventilation. On the plus side, the colour screen at the top of the stack is clear and generally easy to use.

The roof is internally lined in a soft fabric that looks and feels like a traditional hard-top car’s headlining. You can barely see any structural rods or bars, so you could be forgiven for thinking it was a coupe from inside. That said, rearward visibility isn’t great through the small glass rear window.

The roof retracts automatically with a simple button situated by the electronic handbrake, with no manual release clasps to operate.

It takes 17 seconds to raise or lower fully and it can be used on the go at speeds up to 30mph, which is handy if you’re caught in a sudden shower, or if the sun comes out while you’re waiting in traffic.

Practicality is generally adequate. The boot has a 280-litre capacity, which isn’t bad, but you’ll have to sacrifice a lot of that if you plan on folding the roof down.

Access isn’t great either – the bootlid isn’t very big, so the opening is much smaller than that of a Volkswagen Eos.

You can fold the rear seats forward and there’s a through-hatch, which expands boot capacity to a more useful 780 litres, but you’ll still be restricted to non-bulky items.

The interior might not wow, or give that deeply satisfying of rich material quality that you’ll get in an Audi A5 Cabriolet, but you’ll derive your satisfaction from driving something different to the premium norm, and the fact you’ll have paid substantially less to do so.

Vauxhall Cascada Elite models were offered with a Premium Nappa Leather package, with added brandy-coloured soft hides inside.

The stitching on the seats with this option is very reminiscent of Ferrari’s Daytona-style seats and lifts the interior ambience significantly. 

The Vauxhall Cascada was introduced when touchscreens were still relatively rare in car interiors.

There’s lots of buttons to work the seven-inch screen, then, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as after working out what everything does they’re unambiguous in their operation.

There’s a CD player, with DAB radio, an aux-in socket, USB connection and Bluetooth connection for your mobile phone. 

Sat-nav is standard, too, with the option when new of an upgraded 950 Intellilink system which added European street-level mapping, and greater connectivity for your smartphone, as well as voice commands.

The nav and infotainment feel a bit old-school, because they are, but you’ll not be lacking the basics, while the stereo sounds good, too. 

Around £6000 doesn’t seem like a lot of money for a four-seat convertible with the looks of the Vauxhall Cascda.

That’s the result of buyers shying away from the Vauxhall badge, but it’s good news for used buyers looking for a keenly priced drop-top.

Reckon on spending that amount for a car with 60,000 miles, which is between eight and 10 years old with either petrol or diesel power.

A 20,000-mile Vauxhall Cascada in fine condition will fetch up to £10,000, based more on its spec and condition than age.

A number of engines were offered in the Vauxhall Cascada, with the petrols all officially claiming mpg figures in the low-40s, unless you choose the automatic gearbox, which sees a drop to the high-30s.

Our Real MPG data shows economy should be around the 38mpg mark.

The diesel engines offer anything from 45.6mpg all the way to 57.6mpg on official claims, but our research shows this to be more like 43mpg in normal driving.

Later Vauxhall Cascadas will all cost £190 per year for road tax, while those registered prior to 1 April 2017 pay based on their emissions.

This means the diesels require between £160 and £190 per annum, while the petrols will cost you between £210 and £305.

Insurance for a convertible is always a bit more costly than for a hatch, but the Vauxhall Cascada is not too punitive here, as it sits in groups 20 to 26 (out of 50).

Even with the roof down, wind noise is barely noticeable in the Vauxhall Cascada until you reach motorway speeds. Engine noise, while always apparent, is not intrusive.

That helps maintain the relaxed character. This is not a car for high-speed cornering; it is much more at home on A-roads with long, sweeping turns, where the nicely weighted steering and smooth gear changes make for effortless progress.

The suspension, while firm, does a good job of absorbing bumps, even on larger 19-inch wheels. That said, ride quality could be a little better over more severely cracked and potholed roads, so a smaller wheel size is advised.

If you tend to drive on particularly tight, twisting B-roads, then the Vauxhall Cascada isn’t quite as nimble as you might hope.

It’s a heavy car and that really shows when cornering, where it simply isn’t agile enough to be as exciting as smaller soft-top cars such as the Mazda MX-5.

There were two petrol engines and two diesels in the range.

The entry point was a 140PS 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol, but for those who tend to drive on motorways or A-roads, it would be wiser to pick the 1.6-litre petrol or one of the diesels.

Vauxhall offered the 2.0-litre CDTi with 165PS and the 2.0 CDTI BiTurbo with 195PS.

The 165PS 2.0-litre diesel has the best blend of performance, economy and price. That said, the 1.6-litre 200PS petrol is a good choice – it’s quiet and offers decent performance, if you can forgive unimpressive, but not atrocious, fuel economy.

The top engine is the 2.0-litre BiTurbo diesel, which thanks to a twin turbocharger delivers 195PS and an impressive 400Nm of torque.

If you regularly need overtaking muscle on A-roads, or if you spend a lot of time on the motorway, then it’s the pick of the range. However it’s only offered in top Vauxhall Cascada Elite trim.

Alongside the standard manual, there’s an automatic gearbox which suits the car’s character.

Vauxhall offered a six-speed auto in conjunction with the 1.6-litre petrol, but specifying it saw power reduced from 200PS to 170PS.

The auto was also offered with the 165PS 2.0-litre CDTi. It’s not a bad choice, but it will sometimes change down a gear unexpectedly or hold on to a gear for longer than you’d like.

Whichever engine you choose, you’ll get impressive refinement at low revs. At idle, the Vauxhall Cascada sounds just as quiet as a fixed-roof car, and that is also the case on the move – unless you accelerate particularly hard.

The Vauxhall Cascada comes with electronic stability control, traction control and a suite of airbags to help avoid a crash in the first place, or lessen the impact if you do have one.

There’s automatic pop-up roll-over protection, too.

With it being an older model, the sort of comprehensive active safety aids that are now commonplace as standard were available as cost options.

For example, traffic sign recognition, lane departure warning and Following Distance Indication with Forward Collision Alert were all part of a Driver Assistance Pack.

That’s true, too, of Side Blind Spot Assist, which was an option as part of the Perimeter Protection Pack. 

You might not expect the Vauxhall Cascada to be rated for towing, but all models can pull an unbraked trailer of up to 750kg.

With a braked trailer, you can pull up to 1300kg, other than with the 1.4 Turbo petrol engine, which is limited to 1250kg.

The Vauxhall Cascada SE comes with an active rollover protection system, remote control roof operation, 18-inch alloy wheels, air-conditioning, CD/MP3 CD player with DMB digital radio, aux-in socket and USB connection and Bluetooth.

You get a three-spoke leather-covered steering wheel, cruise control, steering-wheel mounted audio controls, sports front seats, electric windows, rear parking distance sensors, LED rear lights, remote control alarm system, electric parking brake, multi-function trip computer and FlexFold rear seats with remote electric release.

The Vauxhall Cascada Elite trim adds dual-zone climate control, perforated leather seat facings, heated front seats, sports front seats with extendable seat cushions, front seats with tilt and four-way electrical lumbar adjustment and a flat-bottomed, heated leather steering wheel.

Add to that rain-sensitive wipers, automatic lights with tunnel detection and digital high beam assist, anti-dazzle rear view mirror, front fog lights, electronic front seatbelt presenters and a windbreak.