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"Vauxhall Models"
The Vauxhall Ampera has finally been released. The European car of the year has been highly anticipated by the UK motor industry for more than year now. Prices start from £32,250 with the official release date being May 1st. The Ampera is the UK’s first ever range extending vehicle combining lithium-ion batteries and a petrol engine.
The car that has it all
When the car is released it is guaranteed to take the UK car market by storm. The Ampera is part electric and part fuel. In terms of economy, it will be difficult to find a car that offers lower emissions and a higher fuel efficiency rating. The beauty of the car is that there is no compromise for performance and style, a massive difference when comparing rivals such as the Nissan Leaf.
Electric cars have not taken off as expected. Problems include the high starting prices and the fact that they power and luxury has been heavily compromised. Vauxhall are describing the Ampera as a vehicle that has a great balance between the two, making it economical, stylish and powerful all at the same time.
Extremely economical
The vehicle runs on pure electricity on full charge for a period of 25 – 30 miles. That means that typical daily journeys such as work commutes will be completed on pure electricity alone. Thereafter the petrol engine will kick in, with that reaching a total of 360 miles! You’ll get 235.4 MPG on the petrol tank. By anyone’s standards that an unbelievable statistic. Carbon emissions hit just 27g/km. Paying the high price for the vehicle initially will easily be made back with the savings made on petrol.
Excellent acceleration
As mentioned earlier the Vauxhall Ampera is very impressive in terms of performance, despite being an economical type of vehicle. In just 8.7 seconds the car will race from 0 – 60 MPH.
Classy interior
Inside the vehicle comes a 7 inch colour touch screen display. This wonderfully displays the car’s GPS along with other details. All variants will get cruise control and alloy wheels.
Specific dealerships
Only specific specialist Vauxhall dealerships will have the car in stock, with that being limited from the start. The Ampera is an award winning vehicle which will help increase the amount of electric car drivers here in the UK it is widely expected.
Following the likes of Google and Cadillac (another General Motors owned brand) Vauxhall have began developing self driving technology.
This particular technology maybe on the roads sooner than you may think. General Motors have said that you could see a self driving Vauxhall on the roads in the next few years. Could we really see Vauxhalls’ technology appearing round the corner? According to General Motors the technology will not necessarily be installed into a brand new model. There could be a Vauxhall Insignia in the next few years that steers by itself and drives along the motorway with minimal human intervention.
Cadillac’s version
As mentioned earlier Cadillac are already in the process of developing such technology. Their “Super Cruise” technology allows vehicles to be self driven, with the driver able to relax to a certain extent. Super Cruise utilises special sensors, radars, GPS and cameras to report the vehicles surroundings, enabling to drive along. This will be known as semi autonomous driving, given the fact that the driver is able to retake control of the car at anytime. Their technology is aimed to bring about more safety upon the road. Vauxhall’s self driving technology will adopt the same principles.
Most of the technology already being utilised
Most of the technology need upon the system has already been developed according to Cadillac upon many of their models currently on the road. The same can be said for Vauxhall. Vauxhall will implement technology such as adaptive cruise control, automatic collision braking and lane departure warning. That type of technology is already upon many Vauxhall vehicles such as the Insignia.
Google’s technology
Google have taken it a step further. They are aiming to bring about vehicles that drive without any human intervention at all. Naturally Google are promoting the safety aspects of the vehicle but their main target is to deliver their technology towards the “chauffeur” market.
Nady Boules, an Electrical & Control Integration officer for General Officers spoke positively about the technology saying “We would only need 15-20 per cent of the vehicles on the road to have this vehicle-to-vehicle interaction for there to be a significant benefit to safety,”
Will motorists be deemed as “crazy” for driving vehicles themselves by the year 2015? Next year’s motor shows could be full of cars that are able to drive themselves!
The Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2.0 CDTi which is available to purchase now promises to be one of the best family vehicles on the market today.
Family car with style
In essence this is a family car. It’s the sort that you would use to drop your kids off to school and take them with you on a family shopping trip. It’s a car with a slight difference however when compared to your typical family car. It has style and a decent performance too.
Seven seats
It is available in seven seats, which will prove to be quite an attractive option. Most seven seaters do not possess the agility and trim of bulk compared to a typical Zafira.
New headlights
A great feature about the car is the headlights. Vauxhall have adopted these “boomerang” type of headlights for its next generation of vehicles. They also appear on the Vauxhall Ampera which is due this year and are a very attractive looking and standout feature. Adding to that there are also LED taillights which come at a cost of £240.
Design
Despite being a family car the interior and exterior both offer something more attractive. The design looks striking leaving many to turn their heads, almost not believing that it is a typical type of Vauxhall family car.
Interior
Inside, there is a wonderful design making everyone feel as if they are sitting inside a car of great luxury. Compared to the old design, the new Vauxhall Zafira has improved greatly. The materials used within are pretty good and go well within the pattern as a whole. There is a type of “front room” feel to the car.
Variants
The Vauxhall Zafira ES trim 1.4i 16v Turbo which is capable of producing 140 BHP is available for £25,165 as a manual 6 speed petrol. Other models include the is the Exclusive 2.0 CDTi which produces 165 BHP. It’s available for a price of £24,565 and comes with start stop technology.
Overall the range will start will £21,000. There is a great amount of diesel and petrol engine offered. Great options include the Zafira Tourer SE 1.4 Turbo petrol which is able to achieve 140 BHP and the EcoFlex Exclusiv trim which comes at a price of £23,950. The EcoFlex diesel gives off just 119g/km of C02.
The pricing of the vehicles will have a lot to do as to whether they can be successful or not this year.
The Vauxhall Vivaro is one of the most recognisable vans on the road. It’s practicality along with its versatility have made it one of the best vehicles of its type in the motor industry.
There are so many great features about the van that we couldn’t mention all of our favourite features in the previous article. Today we review the Vauxhall Vivaro from a different perspective.
Storage Space
The van’s main storage space is of a square shape. This gives the van great flexibility in terms of the types of items that it is able to store. As standard the van has 5.0 cubic metres of storage space. The maximum figure available is 8.4 cubic metres when the maximum long wheelbase high roof variable is chosen.
Safety
The Vauxhall Vivaro has ABS as standard. A sophisticated brake assist system is also included as standard in order to help minimise the potential damage during emergency situations.
The Vivaro also comes with remote central locking as well as an immobiliser. The anti tamper lockers help deter thieves. In 2006, a new type of key was introduced where by the cargo doors and front doors can be locked and unlocked separately.
Costs
The Vauxhall Vivaro sits in insurance group 4, representing great value for money. The van was engineered with great quality, leaving many not having to visit their garage for repairs very often. The diesel engines offer brilliant MPG and are generally cheap to run.
The new Vauxhall Corsavan ecoFLEX is the latest addition to the company’s range of economical vehicles.
It contains a 16v 1.3 CDTi which is able to produce 95 BHP.
ecoFLEX benefits
The economy and efficiency values offered by the vehicles are second to none. It is able to achieve 78.3 MPG and emits just 95 g /km C02. Urban driving is said to achieve around 65.5 MPG.
Start/stop
The start/stop technology included on the van helps the environmental credentials. When it comes to a halt, in a traffic jam for instance, the engine switches off in order to save fuel efficiency and C02 emissions. The driver has to simply release the clutch whilst the van is in neutral in order to activate the start/stop feature. When the van needs to be driven off again, the engine starts up immediately. Whilst the engine is off, the van’s power steering, ventilation and braking system performance still up and running, ensuring the safety aspect is still present.
Extra technology
Aerodynamic wheel covers, a variable geometry turbocharger, a lowered chassis and a shift up indicator adds to the efficiency technology within the car. These special pieces of technology also allow the van to be Euro 5 compliant.
Not available yet
At present the vans are not able to purchase but orders can be taken. It will cost £13,048 and Vauxhall are offering four years 0% APR with the deal.
Other ecoFLEX
The addition of the Corsavan meant that the Vauxhall are the first car brand to convert all of their commercial vehicles into an eco version.
At present, the Vauxhall Combo, the Vauxhall Movano, the Vauxhall Vivaro and the Vauxhall Astravan (which is British made) all come under the ecoFLEX umbrella. The company are clearly attempting to keep a strong foothold of the fact that they are the nation’s number one provider when it comes to producing commercial vans.
Vauxhall’s Luton, Bedfordshire and Ellesmere Port plants managed to produce 77,000 plus Vauxhall commercial vans were produced last year.
We believe that the Corsavan ecoFLEX is available from showrooms, it will take the country by storm. Fleet companies will be especially attracted to the eco credentials.
After already reviewing the Vauxhall Insignia, we take a further look into the Sports Tourer variant of the car.
Practicality
We start off on the immense practicality that the Insignia Sports Tourer offers as it’s the main attribute which sets the car apart from the standard version.
The boot has a capacity of 540 litres when the seats are up. This rivals the Ford Mondeo with the boot sizes not being far apart at all. The older Vauxhall Vectra has space of a very similar size, making this a worthy replacement to the iconic model. When the seats come down, the space is increased by so much that it’s like travelling in a van.
Costs
Running the car will not be very expensive. An Insignia Sports Tourer service is not expensive compared to rival cars. The 1.6 litre turbo variant can achieve a respectable 35.8 MPG and emits a surprisingly low amount of C02.
Buying the car isn’t too expensive when comparing it to its rivals. The insurance group is quite low too.
The ecoFlex versions are your best bets for low running costs.
Performance
The 1.6 litre turbo petrol option is the best option in terms of offering a thrilling drive and strong performance. Despite containing the lowest size engine, the car can reach 0-62 MPH in just 8.7 seconds. It can achieve 178 BHP, can produce 170lb of torque and has a top speed of 137 MPH. Not bad for a family car?
The 2.0 litre turbo variant offers 217 BHP and the V6 turbocharged 2.8 litre variant offers a 265 BHP. These two versions consume the most petrol out of all other variants, which is quite a big price to pay for the superb power that is offered.
The two diesels, which offer 128 BHP and 158 BHP respectively, offer decent performances and are the best option for those who drive longer distances.
Conclusion
There are many more features we could have discussed about the car, such as the comfort and looks.
The Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer was the estate version of the European Car of the Year. It’s clearly a car with great quality and will please any owner.
The Vauxhall Zafira is one the best family cars available on the market. Unlike many other family orientated cars, it is also quite fun to drive too.
It is designed as a more affordable type of 7 seater vehicle, which makes it quite an interesting car to many as it doesn’t have the bulk of a typical 7 seater. We take a look at the latest model and discuss our favourite features within the car.
Safety
You don’t get much safer cars than the Vauxhall Zafira. The Euro NCAP rating for the car was the maximum 5 stars, which says it all. The whole car is surrounded by airbags with higher end versions coming with stability control. The car is very security oriented too with deadlocks and an immobiliser.
Practicality
Vauxhall makes the most out of the space within. There are 7 seats, with the front 5 being very spacious, the back two are mainly for children. Despite the unconventional size for a 7 seater car the boot space is quite generous. There is a great sense of comfort within for all passengers. There is sure to be very few complaints of the ride and comfort levels from them.
Running costs
You can purchase the car for around £16,500 to £27,085, quite a reasonable price for its class. Servicing the car is very cheap along with an MOT with Servicing Stop . For its class, the fuel costs are very reasonable indeed.
Reliability
When you buy the Vauxhall Zafira you won’t be complaining often about any mechanical problems. Many have said the car is engineered and very well built, with hardly any issues to set you back.
Looks
You can see elements of the attractive Vauxhall Astra when first looking at the car. Its stylish exterior is a strong factor in separating it from that most other family cars. It has tasteful 16inch alloys with curvy bodywork, which works in its favour.
Conclusion
There are many other features that make the Vauxhall Zafira a worthy purchase. Parking the car is easy too with many drivers finding it easy to manoeuvre, something that is unheard of for 7 seater vehicles. Overall the Vauxhall Zafira is a multi purpose vehicle that is adequately sized providing plenty of safety and practicality.
Vauxhall creating a muscle car? It’s not heard of very much but they have certainly made a good job of the VXR8. This article takes a look into some of its best features.
Performance
We had to start on this particular subject, as the car is performance orientated with it being capable of reaching extremely high speeds with breathtaking acceleration too. It has been branded “The thunder from down under”, a nickname that truly speaks for itself. The car has an amazing 6.2 litre V8 engine that is able to produce 425bhp and 405lb of torque. Its 0-60mph rating is extremely quick with it being 4.9 seconds, though it has been recorded as an extra 0.1 of a second in the automatic transmission. It has been said that the car really realises its power after 4,000 revs, letting off an amazing engine sound after.
Handling
To handle all of that power, you would expect the car to have superb handling in order to compliment it. Vauxhall ensured that this particular attribute of the car does not disappoint. Fantastic brakes, gripping the road well when taking corners with speed with a wonderfully balanced steering system helps make the driving experience thrilling yet controlled.
Practicality
Most cars with those sorts of performance statistics are not usually practical. However with the car being a saloon, you get plenty of room within to allow great practicality. The boot can carry plenty of luggage and the interior has lots of leg and head room. Adults can sit comfortably and have their own space in the back too. The most important person in the vehicle, the driver, will have plenty of room also. This will make it very comfortable for them to drive and to get synced in to the speed of the car.
Rivals
- Chrysler 300C SRT-8
- BMW M5
- Audi S6
- Mercedes E 63 AMG
- Jaguar S-Type R
Conclusion
If you are willing to pay the £50,000 price tag, then you’ll be getting an extremely stylish strong muscle car made for pure power. The car may come with some expensive running costs but that is to be expected with a car that is able to produce such immense power. Despite being quite practical, they are certainly made for the more thrill seeking type of driver.
The ever popular is to receive an upgrade for next year. To be released alongside the widely anticipated Ampera (early next year), the Zafira has already been a major success in the family car market since its release. Its first official showing will be at this year’s Frankfurt Motor show.
The car combines practicality that’s suitable for any sort of driver. You are able to fold all the rear seats down for maximum space, with plenty of items able to be stored.
Although the Zafira has a great reputation for being reliable, Vauxhall are offering more peace of mind with 100,000 mile lifetime warranty, for the new Zafira Tourer. Vauxhall have said that new technologies within the car promise better driving dynamics. The seating system has also been improved and made more practical. According to the company, the seating has been made into a Flex7 seating system, allowing better quality and more space.
Vauxhall will ensure that the driving experience of the car is also enhanced. A new range of engines will be released to ensure there is something for everyone. Families, who desire a practical car suitable for their partner and children, with an extra sport feel attached to it, will find exactly what they are looking for in the new Zafira.
The new Zafira has a unique style of headlights, with a “boomerang” type of look. The exterior body also has a sportier edge to it. It’s a much more attractive looking car than the last.
What can be expected however is a more economical car, boasting better fuel efficiency and greener credentials. With every new car that is released nowadays, it would seem that cars are being made more and greener as vehicles needs to become more environmentally friendly. That is certainly the way forward for every car company throughout the world.
There will be different packages of the car, with different features available to suit different drivers.
- FlexOrganizer
- Sight & Light Pack
- The Winter Pack
- Seat Comfort Pack
Not too much information about the car has been given away recently. Vauxhall seem to be playing their cards close their chest in the days leading up to the 2011 Frankfurt Motor show, where it is to be shown. However there could be more information about the new Zafira Tourer in the upcoming days.
We look at Vauxhall’s answer to rival the Volkswagen Passat and the Ford Mondeo, the Vauxhall Insignia.
We take a look into some benefits about the car.
The look of the car
It’s a very attractive car and one of the best looking in its class. The car has curves with an expensive look all round. The huge alloy wheels add to the element of making the car look classy and sporty too. There is the option for the addition of daylight LED lights on every specification of model. It has certainly has more attractive features than that of the Vauxhall Vectra. The saloon version is a lot more attractive than the hatchback version.
Driving the car
The car was not typically designed for a sporty and strong performance type of feel, but is reliable and emphasises more on safety. The car grips the road well and is very comfortable throughout long distance journeys.
Different variants
Different power levels of the car means there is something for everyone. There are five petrol and four diesel engines available with the Insignia, giving plenty of choice. Petrol engines come with power outputs of 138bhp to 321bhp. The diesel engines, which accounts for the most sales, has power outputs which range from 128bhp to 158bhp.
Four wheel drive as well as modified suspensions are available on different models.
Safety
As mentioned before the car has a safety emphasis based upon it. The Insignia does implement great safety features, as you would expect from a family car. There are six airbags throughout the vehicle, with anti-whiplash front head restraints. There a number of different headlight settings for different conditions too. When passengers have undone their seatbelt, an alert is sounded to make the driver aware.
Practicality and running costs
One of the highlights is the huge boot space, over 1000 litres when the rear seats are folded down. Running the car is not too expensive, with decent mpg offered on most models, especially for the diesels. Insurance grouping for the car is very reasonable for its class.
Overall
The car is well engineered and manufactured, with quality materials. If you are looking a practical family vehicle that won’t cause many problems, the Insignia is a good choice.
