Coupe de Grace (Vauxhall Calibra)

Member Name: markw-d

Product:	Vauxhall Calibra
Date:	24/12/01 (1091 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great looks, quick, comfortable

Disadvantages: discontinued

Uncle Bobs review of the Calibra has to be definitive and I will not attempt to better it here, but rather give a view of living with the Calibra from my perspective.

Sorry Sidney I also had one of these as a company car as well.

Mine was a Ceramic Blue 16V with cream leather upholstery...and I loved it!

Ever since the car was launched it was my ambition to have one, and led me to embark on a ruthless promotion camapign at work to reach the rank required to get one.

I ordered it and then sat back and waited....and waited....and waited...the car was being built in Finland and it took 6 months, although they did write to me to let me know how it was getting on!

So what was the Calibra experience?

Looks - Absolutely timeless, and better than many of the sports coupe's on the road today. Why Vauxhall dropped it and then launched the smaller and uglier Astra Coupe is beyond me. They have kept the nice roof line but given it a front panel like a badly fitting set of false teeth, whereas the front of the Calibra was just right.

Inside the cabin - The cream leather was just decadance itself, and surprisingly practical as any spills (kids) or felt pen just wiped off. The dash though was disapointing except for the lovely white dials.

Safety - Airbags for driver and passenger and a build quality that made you feel safe. This was one heavy car.

Performance - Great, didnt put g's on you but was quick enough to match its looks. My pal had the V6 and that was a beast! Also quite economical.

Roadholding - Outstanding!

Gearbox - Typical Vauxhall, close ratios and nice and notchy.

Boot space - Much better than you would expect and got my golf clubs and trolley in diagonally quite easilly.

Roof load - I surf and so the abilty to get my board on the roof was quite important. The Calibra uses the standard Vauxhall hidden rails system and was fine with the right (
expensive rack) despite the bars being quite close together.

Air conditioning, electric sunroof, and 5 spoke alloys completed the deal.

Never let me down, no mechanical issues at all in over 50,000 miles.

Great car...recommend!

Summary: