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782 Posts
I've had my Antara for a little over two months now, and thought I would report my experiences with the car.
The first thing I want to say is I have had no major problems with the car since I first got it. I remember reading of some people who had, what appeared to be, serious problems with their new cars. Maybe I have just been lucky so far, but I can report that the car has been virtually perfect in the time I've had it. The only time I had to take it back to the dealer was to try to locate an annoying rattle coming from the boot area of the car. It turned out to be nothing more than the seat belt fitting banging against the rear door pillar. A bit embarrassing, but a lesson to others on the need to eliminate the obvious causes of problems before you think about sending your car to the workshop.
First thing I really liked about the car was the high driving position. My previous car was a Volvo XC70, and the extra height improves all round visibility by a considerable margin.
The engine has plenty of power and can accelerate well away from junctions. I would have preferred it if the gear ratios were a little lower. Not being able to get into top until you are above 60 seems a bit wasteful in a car of this type. Seems to me to be about 500 revs too high in each gear.
There was lots of talk, and moans, about fuel consumption before I got the car. I am happy to say, my fuel consumption has been just fine. Up to my last refill, my brim to brim consumption was around 31.5 mpg. Considering I have the SE Nav 184 Auto AWD, I consider that to be perfectly acceptable for a car of this size and weight, given the sort of driving I do. I'm currently trying to run a full tank of diesel using ECO mode to see if that provides any improvement.
The inside of the car is a well appointed as any car I've had. The leather seats are very comfortable and the adjustment give me a good driving position. There are a few complaints though.My car doesn't have a proper air conditioning system, only an air chiller and a heater. I don't mind that, but I find the heater to be very slow to heat up on colder mornings and the chiller seems a bit feeble in cooling the car down if it has been parked in the sun for a while.
The Touch & Connect SatNav is very basic, with few of the regular features you would find on even a low cost basic portable unit. The supplied map is relatively old, and the cost of updating is more than the cost of a half decent portable unit. I no longer use it, and have bought a new Garmin unit with free lifetime map updates.
I didn't like the tyres that were supplied with the car. I found them a little hard and could feel every bump on the road. I also found the feel of them going round tight corners on wet roads to be a little lacking in grip. So I bought a full set of Dunlop All Seasons Tyres and found it was like driving a different car. Much smoother over small bumps and very much more planted in tight or wet bends. I'm not saying there was any faults with the supplied tyres, this was a personal preference and I'm happy with my decision.
I added a few minor accessories to the car. These include, Mudflaps, Interior Mats, Boot liner and a bee sting aerial to replace the very long one supplied with the car. I also bought a proper spare wheel and jack, as I have no faith in the puncture repair kit.
I've now done about 2250 miles in the car. Most of my journeys are local and less than 5 miles. I tend to go out for a longer drive a couple of times a month or so. I get a DPF regeneration every 518 miles on average. So I've had four regenerations in the two months I've had the car. While I think Vauxhall have made a serious design flaw with the DPF system, my regenerations are sufficiently predictablethat I feel I can live with things as they are. My car is from Motability, and I have written a detailed email to them asking them to talk to Vauxhall about the problems which can arise with the DPF. As a major fleet buyer, they might have more clout with VX than an individual. I have asked for some clarity about the use of DPF cleaning products and the possibility of VX releasing an ECU update to improve the efficiency of the regeneration system. I'll report back if hear any further.
So, in conclusion, I have no major complaints about the car. It looks good, Has all the power I need for the way I drive and the car is a pleasure to drive around the Highland roads. There are certainly some aspects of the car, and the various functions, that I would have preferred they had done differently. No doubt VX were working to a price point in the design and construction of this car. So the things I would have liked would likely have added a chunk of money to the price.
My experience over the last two months has been positive. I wouldn't want to make light of anyone who has had problems but, for me, this car has performed better than I had anticipated prior to taking delivery. Compared to the problems I had with my Volvo when it was new, this car has been a delight.
I can honestly say I have no problems in recommending this car. It's a great car, a pleasure to drive.
The first thing I want to say is I have had no major problems with the car since I first got it. I remember reading of some people who had, what appeared to be, serious problems with their new cars. Maybe I have just been lucky so far, but I can report that the car has been virtually perfect in the time I've had it. The only time I had to take it back to the dealer was to try to locate an annoying rattle coming from the boot area of the car. It turned out to be nothing more than the seat belt fitting banging against the rear door pillar. A bit embarrassing, but a lesson to others on the need to eliminate the obvious causes of problems before you think about sending your car to the workshop.
First thing I really liked about the car was the high driving position. My previous car was a Volvo XC70, and the extra height improves all round visibility by a considerable margin.
The engine has plenty of power and can accelerate well away from junctions. I would have preferred it if the gear ratios were a little lower. Not being able to get into top until you are above 60 seems a bit wasteful in a car of this type. Seems to me to be about 500 revs too high in each gear.
There was lots of talk, and moans, about fuel consumption before I got the car. I am happy to say, my fuel consumption has been just fine. Up to my last refill, my brim to brim consumption was around 31.5 mpg. Considering I have the SE Nav 184 Auto AWD, I consider that to be perfectly acceptable for a car of this size and weight, given the sort of driving I do. I'm currently trying to run a full tank of diesel using ECO mode to see if that provides any improvement.
The inside of the car is a well appointed as any car I've had. The leather seats are very comfortable and the adjustment give me a good driving position. There are a few complaints though.My car doesn't have a proper air conditioning system, only an air chiller and a heater. I don't mind that, but I find the heater to be very slow to heat up on colder mornings and the chiller seems a bit feeble in cooling the car down if it has been parked in the sun for a while.
The Touch & Connect SatNav is very basic, with few of the regular features you would find on even a low cost basic portable unit. The supplied map is relatively old, and the cost of updating is more than the cost of a half decent portable unit. I no longer use it, and have bought a new Garmin unit with free lifetime map updates.
I didn't like the tyres that were supplied with the car. I found them a little hard and could feel every bump on the road. I also found the feel of them going round tight corners on wet roads to be a little lacking in grip. So I bought a full set of Dunlop All Seasons Tyres and found it was like driving a different car. Much smoother over small bumps and very much more planted in tight or wet bends. I'm not saying there was any faults with the supplied tyres, this was a personal preference and I'm happy with my decision.
I added a few minor accessories to the car. These include, Mudflaps, Interior Mats, Boot liner and a bee sting aerial to replace the very long one supplied with the car. I also bought a proper spare wheel and jack, as I have no faith in the puncture repair kit.
I've now done about 2250 miles in the car. Most of my journeys are local and less than 5 miles. I tend to go out for a longer drive a couple of times a month or so. I get a DPF regeneration every 518 miles on average. So I've had four regenerations in the two months I've had the car. While I think Vauxhall have made a serious design flaw with the DPF system, my regenerations are sufficiently predictablethat I feel I can live with things as they are. My car is from Motability, and I have written a detailed email to them asking them to talk to Vauxhall about the problems which can arise with the DPF. As a major fleet buyer, they might have more clout with VX than an individual. I have asked for some clarity about the use of DPF cleaning products and the possibility of VX releasing an ECU update to improve the efficiency of the regeneration system. I'll report back if hear any further.
So, in conclusion, I have no major complaints about the car. It looks good, Has all the power I need for the way I drive and the car is a pleasure to drive around the Highland roads. There are certainly some aspects of the car, and the various functions, that I would have preferred they had done differently. No doubt VX were working to a price point in the design and construction of this car. So the things I would have liked would likely have added a chunk of money to the price.
My experience over the last two months has been positive. I wouldn't want to make light of anyone who has had problems but, for me, this car has performed better than I had anticipated prior to taking delivery. Compared to the problems I had with my Volvo when it was new, this car has been a delight.
I can honestly say I have no problems in recommending this car. It's a great car, a pleasure to drive.
