How good is the antara we

Hi Rick and welcome to the forums.

I have a 2WD 163bhp manual version of the Antara.


The members here who have the automatic versions suggest that the mpg is rather lower than the manual option. The general complaint is the mpg figures ..... they do not come anywhere near the published ones.
I can only speak from what I have experienced.
I have had my Antara for 3 months now - with no problems.
I get 26mpg when towing my Bailey Olympus ( 4 berth )
I get 34 -35 mpg travelling about on a mixture of short and long journeys.
The automatic will probably return mpg in the high 20s


You may wish to compare ACTUAL mpg with other makes if this is important to you.


It tows really well - I can overtake with the van on the back in 6th gear. ( on the flat )


It does not come with a spare wheel - which is a cause for complaint from many ..... especially me!!
I have bought a steel rim and this fits into the boot well perfectly.
The alloy rim and tyre does not - it is about 20mm too wide and the floor cover does not close.


There is a big debate re. the DPF filter ( Diesel Particulate Filter )
Some find that the regen process kicks in very frequently - increasing the mpg.
Others suggest that it happens every 500 miles or so.


I like the drive - I find it comfortable ...... and I have a problematic back.


If you have older folks who may need to use the car - if they are small ...they may experience a bit of a problem climbing in as the seats are high. I know from experience as I am not too tall myself.


So far - I like the car.


Hope this helps.

Hi Rick,
Welcome to the forum.

As with most cars, there will always be some people who have a few problems. The Antara is no different.

What you need to understand, is that you are more likely to come across people with problems online than you are people who are shouting about how good their car is.

My experience with the Antara has been excellent. I've had no faults - so far. I got my car at the end of March and have done around 4500 miles in it. Over that time, my MPG is averaging at about 31. As I have the heaviest model, I'm pretty pleased with that figure.

I get a DPF regeneration about every 520 miles, which is pretty normal. Some people have had problems with the DPF, but most on here report no problems at all. It's important to get to know how the DPF works on your car given the way you drive. Once you understand it, it really won't be a problem under normal circumstances.

The car is a pleasure to drive. The driving position is excellent and the car is very stable, even when you go round a corner a bit too fast. For me there is plenty of power and the car accelerates well when overtaking. Just remember it's not a sports car.

I find the interior very pleasing in my SE Nav. Not sure what the current Exclusive spec is, but I suspect it will be OK. Some people have reported minor squeaks, but I have not found any yet. I find the air conditioning in my car to be a bit inadequate, but you may have a more up-to-date system in your car as it is from the2013 build.

You won't have a spare wheel. It comes with a repair kit. I, and many others, have bought real spare wheels and tyres and you will find a few threads on here which discuss this subject.

If you do have a fault, there is a chance that spares may not be available in the UK, and have to be brought in from Korea. This can take time, so I would try to get a written undertaking from your dealer that he will provide a courtesy car if they can't repair your car straight away.

Overall, I would have to say I am very pleased with the car. It's comfortable, spacious and has plenty of power. Those with vans seem to be saying it is a good car for towing. So I would feel happy to recommend the car based on my experience. But you will need to be sure the car is right for you. Most people on this forum are reporting positive things about the ANtara, and it certainly isn't as bad as the bad press would make it out tobe.

Hi Rick,

I completely agree with Inchindown on all points bar one. Inchindown does not seem to be so happy with the aircon. I am. I live in Spain where the temperature at this moment is just over 30 degrees C ( i am inside at the computer having taken shelter from the heat) and the aircon works a treat.

I have had my car for a year now and have no complaints; not even about fuel consumption (27.9 mpg in my case) or DPF regens.

Inchindown also mentioned the issue of spare parts. If they are not readiky available in the UK, get your dealer to try and obtain them from Opel in Germany where they do keep a stock of spares.

I understand very well that people are not happy with the provision of a bottle of "gegga" instead of a real spare. You just have to be firm with your dealer on this. My Antara came with a spare and the appropriate moulding to store it under the floor of the boot. They do exist!

I fail to understand the bad press the Antara has been receiving. I feel that it is based more upon rumour than facts and, maybe, on the opinions of people who bought a 4x4 expecting it to;

* be an off-road vehicle - it's not
* be a touring car - it's not
* be a town car suitable for shopping and school runs - it's not
* be a green, environmentaly friendly, low mpg car - it's not

What it is is a compromise of all of those things and as such I find it a versitile, useful and comfortable vehicle. It may not be best in class in any of the subjects I mentioned but it always achievs a fairly good placing and, on average, may well come out top-of-the-class when one also has considered the price of the car and the range of optional extras which in the Antara come as standard.

I hope you will be a spleased with your Antara as I am with mine!Edited by: Spantara

Welcome to the forum.

I have had my 2.2 SE Manual Antara for 18 months and done over 15000 trouble free miles.

I dont have any issues with the DPF and regens and most of our weekly driving is town commuting.

MPG is not great but not that bad either I normally get arounf the 30 mark but can be up to 36-38 mpg on long trips and thats me not hanging about.

The only complint I had was squeaks and rattles for the dash trim etc which was fixed using silicone spray.

Other than that its very nice to drive very smooth and quiet. Just as good if not better than the alternatives from other manufacturers which I tested before getting the Antara.

I thought I would add my comments, although I know I will probably take "Flack" for doing so, but this guy is asking for honest and objective views, so here are mine, born out of my own personal experiences ; -

I`ve had my car since January 2013. (184ps SE Nav 6 Speed Manual). The Antara is good to drive, very comfortable, performs well, and is a great "mile muncher". I have experienced one or two minor "niggles", of little or no real consequence. My Fuel Economy is basically cr#p, mainly due to the issues with the amount of DPF Cleans or "Regen`s" my car has had, and still continues to have. My Regens are now less than 200 miles apart, regardless of how I drive the car, which for me, makes it basically unusable. My other half has now flatly refused to go near it, and as a consequence, I have bought her a small car of her own to use, while I wait for my new Mazda CX5 Sport Nav, 165ps Petrol Engine car to arrive, as I am a Motability Scheme Customer, and have asked for a change of car on the scheme, due to the DPF issues I have experienced. (Motability did not object to this in a any way). All of this has come at no small extra financial expense to myself, and since first owning my car, I have done nothing but battle with both Vauxhall, who`s Customer Service is rubbish, and other Agencies, in an attempt to find a solution to the DPF problems I have experienced, but with little or no real success, hence my throwing in the towel. With hindsight, I would have not touched an Antara with a barge pole, and would have gone for a Petrol Engined SUV straight away, such as the CX5 I now have on order, or even a Skoda Yeti. (Laurin & Klement 4wd, Petrol 160ps version, which has literally just been added to the cars available on the Motability Scheme). In fact, unless you are doing mainly fast Motorway and/or A Road driving, and covering in excess of 15k a year, I wouldn`t consider any kind of new Diesel Engined Car, as you are likely to experience problems with all/any of them, as they all have Euro 5/6 DPF`s fitted to them. So, on the whole, a VERY unsatisfactory ownership experience.

Sorry to sound negative, and I`m not looking to pick an argument with anyone over this, but you wanted honest and objective comments, and mine are as above !!.

Humbug said:

I wonder if its to do with fuel, I always use the top grade in my diesels and have never had probs with them in fact I covered 700 miles last week with no regen at all it would be interesting to see how many people use top grade fuels and how many use low grade, a friend of mine had trouble with his BMW petrol fuel system, changed to a higher grade problem sorted

Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by "High Grade and "Low Grade" fuels. I suspect what you really mean is "Expensive Fuel" and "Supermarket Fuel". All fuel sold in this country has to have of a minimum standard. All fuel comes from the same refineries, regardless of what brand is on the pump.Somefuel companiesput a few extra ingredients in it to improve performance. At least that's what they claim. I remember having a search on the Web about premium fuels and I seem to recall there was very little evidence they do any better than supermarket fuels.

For at least the last 18 years I have only ever used fuel from Tesco. Before that it was Asda. I have never had any problems with any car I've had in that time which could be related to using supermarket fuels. I get good mpg and only have a regen every 520 miles. So I am a little sceptical as to whether wasting money on overpriced "Super Fuels" really do anything at all.

I wonder why very many threads on this forum come back to the DPF issue even if they started life as something else?

The DPF is not just an Antara issue as you will see if you read THIS article from Car magasine.

Imho, most people with DPF problems can trace them to their driving circumstances or, possibly, to poor fuel quality. In Rick's case though there really does seem to be a major fault with his DPF which can, as another member pointed out, be due to sensor problems.

What surprises me is that when a clear case of a malfunctioning DPF is brought, the dealer does nothing constructive to remedy this. In the long run, people will become dissillutioned and dissatisfied with the vehicle due more to the dealer's fault than a vehicle fault.

I had an issue with the electronic locking system on my Antara. The dealer fixed it although it took 3 days to get the part from Germany. I think this and other faults are something we have to appreciate will sometimes happen in something as complex as a modern car. When these are discovered the dealer needs to resolve the issue as quickly and smoothly as possible. If he does not he will eventually end up going out of business as his customers drift away to other dealers and other car makes. What surprises me most in this scenario is that Vauxhall seem to exercise little, if any, quality control of their dealers. Perhaps a forum, such as this one, can help redress that as every written word here is surely read by Vauxhall?


Edited by: Spantara

I feel strongly that in this occasion you are right, as dealers are only interested in getting the customer in to get the money to keep the business going but what they do not seem to do is give good customer satisfaction when things go wrong they do not no or want to no how to handle the situation as it is not in their financial interest to handle things that cost money, but what they forget is that these cost's are covered by the manufacturer and not them, when in warranty so why do car dealers make things so hard for their customers ?
I think it is lack of training and manufacturer's should oversea this and monitor the dealerships that are passing on and selling their products, and if these dealerships are not coming up to par then they should be given some sort of fine until they do, I think then they would soon come up to customer expectations on how they are treated.
But who should regulate the Manufacturer to make sure there productions are fit for purpose as the buck should not just stop at the dealership should it? As customer care from the manufacturer is almost as poor as the dealership due to them not wanting to admit there is a problem with their product ? This subject could be debated for hours and has been going on for years .

wilma08 said:

I feel strongly .......
But who should regulate the Manufacturer to make sure there productions are fit for purpose as the buck should not just stop at the dealership should it? As customer care from the manufacturer is almost as poor as the dealership due to them not wanting to admit there is a problem with their product ? This subject could be debated for hours and has been going on for years .

Click to expand...

Indeed Wilma, you are very right in claiming that the debate could go on for years but, in the end, it all boils down to the choice of the customer with regard to the manufacturer.

Basic laws of commerce will, I am sure, tell us that customers will avoid a product or a service which they consider to be less than satisfactory. This was the very reason for the demise of much of the British motor industry in general and the motor-cycle industry in particular. If Vauxhaul does not come up to scratch then GM should light a fire under the collective ar*es of the Vauxhall management. If this is not done, then other manufacturers will be wringing their hands in glee.

It is a crying shame that a good product, both well designed and engineered, should be let down by poor sales and service. I feel that if that part of the equation were to be rectified, the Antara would be a much more successful vehicle.
Edited by: Spantara

It's not just about performance it's also about cleaner fuels and being good to the environment, oil companies spend billions on research the additives are mainly to keep the engines cleaner,better ignition, more environmently friendly also improving performance and MPG base fuel does have to be up to a certain standard all base fuels come from the same refineries which are usually run by the major companies .
I have often heard people say its a con because they all pull out of the same depot, what they don't know is that trucks are loaded by computer and additives are mixed at time of loading so one company may have base fuel and another may have super fuel full of additives they will both be seen leaving the same depot, I am old enough to remember the days of decokeing engines in fact I have spent many hours with an engine stripped for cleaning at the end of the day it's personal choice and financial circumstances, I have always used the best and always will use the best fuel available, I don't just consider cost and performance I also think about the environment and my grand children's future to me that's priceless .
Cleaner Fuel, Better Burn, less particles, better regen. PS I will not name individual companies because this is unfair

Hi all,

As members are saying the dpf problem is not new and not
specific to vx. My last towing vehicle also came from afar and had a multi year
warranty. It did all I asked and towed the caravan well until one day on the
way to Cornwall the dpf light came on.

Up to this point I had never hear of a dpf and after
consulting the handbook I found I should take it to a dealer within a few
miles. Not much help when you are towing a heavy caravan with almost 100 miles
yet to travel.

The following day I visited a dealer only to be told that
the vehicle was not fitted with a dpf, despite the light and the sticker saying
so. A short while later during the drive back to the caravan the regen
completed unbeknown to me and the light went out.

I will not bore you with the two year saga that followed,
the dealer could not fix it, the manufacturer kept telling me the dealer would
fix it and the car drove perfectly 98% of the time. One thing that quickly became
clear was that nobody was prepared to accept that the dpf needed replacing and
we all know why ..... the cost!

Eventually I was told that the next time the light came on I
was to stop and arrange recovery back to the garage for them to investigate.
When I pointed out that it only happened when I was towing they had no real
solution as to what I should do with the caravan when this event next happened.

Eventually after two years of visits I cured the problem and
bought an Antara ...... or have I?

Humbug said:

It's not just about performance it's also about cleaner fuels and being good to the environment, oil companies spend billions on research the additives are mainly to keep the engines cleaner,better ignition, more environmently friendly also improving performance and MPG base fuel does have to be up to a certain standard all base fuels come from the same refineries which are usually run by the major companies .
I have often heard people say its a con because they all pull out of the same depot, what they don't know is that trucks are loaded by computer and additives are mixed at time of loading so one company may have base fuel and another may have super fuel full of additives they will both be seen leaving the same depot, I am old enough to remember the days of decokeing engines in fact I have spent many hours with an engine stripped for cleaning at the end of the day it's personal choice and financial circumstances, I have always used the best and always will use the best fuel available, I don't just consider cost and performance I also think about the environment and my grand children's future to me that's priceless .
Cleaner Fuel, Better Burn, less particles, better regen. PS I will not name individual companies because this is unfair

Click to expand...

I'd love what you say to be true. I just haven't seen any evidence to support the claims made by the oil companies. Perhaps you could point us to some independent research which details the benefits of premium fuels.

It seems odd you should cite the environmental benefit of super fuels. I don't really think the Antara will ever be kind to the environment, no matter what the fuel in the tank is.

Maybe one of these would be more friendly.





Edited by: Inchindown

Dave47 said:

<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><font size="3" face="Calibri">Hi all,<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><font size="3" face="Calibri">As members are saying the dpf problem is not new and not
specific to vx. My last towing vehicle also came from afar and had a multi year
warranty. It did all I asked and towed the caravan well until one day on the
way to Cornwall the dpf light came on.<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><font size="3" face="Calibri">Up to this point I had never hear of a dpf and after
consulting the handbook I found I should take it to a dealer within a few
miles. Not much help when you are towing a heavy caravan with almost 100 miles
yet to travel.<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><font size="3" face="Calibri">The following day I visited a dealer only to be told that
the vehicle was not fitted with a dpf, despite the light and the sticker saying
so. A short while later during the drive back to the caravan the regen
completed unbeknown to me and the light went out.<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><font size="3" face="Calibri">I will not bore you with the two year saga that followed,
the dealer could not fix it, the manufacturer kept telling me the dealer would
fix it and the car drove perfectly 98% of the time. One thing that quickly became
clear was that nobody was prepared to accept that the dpf needed replacing and
we all know why ..... the cost!<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><font size="3" face="Calibri">Eventually I was told that the next time the light came on I
was to stop and arrange recovery back to the garage for them to investigate.
When I pointed out that it only happened when I was towing they had no real
solution as to what I should do with the caravan when this event next happened.<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" ="Msonormal"><font size="3" face="Calibri">Eventually after two years of visits I cured the problem and
bought an Antara ...... or have I?<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">

Click to expand...

Dave 47 I love you end quote " or have I" sounds like a movie or a book coming
But to be honest all cars have their problems, and it is the owner that is left with it due to the Manufacturer and Dealership not bothering there hairy bums about the customer because they have got the cash out of us, the Government dose nothing in regards to regulators in this part of industry, that is why the likes of MG and othere British car manufacturers went down the swan lake because the products are well designed but during the manufacturing period something goes wrong and any others product you get bad batches, ward gets around through media ( papers tv and yes forums like this) and jo public stop buying due to the crape customer care and poor product that is being turned out, band when the Manufacturer is question about his product he does not have to answer to anyone , this is why the Government needRegulators in this part of industry to tighten things up and be able to ask the manufacturer why they have not listened to Jo public concerns about their product and acted within proper Government Regulated Guidelines (and if they don't then they get fined). Edited by: wilma08

Hi Wilma,Belated birthay wishes.
I have tended to stay out of the dpf debate and only posted to reinforce the fact that it not just the Antara and it's dealers that have problems.
To be honest after getting rid of the last car I forgot about dpfs and regens, and after 14.5 months I have had the yellow light once, and this was a couple of weeks when I was doing very short journeys, a couple of miles each way and nothing else, so of my own making.
Since joining the forum and reading all about regens I know realise that mine has been doing them when if feels the urge ie fan running on when stopped, inst milage fluctuating ... all the classic symptoms.
My only concern as I intend to keep the car long term is that problems with the last one did not appear until it was over three years old.
We shall see