1996 Vauxhall Frontera 2 Litre Sport in UK
So the year was 1998. My wife was driving a 1994 Nissan Sunny Hatchback car which although excellent engineering, did not possess power steering and was completely anonymous on the road. She felt very susceptible to bullying by other road users in this car - especially the usual BMW / Audi driver mentalities. One BMW driver near to home who had cut in front of her on numerous occasions had patiently sat and waited for her to pass in almost her first trip out on her own in the Frontera ~ she came home with a huge smile on her face!
Our other car wasn't a car it was a Ford Transit Van. Our kids were still at school, we were thinking of buying a touring caravan and wanted a fun vehicle capable of towing and capable of NOT getting stuck in mud on wet caravan sites.
We visited Fords Of Winsford, Cheshire. There were a few 4x4s there - a Ford Maverick with body panels looking like a herd of cows had nudged it. A Daihatsu Fourtrack that looked so basic and crude for the high price Fords were asking for it, and this immaculate Vauxhall Frontera with 28,000 miles on the clock without a mark near it. We took it.
The car towed a Sprite Major Caravan to various destinations with 2 adults, 2 children and 2 dogs (albeit a bit squashed up!). It did the job, and did it well. It has never been deliberately off-roaded as I'm not into that sort of thing - I prefer walking or cycling in the Country instead of being sat in a car making a mess and polluting the environment.
Above: the Frontera in the late 1990s on Black Rock Sands, Wales with our eldest son having a try. He is now rapidly approaching 30.
So here we are all these years later and we STILL have this car. It just gets used for under 2,000 miles a year and we treat it as a "Classic" - albeit a somewhat debateable modern Classic (modern?? these things were based on a 1980s Isuzu design!!). It's insured under a Classic Car Policy and last premium was £140 for two drivers Fully Comprehensive Insurance.
So what else have we had during the 15 years (to date) of Frontera? White Tranny Van, Diesel Astra Estate, Mondeo Estate, Suzuki Vitara LWB, 1.6 petrol Astra Estate, 2.2 5 door Frontera (yep, we had 2 Fronteras for a short while), Citroen Berlingo. Still got Nissan Primera P12 Estate and Vauxhall Vectra C 1.8 SXi.
So what else have we had during the 15 years (to date) of Frontera? White Tranny Van, Diesel Astra Estate, Mondeo Estate, Suzuki Vitara LWB, 1.6 petrol Astra Estate, 2.2 5 door Frontera (yep, we had 2 Fronteras for a short while), Citroen Berlingo. Still got Nissan Primera P12 Estate and Vauxhall Vectra C 1.8 SXi.
The car has also had quite a life on YouTube with this video uploaded in 2009 with 16,530 views as I update this page. Most views come from UK, Spain, Germany, Poland and Russia:
Here are a few more Photos taken during 2012 -2013 (although it's had another valeting and underbody greasing/oiling since these were taken) CLICK THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE:
2012 saw new rear shock absorbers
Further Reading: THE LAST CAR BUILT IN LUTON
The last car to be built at Luton, Bedfordshire was not a Vectra - it was VAUXHALL FRONTERA KE04 GYF, a black long wheelbase 5-door model. Read the above article for the full story and while you are at it read the Author's other quite great Blogs on Cars with super photos.
More Further Reading HERE
on the collectability of Vauxhall Fronteras.
I'll update some more soon . . .
