The Vauxhall Antara

GM's Biggest SUV for the UK Market

Vauxhalls Antara is quite a large car with ground clearance to rival most of its competitors.

Its size is on par with the Range Rover Evoque. This is however where the comparison ends.

The exterior is well put together but GM have not learned a thing about cosmetic plastics over the past 40 Years.

The plastics go dull and almost white after a few months of ownership and to be honest this shouldn't happen with a new car of any brand.

On the road the car feels poised and sturdy, the almost 2 tonne weight is not obvious even on the tightest of roads.

Reliability has been a major concern with the Antara in particular for the 4x4 Automatic versions with diff and overly common failures of the transfer box.

Another issue has been the Turbo boost pipe that for some reason splits causing the car to enter limp mode.

However the front wheel drive 6 speed manual is the best of the range, as with any large vehicle regular service intervals are paramount to a reliable vehicle.

The Antara is based on the GM's Chevrolet Captiva although the Captiva is a 7 seat option where the Antara has a very spacious 5 seating positions.

Manufactured in South Korea by Daewoo a well known but now defunct brand.

Room in the Antara feels very good, rear leg room is very generous even for someone over 6ft in height.

Cockpit room is as you would expect from a large SUV.

Standard equipment is generous, with little luxuries like heated front seats and blue-tooth telephone integration and a USB drive music player.

The factory entertainment whilst very well featured lacks the sound quality of other brands and the displays are a little outdated by modern standards and the plastics feel very cheap to the touch, had this and the entertainment system been addressed on the facelift the Antara could have easily been a class leader.

The Start-Stop facility is to be honest absolutely pointless on the manual version of the Antara and is the first thing that gets switched off once the engine is running.

The Antara is not ULEZ compliant in the UK so wouldn't be taken it areas where the stop start would be used. 177g/km is not that high but its just not enough.

Fuel economy is not the best but again not the worst for a vehicle of its stature.

I achieved 35-40mpg on a daily commute to work which i would expect for a large car.

The 2.2 CDi engine is quiet and reasonably refined and is quite spritely for such a large vehicle, it pulls like a train, Most other Antara owners I have met use theirs for towing caravans and say they sometimes forget about the caravan.

Space

The boot of the Antara has a capacity of 420 litres, which expand to very generous 1,420 litres when the rear seats are folded.

For dog owners there are also side rails to allow for a proper fitted crate, The floor space is completely flat and there are side pockets for storage either side. Under the rear floor there is also ample storage space when required, I did find however loose items are prone to rattle in these compartments which can become very distracting when on the move.

My only gripe is that like most car manufacturers nowadays there is no spare wheel supplied with the Antara just a pump and and foam which is ok for a puncture but anything else and you are stranded until the breakdown truck arrives.

Tyres are also VERY expensive, for half decent branded tyres you are looking at around the £600 mark for a full set of four

Along with the ECO side of things the Antara does a DPF Regeneration every 500 miles and whilst this is done it drinks fuel like at an alarming rate for the 30 mins or so it takes to do the regeneration.

All in all its a good car, but like most modern vehicles i wonder how long it will be before it becomes a money pit.

I owned a Vectra many years ago and it was the worst car I ever owned, I hope by giving GM a second change I wont be disappointed once again.