Vauxhall Omega road tests and consumer car reviews

Vauxhall Omega 3.0 MV6 Manual Irmscher Bodykit 1999

This was the second Omega I owned and it was a joy to drive. Despite being an older version of the MV6 I owned before, it was just as good. The interior felt a little dated, but everything worked and nearly everything was electric! It put newer cars to shame. The engine was fabulous and despite not being the most potent by todays standards; (it was used in the Carlton) it was more than enough to despatch the wannabe boy racers. Never had a moments trouble with it and it was rarely cold; it was used everyday. I could not have asked for a better car. It looked great with the Irmscher kit, it went like hell and never caused me a headache. I loved the heavy body and the rear wheel steering as it made you appriciate the joy of driving a powerful car such as this. Such a shame I had to sell it due to my other half not liking big cars. They really do not make them like this anymore. Pity.

Vauxhall Omega 3.2 Elite 2001

What a car, and after owning the 3.2 Mv6 before this. All I can say is if you want pure luxury, this is the one with extra possible including sat nav.

Vauxhall Omega 2.5TD Estate 1994

Well folks my 2.5TD Estate has done 140,000 miles and is 17 years old. Never broken down once but of course it has been maintained through the years. So it has had a set of new wishbones and new front discs, 2 windscreens and new rear shocks and shock absorbers but that doesn’t add up to a great deal in 17 years now does it? It will easily exceed the speed limit in the UK and will turn over 100 miles/hour on the Autobahn even today. And generally on a long trip I get 37 to 38 miles to the gallon. It is a terrific car and my only beef with it is the build quality of the interior is not as good as the rest of the car and it does feather the front tyres no matter how many times I get the tracking sorted. However, I love my car and I have driven a lot of newer inferior ones. Great shame they don’t still make it. Great Engine.

Vauxhall Omega 1990

Great sound, love the hidey hole.

Vauxhall Omega Petrol 1998

The Omega is a great car to drive, very comfortable if you are on a long journey, front chairs go up or down. Very spacious legroom in the back and a big boot. The Heater heats up in seconds and gets very hot quickly.

Vauxhall Omega 2008

This is also my second Omega, the first got wrote off in December 2007 - she was a 2.6mv6 gold and in a1 condition. I bought my present car in February 2008. It has a full irmscher body kit, twin pipes, 18ins irmscher wheels, and the best of all is a duel fuel job. I’m paying 40.9 per litre. When i saw it I’d already made my mind up to buy it. Both cars have been totally reliable. I just love the shape, the room, the price; it handles well and of course has all the toys. I will be keeping her for as long as I can because it just does so many things so well. Variant: cd. Year Of Make: This vehicle was bought.

Vauxhall Omega 3.2 Elite 2002

This is the best car in the world. It is shame that they are no longer for sale new.

Vauxhall Omega 2.6 Elite Auto Saloon 2003

As a Carlton and Omega owner of many years this, the last of the line, was one of the best. It’s 2.6 V6 is punchy, lifting up its skirts and flying when the tacho hits 4000rpm. Beautiful motorway cruiser with cruise control as standard. The spec list leaves most 2009 cars in the cold. Heated front and rear seats, auto wipe, reversing sensors. Xenon lights, Sunshine roof and his ’n’ hers climate control. The back is so spacious that with the rear seats folded down I can fit a full size door in the boot and shut the lid! Most reliable - never broken down. Had one oil gasket changed on the front crankshaft and one broken coil spring at the rear - but I never noticed until the MOT! If you control your right foot it will easily return 30+mpg. Beautiful BOSE sound system with multi CD player. All electric leather front seats with autodim rear view mirror. The list goes on and on. The car is smooth ride makes my son in law’s new BMW 5 series feel wholly crude. The Omega is fitted with an excellent auto gear box - sport and snow mode too if you need it. Rear wheel drive and very good turning circle. It came with Pirelli P6 tres that tramlined badly, now has Mitchelin’s on its 7 spoke alloy wheels and they are much more supple and don’t tramline. Even has a proper spare wheel. For those snobs who believe they value German engineering and buy a Mercedes etc for that reason, well this is all German too, in fact a lot more German than those Mercedes that are built in America, or the Audi’s built in Hungary! I will miss it when it goes.

Vauxhall Omega MV6 2.6 Auto 2001

This is our 2nd Omega, its a facelift 2.6 MV6 auto. These cars are totally under-rated in my opinion. Neither of our Omegas have ever let us down in 3 years of ownership. The 2.6 MV6 is great fun to make progress in, it loves motorways and twisty B roads alike. Very well specced, inc cruise control, traction control, climate control, electric everything etc etc etc........ Perfomance is brilliant, especially when the multi-ram intake system comes in at 3500 rpm........Left many a hot hatch behind....... Looks lovely too in light green metallic and a joy to own. My car is 8 yrs old now but still looks modern and smart on its standard 17" alloys. Take proper care of it with regular services and genuine parts and an Omega will last years and years and years, V6 is bulletproof.......... Overall.........Highly recommended.

Vauxhall Omega 3.0 Elite Auto Saloon 2000

Similar problems to Patrick Mitchell - CD radio failure, drivers door lock-multiple failures, front brakes overhauled, left cylinder head oil leak, self-levelling rear suspension shot. Despite all of that, it has only broken down once in 7 years, due to a fan belt idler gear failure. I bought it to travel regularly between Lincolnshire and Berlin. Its ability to sit on cruise control at 110 mph on the autobahn makes the journey bearable, if not fun. It still raises a grin when I floor the throttle at 125 mph, and it changes down a gear, and it will show its rump to many a BMW. This is the best car I’ve ever had, and I’ll keep it until it dies but, due to the fuel consumption, I have to run a second, economical car, which is also a Vauxhall.

Vauxhall Omega 3.0 Elite Estate Auto 2000

Fantastic load lugger, and very practical and comfortable. Particularly good motorway cruiser, which is essentially what I needed. Fuel economy is appalling (realistic 70MPH motorway driving delivers around 23MPG, dropping to 18/19MPG on urban drives). Lots of bells and whistles on this model but during the 4 years I’ve owned it I have lost count of the number of niggles and faults, which have been surprisingly expensive to fix for a Vauxhall: - Cambelt sensors changed - Front door locks broke and replaced twice (could not unlock car with key, brute force, or anything, had to climb in from the back!) - Vauxhall dealer told me they have redesigned the solenoids and locks three times and still can’t fix this known fault! - Alternator @ £230 for a re-conditioned unit! - Shreds front tyres so got through plenty of those - Stereo developed several intermittent faults including jamming CDs inside it - Auto box kept sticking in 4th gear. Vauxhall said need new ECU but WD40 on the ECU connector sorted it - Front brake wear sensors shredded 3 times (and Vauxhall dealers don’t have a clue which ones to give you as replacements, I had to take several versions each time and bring back the ones I didn’t use) - Two lots of front disks, 1 lot of rear - Front suspension/steering nearly collapsed at 6 years old - Front subframe mounts rusted through to the point that the car almost became permanently un-MOT-able .. and the list goes on! Great, large, comfortable car when it works, expensive when it goes wrong, which is frequently. Unfortunately that will be the last Vauxhall I will own!

Responses to this review

You say that the car shreds front tyres? How can you do that in a rear wheel drive car? Do you mean that the car wears out front tyres because of incorrect tracking? - Colin Fairhurst from Conwy