Geneva Auto Show 2002 Highlights

Opel Vectra

The all-new Vectra made it's debut at the Geneva show, opening a new chapter in Opel’s successful history in the midsize market segment in Europe. The model range is a completely new, driver-oriented design with a spacious interior. With a large presence in the fleet market, this is a car that has to please a wide range of buyers, with functionality of major importance.

"We had several issues in our in minds when designing the new Vectra," said Vectra chief designer Michael Pickstone. "For example, it was important that the car shows real presence on the road, as well as being an elegant design, to appeal to a broad band of customers."

The Vectra's lines are clearly reminiscent of Opel concepts seen recently, like the Zafira Snowtrekker and Signum2, while retaining some of the familiar style elements of the Opel brand.

The new Vectra is wider, longer and squatter creating a more solid and imposing sight on the road than the previous model. Key features are the two large, vertically orientated headlamps which wrap up and over the front corners, the strongly angled shoulder line which wraps downward at the front to match the lamps, and the sharply defined wheel arches. Chunky, grab style door handles replace the older lift up versions. At the rear, angular taillamps and a full width chrome strip emphasize the greater width of the new Vectra.

The designers opted for a real coupe look for the hatch, which is the most popular model in the UK, with 75 per cent of all sales.

The designer's wish to have "clarity and logical simplicity" was the driving force for the new interior, combined with a new level of quality. Says Malcolm Ward, who led the Vectra interior design: "We set out to produce an interior that is clean, logical and understated. Our subtle approach has allowed the materials we have chosen to 'talk' and to produce something of a modern, up-market living room environment.

Anthracite was chosen for the upper part of the fascia, and a metallic finish for the centre console which gives off a special lustre, especially when lit. Three colours are available for the lower dashboard: cashmere, steel grey and anthracite, to co-ordinate with the seat materials. The door pockets, and lower dashboard are all given a soft-touch finish to make the surface pleasant to the touch while high-gloss chrome gives a quality look to door handles, handbrake and gear knob.

Opel’s new midsize model will be available first as a four-door sedan with four-cylinder ECOTEC engines. Opel will offer a five-speed automatic transmission with 'Active Select' function for the first time on the Vectra. The sporty Vectra GTS will join the line-up this summer, extending the choice of engines to include a 155 kW/211hp 3.2-liter V6. The coupé-like GTS will be the most powerful Vectra ever with 300 Nm of torque and a top speed of 248 km/h.

The new Vectra model range will be extended next year with the introduction of two additional body styles, the new-architecture Vectra Signum and the Vectra station wagon.