Nostalgia

[Telegram Sam]

http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/news/c ... -cavalier/

You can ignore the first part if you wish.

[Cavalier342]

Very nice article. Glad that they still get appreciated by other sources.

[Telegram Sam]

Except that I wasn't very impressed by the values that were listed for the Mk 3's in the boxes alongside the text. May be that's reality now Hopefully Club members' including mine are the exception!

[vauxhallnutter]

Great article

[Robsey]

It is a very generalised article.

In contrast - I do not want Vauxhall to re-launch the Cavalier name.

The re-launch of the Viva model is pitiful.
(The new Viva is about the same size as the Adam... pah!!)

I dread the idea of the cavalier being re-launched as a pootley little roller-skate.

[James McGrath]

It is a very generalised article.

In contrast - I do not want Vauxhall to re-launch the Cavalier name.

The re-launch of the Viva model is pitiful.
(The new Viva is about the same size as the Adam... pah!!)

I dread the idea of the cavalier being re-launched as a pootley little roller-skate.

I agree. Best to leave the name well alone.
Besides, I don't trust Vauxhall in their present state to make a good job it.

I do however, believe that they should get back into the high end market with a proper replacement for the Omega/Senator. They need to make a bit of prestige for themselves again. They are just seen as a budget brand these days.

[colin1]

Good article
Not sure about the Mk III's 'great handling' - even by the standards of the time
Presumably they didn't do any cornering...

[Telegram Sam]

No great moans about mine. Certainly compared with the Cortinas and Sierras and things of the time the SRi was / is on a different planet (but that may not be the most demanding of yardsticks!). There has been the odd occasion when I've felt that some kind of a front spoiler would improve stability but that is a bit extreme.

[Telegram Sam]

Another Honest John review but without the birthday bit

http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/review ... alier-mk3/

Would readers agree or disagree about the poor handling? If so can this be rectified or improved?

[Robsey]

Handling is very easily affected by deterioration in suspension rubbers, tyre quality and tyre pressures.
Good maintenance should keep excessive wallowing to a minimum.

The SRi and GSi should handle much better due to the lowered sports suspension.

I used to have a Maestro in the early 90's.
That was so wallowey that my friend said I should have castors on the roof - lol

In my opinion, the suspension is soft to fair, but very comfortable compared to the harsh suspension on many heavy modern cars.

Our Vectra-C has such stiff springs, that speed bumps are a nightmare..
I have snapped both front springs and cracked both rear springs in the past.

Aftermarket springs and shocks are usually the way to go with Vauxhalls.
A good level of stiffness, with good durability.

[James McGrath]

Handling is very easily affected by deterioration in suspension rubbers, tyre quality and tyre pressures.
Good maintenance should keep excessive wallowing to a minimum.

Couldn't agree more.

Despite being quite similar, all my cars feel very different to drive. The Diplomat and CD manual for instance are practically identical apart from added air-con and slightly bigger wheels yet the CD feels far more wobbly and stodgy around corners whereas the diplomat is pretty firm and square even harsh over bumps.
The CD auto feels brilliant compared to the others. Handles very well yet is smooth and comfortable over bumps. It's only done 44,000 miles while the other 3 have all done between 125,000 and 198,000 so no doubt mileage plays a big part in how they feel.

Even the steering feels different, the CD manual is rather vague and lacks feel yet is very light while parking. The Diplomat is much heavier at high and low speeds but is more precise and you feel more of the road. Once again the CD auto and LS have a much better balance and feel very good.

I would almost be willing to suggest that the reason the Cavalier's handling was given good praise in reviews when it first came out in 1988 yet has built up a reputation for bad handling over the years is because most have now done allot of miles and are worn out in comparison.

[Telegram Sam]

I think that tallies with my experience in spite of the 233 K miles from new > Reminder: Must check the suspension rubbers in case they don't get picked up at the MOT.
I seem to remember looking at adjustable / tune-able shockers many years ago, so long that I've forgotten the name. Are these worth further investigation or would I then just fall victim to the speed bumps?

[Cavalier342]

Whoever said that they don't handle well must have been a former racing driver, because on everyday roads, going from A to B, I have never felt as if any of my 3 past Cavaliers have been trying to kill me. In the wet, any car is a death trap if driven erratically, regardless of what tyres it has or how low it is. For an everyday all-round cruiser, the Cavalier is perfectly designed to fit the role. Not everybody lives at Silverstone at the end of the day, let's just remember that!

As far as new cars go, I haven't been in one post-2000 car that I have felt comfortable in. Every car nowadays is too firm and too harsh, even basic cars for my liking. I haven't been in a new Jag or Rolls Royce, but I seriously doubt that apart from those cars, that anything is more comfortable than a Cavalier with cloth seats and correct manufacturer wheels/tyres.

[Telegram Sam]

And I have to confess to wondering on more than one occasion why others seemed to be pussy-footing around overmuch at the first signs of snow and ice. [With my day-to-day runabout a 02 RWD BMW it's a different matter entirely!]

[Cavalier342]

Try reversing a BMW in the ice, I'll pay you a million quid if you can move without spinning the rear wheels...

[James McGrath]

I don't drive like a mad man but I rarely meet another car on the road that I feel I can't keep pace with.
Yes on motorways but around the country lanes where I live and in the past when I travelled to Canterbury every day I felt like the fastest thing on the road. Even in my 75bhp 1.6.
The handling is not a problem if you're used to it and you know its imitations.

[Telegram Sam]

Try reversing a BMW in the ice, I'll pay you a million quid if you can move without spinning the rear wheels...

I was stranded in precisely such a situation at Chester-le-Street railway station a few years back so you can happily spend your million quid on this year's Christmas presents instead. Negotiating Carter Bar (A68 Borders) the same winter was the same story but rather more dramatic.

Agree with JMG's comments.

[colin1]

I don't drive like a mad man but I rarely meet another car on the road that I feel I can't keep pace with...

...The handling is not a problem if you're used to it and you know its limitations.

Did 'the other car on the road' know you were trying to keep pace with it?

Cavs - even GSis - don't sit particularly low, when pushed they wallow in the corners and start to float at speed. If they were all that, owners wouldn't lower, stiffen and space them; these mods offer significant improvements over the stock setup. With the rest of the range, I would have thought the limitations of the rear beam were widely known, you push one of those hard into a corner with a poor road surface and you will lose ground on a more considered setup. The stock steering rack simply isn't a responsive unit with regards to precise or sharp handling.

Well, yes, I'm used to it too but 'know its limitations? It's precisely those limitations that I'm speaking of with regards to the claims of 'great handling'; if you know and acknowledge its limitations then I'd call it an 'adequate handler'.

Don't get me wrong James, I'm not calling it a barge, a seasoned cav owner will know how to get the best out of the setup for most situations but there are more sophisticated setups out there straight from the factory that will soundly out-perform it.

[James McGrath]

Don't get me wrong James, I'm not calling it a barge, a seasoned cav owner will know how to get the best out of the setup for most situations but there are more sophisticated setups out there straight from the factory that will soundly out-perform it.

Absolutely. Not saying the Cavalier is the final word in anything, especially not it's grip around the bends. However, it's a law of diminishing returns when it comes to the practical realities of driving on a public road with other road users.

The handling is the Cavalier's biggest weakness. However, I do not believe it is a problem on public roads. Round a race track yes, but as we all know her majesty's highway is not exactly Silverstone.

[Telegram Sam]

I take it Colin that you are speaking from your "heritage" with SRi's and it looks like you are putting them on a par with GSi's. Something which I cannot judge but which perhaps others can. Again mine is an H-reg whilst yours are or were mere infants and I don't know if Vx in their wisdom made many mods to the suspension in the intervening years (for better or for worse). Accepting that every suspension set-up has to be a compromise I'd have no particular complaints about mine apart from agreeing with you when you say "start to float at speed" - but that has to be when really pushing it and/or in a cross wind, hence my comment previously about a front spoiler. If I had any confidence in non-standard suspension setups I'd consider a mod but who's to tell if the mod is in the end any better a compromise than what came out of the Opel computer? Even in the absence of ice (important!) I wouldn't rate my 02 320 D BMW as up to SRi standards (it came second hand on some imported tyre brand that I didn't recognize and was almost undriveable).

[colin1]

Absolutely. Not saying the Cavalier is the final word in anything, especially not it's grip around the bends. However, it's a law of diminishing returns when it comes to the practical realities of driving on a public road with other road users.

The handling is the Cavalier's biggest weakness. However, I do not believe it is a problem on public roads. Round a race track yes, but as we all know her majesty's highway is not exactly Silverstone.

Agreed

[colin1]

I take it Colin that you are speaking from your "heritage" with SRi's and it looks like you are putting them on a par with GSi's. Something which I cannot judge but which perhaps others can. Again mine is an H-reg whilst yours are or were mere infants and I don't know if Vx in their wisdom made many mods to the suspension in the intervening years (for better or for worse). Accepting that every suspension set-up has to be a compromise I'd have no particular complaints about mine apart from agreeing with you when you say "start to float at speed" - but that has to be when really pushing it and/or in a cross wind, hence my comment previously about a front spoiler. If I had any confidence in non-standard suspension setups I'd consider a mod but who's to tell if the mod is in the end any better a compromise than what came out of the Opel computer? Even in the absence of ice (important!) I wouldn't rate my 02 320 D BMW as up to SRi standards (it came second hand on some imported tyre brand that I didn't recognize and was almost undriveable).

Hi Sam
no I wouldn't put the SRi on a par with the GSi if only for the IRS option on the latter.
The first F-plate Cavalier III (non-GSi) had exactly the same setup as the last N-plate Cavalier III.
I don't think a great deal came out of the Opel computer regarding the suspension; it was designed to get reps and junior execs from London to Manchester and back in relative comfort or a family down to Brighton for a day at the beach; rear beam really is archaic. When they came up with the rear floorpan for the GSi, they should have switched the entire range over to those jigs.
I think one of the main problems with cars like your BMW is the lack of proliferation of rear-wheeled drive cars on the roads today; time was when front-wheel drive was the oddity, people drove rear-wheel drive for the most part and knew how it was going to behave in icy conditions, breaking the back end out wasn't just unexpected - it was fun.

[Telegram Sam]

"breaking the back end out wasn't just unexpected - it was fun. "

I think you have a brilliant career awaiting you in the BMW Augsburg PR Dept supplemented by commission from Michelin & co on sales of winter tyres to BMW people including Durham Constabulary. In the meantime I will make do with my SRi fixed rear suspension till someone comes up with a convincing mod that doesn't require a complete new floor pan (replacing the rear quarter panels wasn't exactly cheap)

[colin1]

I think you have a brilliant career awaiting you...

...and I think you're taking it a bit too personally

[Cavalier342]

I didn't think my old V6 handled badly at all in the dry. Had a lot of weight to it, which gave better traction. Handled better than my previous Cavaliers, certainly.