Modern Classic: Vauxhall Cavalier

Not so long ago, almost everyone knew someone who had driven, owned or been a passenger in a Vauxhall Cavalier. The big-selling saloon was in production for 20 years, as a rival to the huge selling D-segment saloons from Ford - which were known throughout the Cavalier’s production run as the Cortina, Sierra and Mondeo. Both Ford and Vauxhall’s top-selling saloons could be found on almost every street across the UK throughout the eighties and nineties. In a pre- SUV era, the family saloon was king and mainstream badges were still adored by private buyers and the fleet sector.

While Ford’s saloon cars had taken sales chart glory in the seventies, there was a brief period in the eighties and nineties where Vauxhall ran a close second – at the very least, the Cavalier was one of the top five best-selling cars in the UK.

All three generations of Cavalier could also be considered the patriot’s choice, despite Vauxhall being owned by US giant General Motors (GM) and developed in Germany by Opel. Throughout production, Vauxhall remained a British brand and built all three generations of the Cavalier in its hometown of Luton. Designer Wayne Cherry was even given the freedom to design his own ‘shovelnose’ front end for the 1975-81 first-generation Cavalier, to differentiate it from its German cousin, the Opel Ascona.

The first-generation Cavalier was available in saloon, coupe and ‘sports-hatch’ body styles, and was an important car in Vauxhall’s history. Some say the Cavalier transformed Vauxhall’s reputation, at a time when the brand was in real danger of being another British brand to fall into the abyss.

By the early eighties, the Cavalier was replaced by the second-generation, front-wheel drive Cavalier, sold from 1981-88. This time, the Mk2 Cavalier was essentially a rebadged Opel Ascona, but perhaps one crucial element of the original Vauxhall’s design which was carried over:  Wayne Cherry’s iconic ‘shovelnose’ front end. Once again, UK cars were assembled in Luton - following the success of the Mk2, GM later decided to relocate European production to the UK factory.

The second-generation Cavalier was released a year before the futuristic ‘jelly mould’ Ford Sierra hatchback, which at first struggled to find fans in the fleet sector due to conservative tastes at the time favouring a traditional saloon body style. The Mk2 Cavalier was often viewed as the favoured choice; not only was the 1.6-litre petrol Cavalier also quicker to 60mph than the 2.0-litre Ford Cortina but it also had a faster top speed. Models fitted with a 1.8-litre engine ruled the outside lanes of the motorways in period – happily, this engine size was also the subject of a tax-break for company car drivers.

The second-generation Cavalier was also popular across the world, as it was based on GM’s J-platform and marketed under several brands owned by the American giant. By 1983, an estate was offered using J-car panels imported from Australia which were used on the Holden Camira. By this point, Luton could do no wrong and it was the second best-selling car in 1984, while Ford’s slower-selling Sierra was in fifth place. Further facelifts in 1985 and 1987 were attempts to keep the Cavalier relevant and a sales hit, but Ford fought back with a major 1987 facelift and the introduction of a ‘Sapphire’ saloon variant of the Sierra – finding more sales and buyers who accepted its advanced styling.

Introduced the following year was the 1988-95 third-generation Cavalier, also badged as the Opel Vectra for the first time in Europe. Vauxhall/Opel had accepted that the fast-ageing styling of the second-generation Cavalier was beginning to hold it back – therefore its replacement was a much smoother, aerodynamic shape. It was marketed by Vauxhall as ‘The future, now’ and with the tagline, ‘Once Driven, Forever Smitten’ in its launch TV advert.

The Mk3 Cavalier was also an improvement in quality and in safety – later gaining a driver’s airbag and side-impact bars as standard. This generation remained popular with private and fleet buyers, becoming the UK’s second best-selling car of 1992. The Mk3 Cavalier remained in production until 1995, when it was replaced by the Vauxhall Vectra, a car that received negative media reviews upon release – proving that it had huge shoes to fill after the success of the Cavalier nameplate.

As with many other cars of its era, those that were sold in huge numbers were also scrapped in huge numbers. Many Cavaliers were fleet and family cars which clocked up huge mileages and succumbed to neglect within their first 10 years on the road. The Cavalier was no worse than its rivals for its resistance to rust, but its huge popularity when new meant that it became a disposable car as its value and desirability fell to almost non-existent levels. Therefore, first and second-generation Cavaliers are rarely seen in the classifieds today. Find a clean Cavalier of any age, and it’ll serve you well as a usable modern classic that remains affordable and dependable.

What are your memories of the big-selling Griffin saloon? Which generation of Cavalier was your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.