What they said when the Vauxhall Tigra was new… (Jul 21 2004)
FORGET the bad weather - a summer sizzler is coming our way as Vauxhall prepares to go topless for a bit of fun.
With great looks and plenty of style, the new Vauxhall Tigra is set to cash in on the growing trend for coupe-cabriolets.
Designed to thrill, the new Tigra dares to be as different as the original which almost achieved a cult following.
But it is not a sporting thoroughbred. Instead the Tigra's reputation will come from its ability to impress and deliver maximum enjoyment.
The latest Tigra cuts a dash roof up or down and its styling is embellished with a lot of attention to detail. A steeply raked windscreen produces a slithery feel while pronounced cut lines and a side skirt make it highly distinctive.
Clear headlamps, first seen on the new Astra, are carried over onto the Tigra and its front is set off by Vauxhall's trademark deep V grille.
The Tigra even has a design trick up its sleeve with the roof down in the form of a wave-shaped metallic roll over bar that gives it a unique appearance.
A lot of thought has gone into this car and it is good enough in all departments to put it at the top of the style-statement tree.
The young and trendy will be falling over themselves to get behind the wheel of the Tigra and they will not be disappointed.
One sale as of the beginning of September and with prices starting at £13,750 for a 1.4 litre version, the Tigra not only undercuts its main rival from Peugeot but it is also is more purposeful.
Unlike the Peugeot 206CC, which pretends to be a 2+2, the Tigra is a pure two-seater with a cockpit that fits like a glove. It is delightfully proportioned and simply laid out although the metal effect panel in the dash is obviously not the real thing.
Behind the front seats is a handy storage area which, at 2.5 cubic feet, can take the sort of items - such as a coat - that normally need to be consigned to the boot on small convertibles.
The boot itself is positively massive for a car of this size at almost 16 cubic feet with the roof up. Even with the roof down there is a very usable nine cubic feet of space and that has all been achieved by the way the top retracts.
The Tigra is being built in France by the masters of folding metal roof technology, Heuliez, who have developed a two stage retractable top that slides the roof vertically, instead of horizontally, into the boot. The result is a deep, uncluttered area behind the stowed roof as opposed to the limited space available in other coupe-convertibles.
The conversion takes less than 20 seconds and is done at the touch of a button once two latches have been released either side of the windscreen.
However, a word of warning. The boot itself is electrically operated and must not be shut manually. As Vauxhall put it, closing the boot by hand could "confuse" the mechanism which would then need to be reset by a dealer.
In other words the boot lid won't work properly unless you follow the instructions to the letter - and closing it means you have to hold down the operating button on the back bumper until the lid is completely shut. I imagine that standing at the back of the car in the pouring rain while the boot does its thing is not a lot of fun.
But that appears to be all which is likely to put the dampers on enjoying the new Tigra.
Out on the road it is nice and nimble and with its chassis based on that of the Corsa GSi with lowered suspension and wider track it handles well.
As well as the 1.4 litre Ecotec engine, Vauxhall will also be using its 1.8 litre engine in the Tigra as of early next year. Both engines are mated to a five speed manual gearbox and both meet the latest Euro 4 emission standards.
Not surprisingly the 1.8 has the edge in terms of performance - well on paper at least. Developing 125bhp it has a claimed top speed of 126mph and can achieve the standing 60 in nine seconds.
That is 14mph faster than the 1.4 and three seconds quicker in terms of acceleration but the lighter weight of the smaller engine makes it feel more sprightly.
The 1.4 will also average a claimed 47 miles per gallon with CO2 emissions rated at 146g/km as opposed to 37mpg and 185g/km for the 1.8 and, all in all, that makes the lowered powered Tigra the better bet.
The 1.8 will be fitted to the higher specification Tigra Sport, which will come complete with more style conscious goodies such as low profile tyres and a large chrome exhaust tailpipe as well as a silver targa bar to add more distinction with roof up.
Those will be priced from £15,250, which is still highly competitive, even though air conditioning on both the 1.4 and 1.8 Tigras pushes the price up by £500.
But whichever way you look at the new Tigra it has winner written all over it.
Open top cars are booming in popularity and coupe-convertibles offer the best of both worlds, especially in our fickle climate.
With such refreshing looks, this is a car that can really put the fun back into motoring.
Words: Chris Russon
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