Give me a senator any day of the week. I owned an ex police 3.0 12V one of the best cars I have ever had. 3 years of motoring and nothing went wrong with it.
And the Monza! Monza was like the sporty coupe version of this. I always loved the Monza along with the Manta, Carlton, Senator and the ultimate Lotus Carlton!
I had a Senator for a weekend test drive from Vauxhall when they were new - a fabulous car in its time; quiet and fast and handled well. I had an XJ6 at the time and the Senator was very competitive with the Jaguar. The Jaguar was a bit quieter and had a more luxurious interior of course. The Senator interior was a bit bland but much more spacious. At the time, my company car tax on the Senator would have been huge, so I stuck with my personally-owned Jaguar.
I can guarantee you two things, this is the one and only time Tony Britton ever drove a Vauxhall and he was paid a lot of money for this very long advert. Shame life isn't still like this though
The Opel Senator was sold here in New Zealand in small numbers in the late 80s and early 90s. Was interesting seeing one on the street parked alongside an Australian Holden Commodore VN - side glass and doors appeared to be identical, though all else is different.
Always wanted one of these when I had Granadas as company cars. Eventually got an Omega 2.5 V6 which was a superb car. Much underrated. My colleagues thought I should have got a Merc C180. I tried one, absolutely not in the same league, chose the Omega.
Back when Vauxhall made nice and appealing cars. I was given a Senator back in the early 2000s, only a 2.5 12v but it was so comfy and it looked great. Vauxhall RWD cars were always good. Senator, Carlton, Omega etc. They make absolute drivel these days sadly. The 90s were their golden years.
I was a vauxhall apprentice mechanic between 1986-1991 so you can imagine all of the cars I worked on Hs chevettes Vx490 Bedford van Rascals Charlton Mantas Astras Cavaliers Monza Senators Calibra Corsa I'm do remember the cavalier Sri , astra gte and of course the Charlton 24v gsi as the most fun fastest cars to drive . So many memories
I have owned a Cavalier, Manta Viva & a mad HSR Chevette. Driven plenty of Bedfords for work. My grandad worked in the Luton factory from before WW2 & was one of the first at Ellesmere Port until retirement.
When Vauxhalls where actually really good. Close rivalry between companies made them compete. Now they are equal to a Tesco carrier bag as each is owned by each other.
I lusted after one of these back in the mid nineties....never got there though! Always thought the 0-60 was better than 8.8 secs, had a figure of 7.9 in my head...
Clear vauxhall oriented. The senator looked miles better than the scorpio imo but they have clearly not put the 24v scorpio here the 195bhp cosworth tuned one. That one was comparable performance wise with the other 3. This is the slower one. The 5 is miles ahead of the rest anyway.
@@bensmithkent22 The 24v Scorpio Cosworth wasn't available in 1990. The E34 is better than the Rover & Ford. I don't think it's better than the Senator. This E34 had the 12v M20B25 engine although it soon got the 24v M50B25 unit. It's also a lot more expensive than the Senator but doesn't seem to offer anything more.
I used to steal every one of these back in the day 😂 them rover sterling’s are monsters aswell,,brings back good memories, the manual senators were the best
"Ah yes, this is what it is all about, the smell of leather, the gleam of fine walnut finish, the detail of craftsmanship and the sweetnot of fine engineering"......not talking about the Vauxhall then!!!
@@Djeseret - Thank you very much for your reply was this actually solid walnut or veneer? Even Jaguar only used veneer. The car in the video is the second generation Senator B which is not the same as the earlier 1983 car. I still have the wooden door inserts from a 1998 Omega Elite which are actually 100% plastic. I found this out after they delaminated themselves from the door card. I had two Senators the first 1986 Senator A2 didn't have any wood at all (entry level model) and the second 1991 Senator B 3.0 24V CD did but unlike the later Omega the wooden bits didn't fall off so I cant be 100% sure but they really didn't look like genuine wood. I could be wrong.
@@russcattell955i I heard the same. Apparently when production ended in 1993 certain Police forces bought additional stock to use, before eventually transitioning to the Omega. The Senator B Police spec cars came only in Manual, and the suspension was made slightly stiffer.
But wasn't the senator just a tarted up Omega? My pick would have been that glorious BMW. I have a 1991 BMW 325i in my garage now and its one of my favourite classics. Don't see many vauxhalls of that era now but that series 5 is still a common sight on the roads.
It was based on the Omega A platform and slightly extended. Doesn't take anything away from how good it was, though. The reason why you see way more older BMW's on the road now is because Vauxhall didn't sell anywhere near the same volume as BMW for comparable cars. The brand consolidation in the executive car market into Mercedes, BMW and Audi happened quite early on. It's the same reason why you don't see many Citroen XMs or C6's on the road, as good as they were.
They're comparing specs within a price bracket, so the Beemer was already relatively steep with the weaker engine. The Scorpio was more slick in design but rough and workman-like in use. The BMW was the best 5-Series shell that will ever be made, and the Rover wasn't an SD1, so it wasn't worth a look. For it's broader niche, Vauxhall created some very exciting and, in one case, awesome and untouchable motors in the '80s and early '90s, all based on a basic recipe of companionable and dependable stodge. Even in its day, the Carlton GSI 3000 had Q-car cachet, and if you drive one today, you're 70% as lucky as a bloke who owns the Lotus.
I absolutely love Vauxhalls. I think this Senator suffered an identity crisis though. It's crossed between an American or Australian police cruiser, an Audi wannabe developed in Germany, but presented here like a Daimler! I know these old dealer training videos are gently biased, but I've got to say that that Senator looks lovely inside and out.
Back in the late 80s I did have a senator and it was a really nice car and now I have a new Vauxhall and a bmw but if the senator was resurrected I would go for one, you do have point with reliability on the Vauxhall but it’s good value for the money but both companies know how to take the mick with servicing them.
Those old Slushmatic automatic transmissions certainly blunted the performance. I reckon you'd shave well over a second off the 0-60 times and add a few miles per hour on the top end using the 5 speed manual!
While I prefer the senators styling its shameful marketing ploy by vauxhall here. My uncle had the 24valve version of the scorp on an m plate pre bug eye and it would be more competitive performance wise with the others here. Around 195bhp they had I think which should see it outdrag the rover at least. As it happens his next car was a 24 valve sterling. He hated it. As a young boy i knew what felt faster it wasnt the rover. I loved the senators though and then the omega 3.0 elite that essentially replaced it.
I know, Beamers are lovely cars, but they cost a lot of money and to be frank, what you get for 20 grand with a Honda, Mazda or Lexus, Beamer owners pay 10 grand more for the same performance. Tru dat you are exclusive doh as you got the spinning propeller badge that is still proudly harking back to when Bayerische Moteren Werks built the WW2 bomber engines that rained death and destruction on an unprepared and peacful Europe but I ain't spending 10k extra for a badge that will only work to their tru potential on a private airfield. It's also ..so lovely when you barge up the motorways in your German cavalcade of Beamers Audi's and Mercs and flashing everyone to get over, but when I want to get past you in my lil 1.8 Ford turbo you'll swerve into all the lanes to block being passerd by a cheap car. Love it
Its vauxhall clearly trying to make the scorpio which is its direct rival look far worse. The cosworth tuned 24 valve scorp is closer performamce wise. Maybe a bit slower but this is just shameful scared marketing. Which seems odd as the senator looked way classier than a scorpio to me.
I really don't know who Tony Britton was and to be fair judging by the look and sound of him he was well above my paygrade. Nevertheless, I had a K plate 24v Manual, analogue dash ex Yorkshire 1TiMe, 60k on the clock when I bought it, 3 years old. Weird spec., must've been an unmarked car so the metallic blue instead of white, leather trim and walnut inside but heated seats were velour not levar, steel wheels not alloys, A/C but not in glove box, no sun roof. But FFS a 3yr old 30K car for 8K in '95 worth a punt. Drived dead sedately don't think I every got a Sotheby's picture in the boot or any skis if I dropped the back seat. Got a washing machine once, then a fridge freezer plus numerous tents and kids in the back. This car was cavernous. When you're on your own though it was a beast. Respec. So, Vauxhall/Opel didn't slap a turbine on the side like many of their peers. What they did instead had some nod to fuel economy by using the computerised fuel injection to be frugal in the range 800 - about 2700rpm after 2700 you felt a jolt as the cylinders got all their food, and then did it take off. When you hit 4000rpm the idea was force ram so the butterfly valves opened up on the forced induction ram intakes and you felt like you'd been kicked in the back by a mugger while you're perusing some cakes in a cake shop. You redline that engine every gear change and there's very little in that class that'd compete. I even made some little BMW stickers with a redline through them and slapped them on the drivers door everytime they pulled up at traffic lights trying to burn off some twat in a grandad car. The funniest thing I ever seen was me overtaking some posh nob in a brand new white 5 Series Alpina (1997 remember few M series back then) on a dc, as I passed he shoved it and took off, quarter mile up I was level - you could see him pedalling then the look on his face as I drew level then dropped to 4th. It was an effing beast. Not to mention RWD and the fun you have on blippin the throttle on bends when it's wet. Never have I before or since named an inanimate object, but it was an evil car, dressed in conventional clothing. I called it Christine, because my wife wanted me to get rid of it. I sold it to someone at work but he didn't take care of it, so I bought it back a year later - my missis was livid. I changed the head gasket, cleaned up the valves, exhaust manifold, cleaned the dual ram and head bought it back to life. then Sold it on to some folks down South since I valued my marriage. Never ever owned another car like it.
I've still got the grille of mine! And a bnos carlton bonnet for what reason I hear you ask. Because I've got the space and it was a better time for motoring I can't forget!
There is a reason which I can't remember. I think it might have had something to do with which one sold better, as the Carlton was a more popular car with better sales figures. Having said that, they did actually draw up plans to use the Senator to begin with.
E34 BMW was still the benchmark and the best car here,still quite a few on the road.For build and engineering it is a few rungs higher than the others.Had a 525i SE which I took to 220,000 miles with just routine servicing,they owe a lot to the E34.
They really were fantastic cars, you're absolutely right. In this case, the only Vauxhall (Opel) I could ever think of as a genuine competitor to the E34 in terms of build and engineering would be the Senator B. It was arguably just as good as the E34 in a lot of areas, but just didn't sell very well. The thing that sets most BMW's apart from their competition as prestige cars is the way they handle. The E32, 34, 38 and 39 etc all handle fantastically on the road and feel like much smaller cars than they are. To be fair, the Senator earned that reputation too, which is why the Police used them.
I've owned two Senator 24v CD Autos, a Volvo 850 T5 CD, and a Volvo S70R. All were great cars, but both Volvos had to be remapped to 310 bhp to match the Senators performance. I now drive a Jag 4.2 XJR with 450 bhp...it's great....but I'd gladly swap it for a mint Senator 24v. The best cars I ever owned. Fantastic performance and a fraction of the maintenance costs of the others.
The Senator great car though it was turned out to be something of a rust bucket. Horrible corrosion problems on rear wheel arches which was expensive and difficult to repair. We had 3 year old police cars where this rust was already apparent and very noticeable on white bodywork. Shame really because so much about those cars was excellent.
Didn't Quentin Wilson tell people to avoid the manual as it was 'too fast!?' Even though it was a great car you never saw BMW back then trying to convince people to buy their cars! It was quite sad looking back how British Leyland pulled every marketing trick to get people to buy their cars! Great to watch today though! :-)
Senator 24v has a bit of a cult following now and were definitely quite cool, mainly because of the engine. The Sterling is slightly irrelevant. They picked the wrong Scorpio, 2.9 Cosworth would’ve been a better comparison. Though to be honest, I doubt BMW lost any sleep given how good the E34 was and still is regarded to this day.
So glad for the true car fans here the cosworth 24v scorp was closer on power and performance to the rest here . Shameful vauxhall shameful. I still prefer the senny but at least make it a fair fight.
@@bensmithkent22well you'd think so, but they were comparing on the closest price bracket to the 24v so in that sense it was fair. The takeaway here is that you could buy a fully loaded Senator for the price of the non-Cosworth Scorpio, etc. Otherwise the test could go to the n'th degree by comparing a Cosworth to an Irmscher Senator.
If you are going to pitch a 24v vauxhall against a Ford Granada Scorpio, why use the 2.9 12v granny, when they should have used the 24v Cosworth Granada Scorpio.. Would have been been much fairer contest..
The Cosworth Scorpio would still lose in performance terms by a decisive margin. The stats quoted for the Senator are very much under estimates. These cars could hit a genuine 158 mph no problem, and had massive mid range grunt. I know this as I owned two of them, both 24v autos with leather trim and analogue dash, the very best combination. They were a genuine match for the original Audi S8. Nothing else came close. I currently drive a Jaguar X350 XJR 4.2 with allegedly double the power at 400bhp. I would gladly swap it for a mint condition 24V Senator in a heartbeat.
(Director) And CUT! ( Tony) Right give me my money you peasant and the keys to the BMW ( Tony exits the car park while laughing and lighting a cigar with a £50) Senator my Arse I’d be crucified down the golf club!!
"we professionals" he must have been retired a decade. It's a fascinating insight; it's a dying establishment's voice that must have seemed archaic to the dealers that received this. No wonder they were unable to compete with the Germans.
@@stringer-ik1pc are you from a council estate? The comments are littered with comments from you about council estates. It seems you know a lot about them, more than BMWs?
The Senator CD was easily the better car out of the Scorpio and Sterling. It lost a lot of value from new but less so than the Ford or Rover. That tells you all you need to know.
The senator and Carlton were peak Vauxhall. Nothing they have made since has been anywhere near as good. In fact most recent offerings have been bland, boring porridge. The only thing which let the Senator down was the horrendous grille.
Obviously Vauxhall were aiming this caar at the raather more discerning gentlemen out there and thought that by putting an "old codger" behind the wheel, they would sell them. LOL. How faar marketing has come in 30 years! And happily so. I agree there is a limit between all the 20 year old youtubers driving around in leased supercars/hypercars and a "one foot in the grave" approach to selling top of the range cars but still....
Too look at Vauxhall now it makes me sad to see how far they have fallen. Cheap French tat nowadays, no luxury, no performance, a far cry from the days of the Lotus Carlton or even their more recent VXR offerings. What a shame.
Worst car I ever bought... it went through two batteries, a new starter, new alternator, new regulator all within 3 months of purchase (second hand) - handed it back and got a full refund ! Incidentally if you type in the reg of the Ford (H622 YLG) into the mot checker it comes back as a Vauxhall Astra first registered in 1991 with a failed MOT in 2008 !!
i HAVE A GREEN 24 valve 30 manual i swear mine will do 168 mph maybe more ive done it a few times. Where he gets 148 mph mines ticking over at 148mph ,. But the tyres ,get warm. Its fast even today , very fast . but it loves fuel .Now i have a bmw 728i that is just as good .
czcams.com/video/YmYioV4E6nU/video.html Opel Senator c30se Manual on german autobahn Time for a flashback....that performance is really outstanding even under todays standard!
Great car very underrated the most underrated luxury car in its day. Great actor RIP Tony.
@Ashley Cook very sad and greatly missed a true gentleman.
Had a couple of Carltons years ago, Senator a superb car big , sturdy , reliable and massively underrated.
Give me a senator any day of the week. I owned an ex police 3.0 12V one of the best cars I have ever had.
3 years of motoring and nothing went wrong with it.
Vauxhall could make some great cars back in the day.....then stopped and became normal... Carlton and Senator great cars.
Agreed - but they weren’t really Vauxhalls - they were Opels
And the Monza! Monza was like the sporty coupe version of this. I always loved the Monza along with the Manta, Carlton, Senator and the ultimate Lotus Carlton!
Tony Brittan, a fantastic actor. r.i.p. #Legend
You never mentioned the digital dash Tony. Revolutionary for its day. RIP Tony you golf club adulterer you.
The digital dash was awful and unreliable but the car itself was a gem.. I had two of them.
I had a Senator for a weekend test drive from Vauxhall when they were new - a fabulous car in its time; quiet and fast and handled well. I had an XJ6 at the time and the Senator was very competitive with the Jaguar. The Jaguar was a bit quieter and had a more luxurious interior of course. The Senator interior was a bit bland but much more spacious. At the time, my company car tax on the Senator would have been huge, so I stuck with my personally-owned Jaguar.
I can guarantee you two things, this is the one and only time Tony Britton ever drove a Vauxhall and he was paid a lot of money for this very long advert. Shame life isn't still like this though
He had Jaguars in real life.. .
I dunno, posh English gits bullshitting us, I feel like life is still full of that ;)
@@adams7405 Indeed 😊👍
@@alifloydtv 🤣🤣🤣👍Just Like Boris Johnson
I agree 🤣
I had the same 24 valve dual ram engine in my GSI Carlton, that would pull 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, fantastic for its time. Lovely engines.
The Opel Senator was sold here in New Zealand in small numbers in the late 80s and early 90s. Was interesting seeing one on the street parked alongside an Australian Holden Commodore VN - side glass and doors appeared to be identical, though all else is different.
Always wanted one of these when I had Granadas as company cars. Eventually got an Omega 2.5 V6 which was a superb car. Much underrated. My colleagues thought I should have got a Merc C180. I tried one, absolutely not in the same league, chose the Omega.
Oh yes very nice, 1990.... man alive I remember those days, cheers for this upload.
Back when Vauxhall made nice and appealing cars. I was given a Senator back in the early 2000s, only a 2.5 12v but it was so comfy and it looked great. Vauxhall RWD cars were always good. Senator, Carlton, Omega etc.
They make absolute drivel these days sadly. The 90s were their golden years.
Tony was Class 👍🇬🇧
Had a senator 3.0CD (12v) many years ago. Very smooth, quiet car. Very underated.
This is like presenting Rolls Royce.
This is really amazing.
Great video of one of my favourite cars of day.RIP Tony,a real gent
My father in law had one and loved it.
I was a vauxhall apprentice mechanic between 1986-1991 so you can imagine all of the cars I worked on
Hs chevettes
Vx490
Bedford van
Rascals
Charlton
Mantas
Astras
Cavaliers
Monza
Senators
Calibra
Corsa
I'm do remember the cavalier Sri , astra gte and of course the Charlton 24v gsi as the most fun fastest cars to drive . So many memories
I have owned a Cavalier, Manta Viva & a mad HSR Chevette. Driven plenty of Bedfords for work. My grandad worked in the Luton factory from before WW2 & was one of the first at Ellesmere Port until retirement.
Thx for uploading, a piece of contemporary history! Imagine such an advertisment nowadays....comparative advertising ...how dare you ;-)
I kind of think this kind of review could be really popular today. As a real change from the 'down with the kids' types today.
And non of the same gangsta type street music intro either which every tubers now doing....
I wish that Opel will reproduce it again. I will buy one without any doubt or thinking.
Really nice car always used to like them back in the day. could you imagine how badly a big luxury Vauxhall would sell today.
Стильная и мощная тачка, мои аплодисменты! . 2022
£27k for a Vauxhall is a lot now never mind in 1990.
No
Scorpio was not a patch on this.
The Ford was just a big Sierra was a pushrod iron V6.
I've owned a 24V Senator and now own a Granada Scorpio.
When Vauxhalls where actually really good. Close rivalry between companies made them compete. Now they are equal to a Tesco carrier bag as each is owned by each other.
Love the old granada my dad had a h reg granada Scorpio cosworth
I LIKE IT.... I WISHD ID HAD SOME DAY VAUXHALL SENATOR AND OPEL SENATOR
I lusted after one of these back in the mid nineties....never got there though! Always thought the 0-60 was better than 8.8 secs, had a figure of 7.9 in my head...
Maybe the difference between auto and manual.
Clear vauxhall oriented. The senator looked miles better than the scorpio imo but they have clearly not put the 24v scorpio here the 195bhp cosworth tuned one. That one was comparable performance wise with the other 3. This is the slower one. The 5 is miles ahead of the rest anyway.
@@bensmithkent22
The 24v Scorpio Cosworth wasn't available in 1990.
The E34 is better than the Rover & Ford. I don't think it's better than the Senator.
This E34 had the 12v M20B25 engine although it soon got the 24v M50B25 unit.
It's also a lot more expensive than the Senator but doesn't seem to offer anything more.
He said 62 not 60 so you were right
he gave the 3.0 12v figures not the 3.0 24v ones :)
I used to steal every one of these back in the day 😂 them rover sterling’s are monsters aswell,,brings back good memories, the manual senators were the best
i had a 19992 24v 3 lt ... to this day , nothing close to that beast
Looking at the rivals, that 5 series was really in a class of its own
😃😃😃 If you were a Pakistani taxi driver. Now they're all over council estates.
@@stringer-ik1pc I don’t think many 5 series were sold in Pakistan in the early 90s
@@guinnessharvey4476 They were here though.
"Ah yes, this is what it is all about, the smell of leather, the gleam of fine walnut finish, the detail of craftsmanship and the sweetnot of fine engineering"......not talking about the Vauxhall then!!!
The walnut was actually plastic. Still a great car though.
@@markrl75 the walnut actually genuine and made by a company in Italy
@@markrl75 "the walnut actually genuine and made by a company in Italy" - it's true, the Senator got real walnut wood in 1983.
At least not about the scrap heap BMW 5. 1990, worst car I've ever traveled in, disgusting comfort, disgusting interior.
@@Djeseret - Thank you very much for your reply was this actually solid walnut or veneer? Even Jaguar only used veneer. The car in the video is the second generation Senator B which is not the same as the earlier 1983 car. I still have the wooden door inserts from a 1998 Omega Elite which are actually 100% plastic. I found this out after they delaminated themselves from the door card. I had two Senators the first 1986 Senator A2 didn't have any wood at all (entry level model) and the second 1991 Senator B 3.0 24V CD did but unlike the later Omega the wooden bits didn't fall off so I cant be 100% sure but they really didn't look like genuine wood. I could be wrong.
Many of these were traffic police cars, so if it’s a police car, it sort of tells you something. !!! When Vauxhall made fantastic cars.
I have heard the traffic cops loved them & their fleet managers. I also heard the cops bought the entire last production batch from Vauxhall.
@@russcattell955i I heard the same. Apparently when production ended in 1993 certain Police forces bought additional stock to use, before eventually transitioning to the Omega. The Senator B Police spec cars came only in Manual, and the suspension was made slightly stiffer.
But wasn't the senator just a tarted up Omega? My pick would have been that glorious BMW. I have a 1991 BMW 325i in my garage now and its one of my favourite classics. Don't see many vauxhalls of that era now but that series 5 is still a common sight on the roads.
The Omega replaced the Senator sometime in the mid 90’s.
@yossarian GM and their fantastic naming policy 😂
It was based on the Omega A platform and slightly extended. Doesn't take anything away from how good it was, though. The reason why you see way more older BMW's on the road now is because Vauxhall didn't sell anywhere near the same volume as BMW for comparable cars. The brand consolidation in the executive car market into Mercedes, BMW and Audi happened quite early on. It's the same reason why you don't see many Citroen XMs or C6's on the road, as good as they were.
you snob
They're comparing specs within a price bracket, so the Beemer was already relatively steep with the weaker engine. The Scorpio was more slick in design but rough and workman-like in use. The BMW was the best 5-Series shell that will ever be made, and the Rover wasn't an SD1, so it wasn't worth a look. For it's broader niche, Vauxhall created some very exciting and, in one case, awesome and untouchable motors in the '80s and early '90s, all based on a basic recipe of companionable and dependable stodge. Even in its day, the Carlton GSI 3000 had Q-car cachet, and if you drive one today, you're 70% as lucky as a bloke who owns the Lotus.
i want a vauxhall now
I absolutely love Vauxhalls. I think this Senator suffered an identity crisis though. It's crossed between an American or Australian police cruiser, an Audi wannabe developed in Germany, but presented here like a Daimler!
I know these old dealer training videos are gently biased, but I've got to say that that Senator looks lovely inside and out.
I wonder how much he got paid and if he ever owned one !!!
Fern Britton’s dad good old Tony. He only passed away Dec19 aged 95. I doubt he ever had one
@@georgedesouza8937 fern brittons dad? Wow learn something new everyday
I had one identical except it was a manual. Lovely car.
8.55 no 5 series owner has a chauffeur:) love the vid though.
Back in the late 80s I did have a senator and it was a really nice car and now I have a new Vauxhall and a bmw but if the senator was resurrected I would go for one, you do have point with reliability on the Vauxhall but it’s good value for the money but both companies know how to take the mick with servicing them.
24v Senator great favourite with the police, goes like stink and can handle the corners. The Carlton GSi 24v with a manual box is great fun as well.
That Lexus he mentioned he saw in Harley street was an ls400,it’s probably still around!
Those old Slushmatic automatic transmissions certainly blunted the performance. I reckon you'd shave well over a second off the 0-60 times and add a few miles per hour on the top end using the 5 speed manual!
Review did not put 4x4 Scorpio 2.9 or The Cosworth 2.9 against the senator 24 valve which would be the correct review at the point in time
While I prefer the senators styling its shameful marketing ploy by vauxhall here. My uncle had the 24valve version of the scorp on an m plate pre bug eye and it would be more competitive performance wise with the others here. Around 195bhp they had I think which should see it outdrag the rover at least. As it happens his next car was a 24 valve sterling. He hated it. As a young boy i knew what felt faster it wasnt the rover. I loved the senators though and then the omega 3.0 elite that essentially replaced it.
Ferne Brittons dad.
Looks like an old skool Holden Commodore
This one could have been part of the GMH range in Australia. But costs & other issues prevented us seeing it .
Jolly spiffing old girl. Splendid indeed. Opel made the Senator and Vauxall`s model was The Royal if my memory is correct.
I had a vauxhall senator 3.0 ex police car never in police colours it was like faster than fast on a rolling road tester , 160 mph
The opening sound effect
Of the promo sounds like what you would hear walking into Satan's underworld kingdom of hell
Old telly is so calm
Yes look at the BMW it is still being used 21 years later and the Vauxhall Senator.....
I know, Beamers are lovely cars, but they cost a lot of money and to be frank, what you get for 20 grand with a Honda, Mazda or Lexus, Beamer owners pay 10 grand more for the same performance. Tru dat you are exclusive doh as you got the spinning propeller badge that is still proudly harking back to when Bayerische Moteren Werks built the WW2 bomber engines that rained death and destruction on an unprepared and peacful Europe but I ain't spending 10k extra for a badge that will only work to their tru potential on a private airfield. It's also ..so lovely when you barge up the motorways in your German cavalcade of Beamers Audi's and Mercs and flashing everyone to get over, but when I want to get past you in my lil 1.8 Ford turbo you'll swerve into all the lanes to block being passerd by a cheap car. Love it
Ford 2.9 and BMW 3.0 would have been the closer comparisons - guessing the comparison is on price so lower models are picked
Its vauxhall clearly trying to make the scorpio which is its direct rival look far worse. The cosworth tuned 24 valve scorp is closer performamce wise. Maybe a bit slower but this is just shameful scared marketing. Which seems odd as the senator looked way classier than a scorpio to me.
I really don't know who Tony Britton was and to be fair judging by the look and sound of him he was well above my paygrade. Nevertheless, I had a K plate 24v Manual, analogue dash ex Yorkshire 1TiMe, 60k on the clock when I bought it, 3 years old. Weird spec., must've been an unmarked car so the metallic blue instead of white, leather trim and walnut inside but heated seats were velour not levar, steel wheels not alloys, A/C but not in glove box, no sun roof.
But FFS a 3yr old 30K car for 8K in '95 worth a punt. Drived dead sedately don't think I every got a Sotheby's picture in the boot or any skis if I dropped the back seat. Got a washing machine once, then a fridge freezer plus numerous tents and kids in the back. This car was cavernous.
When you're on your own though it was a beast. Respec.
So, Vauxhall/Opel didn't slap a turbine on the side like many of their peers. What they did instead had some nod to fuel economy by using the computerised fuel injection to be frugal in the range 800 - about 2700rpm after 2700 you felt a jolt as the cylinders got all their food, and then did it take off. When you hit 4000rpm the idea was force ram so the butterfly valves opened up on the forced induction ram intakes and you felt like you'd been kicked in the back by a mugger while you're perusing some cakes in a cake shop. You redline that engine every gear change and there's very little in that class that'd compete.
I even made some little BMW stickers with a redline through them and slapped them on the drivers door everytime they pulled up at traffic lights trying to burn off some twat in a grandad car. The funniest thing I ever seen was me overtaking some posh nob in a brand new white 5 Series Alpina (1997 remember few M series back then) on a dc, as I passed he shoved it and took off, quarter mile up I was level - you could see him pedalling then the look on his face as I drew level then dropped to 4th. It was an effing beast. Not to mention RWD and the fun you have on blippin the throttle on bends when it's wet.
Never have I before or since named an inanimate object, but it was an evil car, dressed in conventional clothing. I called it Christine, because my wife wanted me to get rid of it. I sold it to someone at work but he didn't take care of it, so I bought it back a year later - my missis was livid. I changed the head gasket, cleaned up the valves, exhaust manifold, cleaned the dual ram and head bought it back to life. then Sold it on to some folks down South since I valued my marriage. Never ever owned another car like it.
I've still got the grille of mine! And a bnos carlton bonnet for what reason I hear you ask. Because I've got the space and it was a better time for motoring I can't forget!
He'd make a good Dr Who...
Before he died...yes
GM s "Vauxhall" line made some nice large cars that era
Great cars, I always wondered why Lotus chose the Carlton over the Senator, both cars seem to share the same bodyshell & make a Lotus Senator
There is a reason which I can't remember. I think it might have had something to do with which one sold better, as the Carlton was a more popular car with better sales figures. Having said that, they did actually draw up plans to use the Senator to begin with.
Director: “20% more wooden please Tony, and 30%more sycophantic scripted”
Tony: “No problem”
E34 BMW was still the benchmark and the best car here,still quite a few on the road.For build and engineering it is a few rungs higher than the others.Had a 525i SE which I took to 220,000 miles with just routine servicing,they owe a lot to the E34.
They really were fantastic cars, you're absolutely right. In this case, the only Vauxhall (Opel) I could ever think of as a genuine competitor to the E34 in terms of build and engineering would be the Senator B. It was arguably just as good as the E34 in a lot of areas, but just didn't sell very well. The thing that sets most BMW's apart from their competition as prestige cars is the way they handle. The E32, 34, 38 and 39 etc all handle fantastically on the road and feel like much smaller cars than they are. To be fair, the Senator earned that reputation too, which is why the Police used them.
If you think that Tony Britton actually believed any of that stuff you don't deserve to own a Vauxhall Senator!
Cops loved the 24valve until the 850 T5 took over
I've owned two Senator 24v CD Autos, a Volvo 850 T5 CD, and a Volvo S70R. All were great cars, but both Volvos had to be remapped to 310 bhp to match the Senators performance. I now drive a Jag 4.2 XJR with 450 bhp...it's great....but I'd gladly swap it for a mint Senator 24v. The best cars I ever owned. Fantastic performance and a fraction of the maintenance costs of the others.
now I want to go and see what HubNut makes of one 30years later 😁
Out off all those cars you only ever see the bmw still around shows you the build quality.. don’t see any senators anymore
One reason. Rust. However everything else was very solid
The Senator great car though it was turned out to be something of a rust bucket. Horrible corrosion problems on rear wheel arches which was expensive and difficult to repair. We had 3 year old police cars where this rust was already apparent and very noticeable on white bodywork. Shame really because so much about those cars was excellent.
60% of Senators got stolen by thieves or smashed by Police.
Didn't Quentin Wilson tell people to avoid the manual as it was 'too fast!?' Even though it was a great car you never saw BMW back then trying to convince people to buy their cars! It was quite sad looking back how British Leyland pulled every marketing trick to get people to buy their cars! Great to watch today though! :-)
Senator 24v has a bit of a cult following now and were definitely quite cool, mainly because of the engine. The Sterling is slightly irrelevant. They picked the wrong Scorpio, 2.9 Cosworth would’ve been a better comparison. Though to be honest, I doubt BMW lost any sleep given how good the E34 was and still is regarded to this day.
So glad for the true car fans here the cosworth 24v scorp was closer on power and performance to the rest here . Shameful vauxhall shameful. I still prefer the senny but at least make it a fair fight.
@@bensmithkent22well you'd think so, but they were comparing on the closest price bracket to the 24v so in that sense it was fair. The takeaway here is that you could buy a fully loaded Senator for the price of the non-Cosworth Scorpio, etc. Otherwise the test could go to the n'th degree by comparing a Cosworth to an Irmscher Senator.
I will say if all these cars BMW is still a common sight on road's - worldwide
i have the Senator CD in Rembrandt-Silber Bj. 1991 92.000km no Rost and perfekt. in all details. Velour Polster and dor and all.
Very nice doesnt belong to a sentence with vauxhall in any part of it.
If you are going to pitch a 24v vauxhall against a Ford Granada Scorpio, why use the 2.9 12v granny, when they should have used the 24v Cosworth Granada Scorpio.. Would have been been much fairer contest..
Marketing shameful by vauxhall.
The Cosworth Scorpio would still lose in performance terms by a decisive margin. The stats quoted for the Senator are very much under estimates. These cars could hit a genuine 158 mph no problem, and had massive mid range grunt. I know this as I owned two of them, both 24v autos with leather trim and analogue dash, the very best combination. They were a genuine match for the original Audi S8. Nothing else came close. I currently drive a Jaguar X350 XJR 4.2 with allegedly double the power at 400bhp. I would gladly swap it for a mint condition 24V Senator in a heartbeat.
maybe having a different name was also the isue
Surprised they bothered as it was going soon
OPEL Senator!!
No
All 4 cars have no records against them now or MOT's.....more than likely scrapped
He is seen not wearing a seatbelt and then unfastens it when at a standstill.
Worra nob. Of course, he's playing that for all it's worth.
(Director) And CUT!
( Tony) Right give me my money you peasant and the keys to the BMW ( Tony exits the car park while laughing and lighting a cigar with a £50) Senator my Arse I’d be crucified down the golf club!!
"we professionals" he must have been retired a decade. It's a fascinating insight; it's a dying establishment's voice that must have seemed archaic to the dealers that received this. No wonder they were unable to compete with the Germans.
Vauxhall is still crap to this day, as you probably know.
@@lafingas555 I don't think I've ever even driven one tbh. I find it fascinating that post 80s boom this was how they marketed to executives
Indeed, although the Senator was also German.
@@nicholassigsworth7654
The irony in his comment
The 24v senator would run rings round it’s counterparts
@@lafingas555 have you driven one?
Out of the four cars BMW still holds it value....
In the Scrapyard - like 99% of all E34s and Senators have ended up.
As a swap for a bag of weed on a council estate. 😃😃😃
@@stringer-ik1pc 😂😂😂
@@stringer-ik1pc are you from a council estate? The comments are littered with comments from you about council estates. It seems you know a lot about them, more than BMWs?
@@Stuart3162 no, but you are with a name like 'Stu'. I suppose it was a Toss up between Wayne. Dean. Or Stuart for your parents (Tracey and Gary.) 😃😃😃
The Senator CD was easily the better car out of the Scorpio and Sterling. It lost a lot of value from new but less so than the Ford or Rover. That tells you all you need to know.
Gosh it had a compact disc
Ugly car
BMW still looks good today
Especially on a council estate. 😃😃😃
Better than modern BMW's anyway.
oh so you like a villans car then
Rust!
The specs ahown are wrong
The senator and Carlton were peak Vauxhall. Nothing they have made since has been anywhere near as good. In fact most recent offerings have been bland, boring porridge. The only thing which let the Senator down was the horrendous grille.
It’s a Vauxhall……Luton motor??? 😢😢😢
It looks like the Audi V8
They weren't bad cars but this marketing is sickening.
I remember when Vauxhall made cars like this. Nowadays it is all Mocca/Grandland rubbish.
Obviously Vauxhall were aiming this caar at the raather more discerning gentlemen out there and thought that by putting an "old codger" behind the wheel, they would sell them. LOL.
How faar marketing has come in 30 years! And happily so.
I agree there is a limit between all the 20 year old youtubers driving around in leased supercars/hypercars and a "one foot in the grave" approach to selling top of the range cars but still....
Too look at Vauxhall now it makes me sad to see how far they have fallen. Cheap French tat nowadays, no luxury, no performance, a far cry from the days of the Lotus Carlton or even their more recent VXR offerings. What a shame.
Good car German build too but to compare it to a 5 Series sorry
Worst car I ever bought... it went through two batteries, a new starter, new alternator, new regulator all within 3 months of purchase (second hand) - handed it back and got a full refund !
Incidentally if you type in the reg of the Ford (H622 YLG) into the mot checker it comes back as a Vauxhall Astra first registered in 1991 with a failed MOT in 2008 !!
Wonderfully cheesy, old chap...... don’t you say.
mudflaps...
Хорошая машина
i HAVE A GREEN 24 valve 30 manual i swear mine will do 168 mph maybe more ive done it a few times. Where he gets 148 mph mines ticking over at 148mph ,. But the tyres ,get warm. Its fast even today , very fast . but it loves fuel .Now i have a bmw 728i that is just as good .
czcams.com/video/YmYioV4E6nU/video.html
Opel Senator c30se Manual on german autobahn
Time for a flashback....that performance is really outstanding even under todays standard!
Sounds like yours was a Lotus Carlton with 168mph going on!