Vauxhall Cascada Previews Your Next Eurozone Rental Car

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Are you planning a vacation to Portugal, Spain, Italy or a similarly depressed Eurozone country in the next year or so, you’ll have another choice for topless motoring on your way to the topless beaches.

The Vauxhall/Opel Cascada is based on the Insignia Astra platform and is being positioned as an Audi A5 competitor. The badge won’t hold up against the Audi, but the Cascada looks sharp in photos, even if it shares a moniker with an awful techno group. The Cascada gets the HiPer Strut front suspension Insignia VXR/Regal GS, but the Cascada will be carrying golf clubs and passengers, not helmets and extra brake pads, so it’s a bit of a moot point.

The rest of the blogosphere thinks that the Cascada will arrive here as a Buick. Why the hell not? GM gets some more scale out of the car, and it will have the Chrysler 200 squarely in its sights. Chevrolet has two “surprises” in store for 2013, but who’s to say that there’s nothing in store for Buick either?



Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Another_pleb Another_pleb on Oct 18, 2012

    Nice car but terrible name. GM Europe should get a name from their back catalogue like Cresta, Velox, Victor, Ascona or Manta.

  • Motormouth Motormouth on Oct 18, 2012

    Cascada looks good - just hope GM Europe didn't have to pawn the family silver to bring it to market 'cause it's not exactly a high-margin big-volume product.

  • AZFelix 2015 Sonata Limited72k when purchased, 176k miles currentlyI perform all maintenance and repairs except for alignment, tire mounting, tire patching, and glass work (tint and passenger left due to rock hit). Most parts purchased through rockauto.com.Maintenance and repairs during three years of ownership:Front rotors and all brake pads upgraded shortly after purchase.Preparing for 17th oil change (full synthetic plus filter c.$50), one PCV valve.Timing & accessory belts, belt tensioner.Coolant full flush and change.Fibrous plastic material engine under tray replaced by aftermarket solid plastic piece $110.One set of tires (c.$500 +installation) plus two replacements and a number of patches due to nails, etc. Second set coming soon.Hood struts $30.Front struts, rear shocks, plus sway bar links, front ball joints, tie rod ends, right CV axle (large rock on freeway damaged it and I took the opportunity to redo the rest of items on this list).Battery c.$260.Two sets of spark plugs @ $50/set.Three sets of cabin and engine filters.Valve cover gasket (next week).Averages out to c.$1400 per year for the past three years. Minor driver seat bolster wear, front rock chips, and assorted dents & dings but otherwise looks and drives very well.
  • 3-On-The-Tree 2014 Ford F150 Ecoboost 3.5L. By 80,000mi I had to have the rear main oil seal replaced twice. Driver side turbo leaking had to have all hoses replaced. Passenger side turbo had to be completely replaced. Engine timing chain front cover leak had to be replaced. Transmission front pump leak had to be removed and replaced. Ford renewed my faith in Extended warranty’s because luckily I had one and used it to the fullest. Sold that truck on caravan and got me a 2021 Tundra Crewmax 4x4. Not a fan of turbos and I will never own a Ford again much less cars with turbos to include newer Toyotas. And I’m a Toyota guy.
  • Duke Woolworth Weight 4800# as I recall.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X '19 Nissan Frontier @78000 miles has been oil changes ( eng/ diffs/ tranny/ transfer). Still on original brakes and second set of tires.
  • ChristianWimmer I have a 2018 Mercedes A250 with almost 80,000 km on the clock and a vintage ‘89 Mercedes 500SL R129 with almost 300,000 km.The A250 has had zero issues but the yearly servicing costs are typically expensive from this brand - as expected. Basic yearly service costs around 400 Euros whereas a more comprehensive servicing with new brake pads, spark plugs plus TÜV etc. is in the 1000+ Euro region.The 500SL servicing costs were expensive when it was serviced at a Benz dealer, but they won’t touch this classic anymore. I have it serviced by a mechanic from another Benz dealership who also owns an R129 300SL-24 and he’ll do basic maintenance on it for a mere 150 Euros. I only drive the 500SL about 2000 km a year so running costs are low although the fuel costs are insane here. The 500SL has had two previous owners with full service history. It’s been a reliable car according to the records. The roof folding mechanism needs so adjusting and oiling from time to time but that’s normal.
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