In late 2016, when I was looking for a car to replace my beloved 1996 Rover 216 SLI that was more modern, more reliable, and more suitable for my now lady wife to learn to drive in, I looked at a couple of models, one of which was the new Vauxhall Viva. This is a completely different car to the identically named one built at Ellesmere Port from 1963 to 1979, in fact this one is assembled in South Korea by the former Daewoo Motor Company (remember them?) and is largely the same as the Chevrolet Spark.
My parents owned a Vauxhall Viva in the 1970s, and it was an absolutely terrible car. The design had been updated by the time of the HC series Viva of 1971-9, but the underpinnings were still fundamentally the same, which meant a front engined rear-drive layout with leaf springs at the rear. The original HA Viva of 1963 had a 1.1 litre engine, which was subsequently enlarged to 1256cc for most models until the end of production in 1979. This made for sluggish performance (apart from in the sporty Magnum and Firenza variants) and "interesting" handling, amongst other characteristics....
My mother often tells me of how the Viva used to break down on a frequent basis, had uncomfortable seats and was rusting, even at just a few years old. Many people complain about British Leyland being the poster child of British built automotive incompetence in the 1970s, but Ford and Vauxhall were not necessarily much better. The technically unsophisticated Viva was particularly bad, especially compared to the Cavalier and, its front wheel drive replacement, the Astra.
Back in March, I had to take my previous car, a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze, in for some warranty work at the nearest Vauxhall dealership before the warranty expired. (Vauxhall and Chevrolet were once part of the same company until earlier this year, and Chevrolets were sold in Britain until 2015.) I asked for a courtesy car, and was given a 2016 Viva SE.
This little chap had a 1.0 litre three cylinder engine with 75 bhp, as all Vivas do (as well as the identical Opel Karl, sold on the continent), and a five speed manual gearbox. It wasn't very clean when I received it, so I will not be revealing the name of the dealer where I had the Chevy serviced....
My first impression was of a small light car with a tall body and relatively pleasant styling, albeit nothing exceptional. I spent around 28 hours with it, and came away glad that I had forgone the Viva over my lady wife's MG3. It is by no means a bad car, but it did highlight to me that the MG3 is, surprisingly if you read most of the reviews, even better.
Like most small three cylinder units, the engine needs a fairly heavy right foot to make decent progress, but does have a relatively pleasant sound. Being a very light car, it was easy to drive and park, and the gearbox and clutch were pleasant to use. The steering, like many cars these days, was much too light and devoid of feel, and could be made even lighter with a little city button on the dashboard. For many, this would be a good thing, but for the enthusiastic driver, not being able to place the car accurately on the road makes for a less than enjoyable experience. The MG3, with more power and a better chassis, is much better in this respect.
The build quality of the car was overall perfectly acceptable, but with hard scratchy plastics (the bugbear of many motoring writers) on many surfaces, very light doors and some cheap feeling switches, it was far more Daewoo than Vauxhall. At least the standard equipment is reasonable, with air conditioning (an optional extra) fitted to this particular model, along with foglights, lane departure warning, Bluetooth and the aformentioned dual mode power steering. The top of the range (not that there is a very broad one) does have satellite navigation, alloy wheels and more luxurious interior trim.
For a city car, the interior space is OK, although the boot is quite small, and the rear seats are a bit cramped. Similarly priced rivals such as the Dacia Sandero and MG3, however, offer more space and equipment for less money.
Where both the Dacia and MG fall down, though, is running costs. The Viva's 1.0 litre engine is extremely economical and falls in a low tax bracket. It is also very cheap to insure (although the Sandero and MG3 are not exactly expensive), and servicing costs are likely to be low. For a single person or couple living in a city, the Viva does make sense. However, those who regularly carry luggage or more people, and those who frequently venture beyond city limits are likely to find it dynamically unsatisfying. A Skoda Citygo, Volkswagen Up or Seat Mii remains the best choice in the city car class, with the Dacia Sandero and MG3 offering more space and equipment, but with compromises.
