Public Servant Lifestyle

"It could be easy - in the luxurious surroundings of the Omega MV6 - to forget this is an estate car." according to our occassional test-driver, Lesley Ainsworth.

"I have to own up to a love of the V6, preferably over 2.5 ltrs and ideally linked to a smooth, responsive auto gearbox if we are talking anything other than a sports job. So when those nice people at Vauxhall sent me the Omega MV6 to test, I was on their side as soon as I saw the specification, i.e. 3.2 litre, V6 and automatic! High expectations can however sometimes fail to be met but thankfully not in this case. With three gearbox setting options to go at, sports, standard and winter, all tastes are catered for, and in each case effortless delivery of the of the 217PS is achieved.

"Huge space around the driver is complemented by superbly comfortable, supportive, leather seating with electronic adjustment which combined with the tilting steering wheel, ensures a good driving position for all. It’s easy in such luxurious surroundings to forget this is an estate car, it steers well and accurately, and stopping power is good, certainly in proportion to its increased size."

Equipment & Interior

"All estates have more space than their saloon counterparts, some more than others. This Omega has acres of load space and something called ALIAS (Additional Load Intrusion Avoidance System) designed to give greater passenger protection against loads and baggage sliding forwards in a frontal collision, no doubt this had something to with the high marks achieved in NCAP crash tests. Passengers have bags of room too, both front and rear.

"Trim quality is fair but you get the feeling that it will not stand the test of time and I would expect some rattles and visible signs of wear a couple of years down the road.
My pet gripe, not just on this Omega, is the over complication of sound equipment /air con / heating controls/sat nav etc. Please keep things simple, not just for the technologically inept like me but in the name of safety, comfort and good ergonomic design! From what I’ve just said, you will gather that the Omega has all the whistles and bells we have come to expect from this class of car, plus a few more into the bargain, so no complaints there.

Value For Money

"A luxury load carrier that’s fun to drive and good to look at almost inevitably has to have at least one downside. Unfortunately, in this case there are a number of negative factors to consider. Hefty depreciation is a certainty, as are high fuel costs, high insurance and a far from comfortable emission rating for company car tax purposes. It genuinely vexes me to mark such a car down for value for money, but such is the current climate for large engined cars. More’s the pity."

Key Features

More information available in Test Drive