Vauxhall Viva SE (1) - 10 December 2018

My photographs are intended not only for a contemporary audience but for a future I shall not see. For this reason, although I am often deficient in purpose, I try on occasion to record things which are necessarily transient and cars really do fit this category.

The original Vauxhall Viva (in three series) was on the UK market from 1963-1979 and more than 1.5m were produced. The name returned to UK roads in 2015 when it replaced the Vauxhall Agila. In Europe the model is known as the Opel Karl. Production of the Karl/Viva is due to finish by the end of 2019.

I drove this example, a courtesy car, for a day and it really is quite good. I prefer automatics but its manual gear box was smooth, the vehicle was comfortable on my short journeys and not lacking in power although a speedometer reading up to 140mph might be a little optimistic.

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