15 reasons why we love the Vauxhall Chevette

Arriving on the scene in the middle of the 1970s (1^st May 1975, to be precise), the Chevette heralded a new departure for Vauxhall, its clean, simple looks a world away from the more elaborate styling of the Victor and Cresta from the 1960s.

The Chevette certainly did the business sales-wise, becoming a familiar fixture on Britain's roads during the late 1970s and early 1980s in its various hatchback, saloon, estate and panel van guises.

As we'll see, the Chevette's talents didn’t end there – it was good to drive for a car of its size, it made some pretty big waves on the rally circuit and it even made an appearance in a British cinema classic.

Nowadays, the Chevette is fondly remembered as a British motoring classic. Chevette in good condition are highly sought after, and will always need protecting with some classic auto insurance.

Here, then, are 15 reasons we love the Vauxhall Chevette.

1. It was Britain's first supermini

OK, hatchbacks had been around for a few years by 1975 – the Austin Maxi, which made its debut in 1969, was the UK's first – but the Chevette can lay claim to being Britain's first genuine supermini-sized hatchback, rivalling Europe's already hugely popular Renault 5 and Fiat 127 and stealing a whole year's march on a certain Ford Fiesta.

The Chevette can congratulate itself, then, on kicking off one of the UK's best-loved and biggest-selling car sectors.

2. Its looks were ahead of their time

The Chevette was developed by General Motors, and marketed in America as the Chevrolet Chevette. GM used a common design for its variants for Chevrolet (USA), Vauxhall (UK), and Germany's Opel Kadett, as well as the Holden Gemini (Australia) and Isuzu Gemini (Japan).

But 'our' member of the Chevette family had some rather smart looks all of its own.

It was designed chiefly for aerodynamic reasons – less wind resistance – but that famous 'droop-snoot' nose, tapering forwards and down from the bonnet to the front bumper, was quite avant-garde in the mid-1970s.

It had recently been seen, to great effect, on another Vauxhall model, the short-lived but fondly remembered Firenza High Performance coupé. The latter is now a cast-iron classic car, and anyone lucky to own a 'droop-snoot' Firenza will waste no time in pairing it with some reliable classic car insurance.

In this way, the Vauxhall Chevette stole a march on its General Motors counterparts, the Opel Kadett or Chevrolet Chevette, with their more conventional 'faces'. If anything, in fact, the little Vauxhall's looks had more in common with the design language over at GM's sportiest brand, Pontiac.

Then there were those recessed front headlights: they may strictly speaking have been a slight design flaw, apt to let in snow and dirt, and were eventually replaced by flush-fitting lights when the car was facelifted in 1979 – but they were nothing if not distinctive.

3. It had some proper rally cachet

A group of enterprising Vauxhall dealers, Dealer Team Vauxhall, wanted to enter the light, nippy, fine-handling Chevette into a few rally championships – and General Motors agreed, believing that some rally success would increase brand prestige.

To do this, DTV needed to produce and sell a road-going version of the rally car, according to homologation regulations under which, to make their race version legal, car makers must build a road car version, usually in small numbers.

Enter the Vauxhall Chevette HS and its 1980 successor, the HSR – equipped with a 2.3-litre engine that put out 135 bhp and could do the 0-60 standing sprint in just under nine seconds.

The HS became a successful rally car, earning victories for drivers including Pentti Airikkala and Jimmy McRae. It even managed to put up a decent challenge to the Ford Escort RS, the era's dominant rally car, winning the British Open Rally Championship for drivers in 1979 and for manufacturers in 1981.

With their silver bodywork, red stripes, tartan interior trim and rear spoiler, the HS and HSR production cars had the looks to match their rallying prowess. They were a lot of fun to drive, too (including a top speed of 117mph, some 7mph faster than the all-conquering Escort RS).

Some 800 were built and their sporty cachet, not to mention the rally success of the DTV version, gave even humble 1.3 hatchback Chevettes a certain kerb appeal for years afterward.

Nowadays, a well-maintained HS can fetch well into three figures. Acquire one of these and you have a genuine British rallying icon on your drive. Don't forget to team it with some specialist classic car insurance.

4. It rescued Vauxhall's reputation

During the 1950s and 1960s, Vauxhall acquired an unenviable reputation for churning out rather rust-prone models such as the Victor, Velox and Cresta saloons. A somewhat muddled brand image didn't help the way Vauxhall were perceived, either – their place in the larger, US-based General Motors family meant that many of their cars of the 1950s and 60s bore a certain American styling that often didn't find favour with British buyers.

The Chevette changed all that. It wasn't just those individual, contemporary looks: its versatility (the various body styles: hatch, two- and four-door saloons, estate), lightness (846kg in hatchback form) and agility made it a big seller – in fact, Vauxhall's baby was the UK's best-selling hatchback from 1975 to 1978, and some 415,000 Chevettes were sold here by the time production ceased in 1984.

The Chevette's big brother, the first-generation Cavalier, bore the same looks and started selling well, too. Vauxhall were on the road to recovery, and on a journey that would eventually see them vie with the Rover Group as the UK's second biggest-selling marque at the end of the 1980s.

5. It was pretty good to drive

Rear-wheel drive; a front suspension system that used coil springs and telescopic dampers; rack-and-pinion steering; that sub-850kg weight: all of this resulted in a car which, the road testers agreed, handled well. One tester, for Thames TV's Drive In programme, described the Chevette's handling at the time as "way above average for this size of car", with a "very well-balanced suspension, steering and braking". Something of a driver's car, then: impressive and unusual in a small car of the time.

6. There was a luxury model

OK, we're joking. But we do like the fact that the upscale GLS version came with velour trim and – wait for it – cigarette lighter as standard. A period piece, doubtless loved and cared for by owners to this day, and equipped with some first-rate classic car insurance.

7. The Chevanne variant was one of the better-looking vans around

Do you remember the Bedford Chevanne? Produced by Vauxhall's commercial vehicles arm and pressed into fleet service by the likes of Rediffusion Television, Everest Double Glazing, Lunn Poly and the AA, the Chevanne was a reasonably common sight on Britain's motorways, high streets and trading estates through the late 70s and early 80s.

Essentially a Chevette estate with panelling replacing the rear two windows, it was one of the more car-like, and thus better-looking, vans of the time.

8. The special editions were fun

The first-generation Vauxhall Astra came along in 1979 and, as you'd expect from a name that's still going strong today, it was a pretty instant success, offering a step up in luxury, power and build quality from its smaller Chevette sibling.

To keep the Chevette's end up in the last few years of its life, Vauxhall brought out a tempting selection of special editions until its eventual retirement in 1984.

First of these was the Chevette Special, which boasted push-button radio, tinted glass and metallic paint. Other specials included the sporty Blackwatch with its black and silver paint, red graphics, flared arches and low-profile wheels. If you can find one of these in good condition, you've got your hands on a genuine classic – and you'll want the right classic car insurance to accompany it.

9. It was the last time Vauxhall went its own way

Vauxhall was part of the larger General Motors global family – also featuring Chevrolet in the US, Opel over in Germany, plus Australia's Holden, Daewoo in South Korea, Japan's Isuzu and others. The Vauxhall Chevette, however, had its own distinct 'face', conceived in Britain by Vauxhall designer Wayne Cherry, and kept its own discrete identity.

After this, though, Vauxhalls would simply be badge-engineered Opels – the Astra an Opel Kadett for the UK market, the Cavalier a British Opel Ascona and so on. All hail the Chevette, then, for being a last stand of Brit individuality.

10. Vauxhall really did their market research with this one

The Vauxhall market research team certainly went to work with the Chevette. First up, they employed an outside agency to canvas opinion on the future car way back in November 1973, 18 months before the Chevette hit UK showrooms.

The agency sent teams of interviewers around the London streets – and then invited around 700 potential Chevette customers to a kind of mini motor show at Earls Court's West Centre Hotel.

There, the focus group was presented with nine cars – including a Chevette, bearing no badge or identifying marks, alongside an Austin Allegro, a Ford Escort and Vauxhall’s own Viva.

Guests were asked to complete a 77-question form on the cars – and, encouragingly, 32 per cent of respondents said that they would buy the Chevette, alongside 16 per cent for the Allegro, 15 per cent for the Ford and a mere eight per cent for the outgoing Viva.

11. The TV advert!

Complete with a quartet of nuns, and an inadvisably large cohort of farmyard geese exiting from the boot….

12. No, wait, the 'book a test drive' advert is even more inspired…

In this one, a rather handsome butterscotch Chevette dashes headlong down a railway line, pursued by a steam train, and then slaloms around a bumper car track before hurtling off a ramp onto a waiting ship at West Bay, Dorset. This advert elevated the humble car advert to a form of cinematic mini-masterpiece.

13. It was a great car for Cheshire

From the early 1960s, Vauxhall had developed their new factory at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, to become their small-car production centre, with the first Vauxhall Viva driving off Ellesmere's assembly line in June 1964.

Over the following decades, the Cheshire factory became a hugely important part of Vauxhall's manufacturing operations: but it owes its busiest period, and peak employment, to the Chevette. All variants of the car were made at Ellesmere Port from 1975 – and employment at the site peaked at 12,000 that very year.

14. There are some neat styling touches

We're a big fan of the recessed headlights of the pre-facelift models, even if they perhaps weren't the last word in practicality. We also admire how, on the facelifted saloon version, the fuel cap is hidden behind the plastic ventilation cover, making both sides of the car look identical. Neat.

15. It became a bit of a film star

Remember Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? The fondly remembered sitcom wound up in 1974, but James Bolam and Rodney Bewes brought best mates Bob and Terry back for one last hurrah in 1976, with a full-length feature film, The Likely Lads, which saw the Geordie duo set off for a caravanning holiday in Northumberland with their wife and girlfriend respectively.

Everything goes hilariously awry, as you might expect from this duo and from the brilliant writing partnership of Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais: but of interest to us here is the fact that Bob tows the caravan with a very pristine-looking red Chevette hatch (L specification, complete with cigarette lighter, clock and tartan cloth trim, since you ask).

As the film goes on, Bob and Terry get into their usual amount of scrapes – and the poor Chevette isn't immune either, having its wheels stolen, a window smashed so the twosome can escape a guest house after a seduction has gone wrong, and even being crashed across the carriageway.

A demanding role, then, for Vauxhall's still-fresh supermini hatchback – but one which it plays with customary elegance and style.

Protect your vintage Vauxhall with classic car insurance

We love the Vauxhall Chevette, and we know you love your classic car – and want to protect it with some specialist classic car insurance.

At Lancaster Insurance, we can call on more than 35 years of experience in providing cover for every type of classic imaginable.

Contact us for a classic car insurance quote today.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.