Vauxhall Astra 1.4i Hatchback

...having. I settled for a Vauxhall Astra LS 1.4 litre 16 valve five-door hatchback to replace my Rover 414. Again a five-door hatchback with a 1.4 litre 16 valve petrol engine. The Rover itself was a 1997 built car and although Rover has revamped the body it is basically the same car as the present Rover 45 with the 1.4 engine so for the benefit of this review I shall endeavour to compare the two cars.

The Astra comes new with a starting ...
...Engine

The Vauxhall Power unit is a 1.4 litre Z 14 XE Ecotec engine. It is a gutsy little engine but it does require quite high revs to pull away from a stationary position. The Rover K16 on the other hand is a lower revving engine, which seems to have far more torque at the bottom end and will pull away with just the slightest hint of throttle being applied. Both vehicles are at home on the motorway and seem to have plenty of power ... more

When you first get in your car in the morning and start it up the last thing that you want to hear is a knocking noise. If like me you know and understand the workings of the internal or should it be infernal combustion engine then one of two things happen, you either dismiss it out of hand or start to worry. In my case it was worry. I knew instantly that it was one of two things one not expensive to repair and the other well ouch springs to mind and so it was then that I began my search for a new car.

After much deliberation, and please be aware that I deal with car engines on a daily basis, and well know the problems the various manufacturers are having. I settled for a Vauxhall Astra LS 1.4 litre 16 valve five-door hatchback to replace my Rover 414. Again a five-door hatchback with a 1.4 litre 16 valve petrol engine. The Rover itself was a 1997 built car and although Rover has revamped the body it is basically the same car as the present Rover 45 with the 1.4 engine so for the benefit of this review I shall endeavour to compare the two cars.

The Astra comes new with a starting price of £11980 for the base LS model. There are a multitude of different options that can be added such as different radios, a sunroof and alternative paint options to name but three that will increase the purchase price of the vehicle. Mine is in a metallic paint called Star silver and this would have added £275 to the bill when new. For mine a 2002-registered car on a 51 plate I paid £7995. The car being 8 months old and having covered 14000 miles, in other words a typical ex fleet car. The Rover was also a similar mileage when I purchased it and today I would expect to pay a similar price for a vehicle of the same age to the Astra.

The Engine

The Vauxhall Power unit is a 1.4 litre Z 14 XE Ecotec engine. It is a gutsy little engine but it does require quite high revs to pull away from a stationary position. The Rover K16 on the other hand is a lower revving engine, which seems to have far more torque at the bottom end and will pull away with just the slightest hint of throttle being applied. Both vehicles are at home on the motorway and seem to have plenty of power in reserve when overtaking at speed of 70 miles an hour and above. Reliability wise the Vauxhall wins hand down as the Rover is beset with a myriad of problems as I found out to my cost. From a drivers point of view I also think the Astra wins again as it is more responsive which can get you out of all sorts of problems in traffic, but in reality it is very close called.

Economy

I was happy with the Rovers economy it gave me a return of on average 29mpg urban and over 40 mpg on the motorway where lets just say I don’t take any prisoners. The Astra however is delivering around 34 mpg urban, which is more than the quoted figure of 29.1 mpg and around 49 mpg on the motorway. This may be in part due to the fuel saver tyres, which are fitted. So no contest the Astra wins hands down.

Braking.

The Astra’s brakes are best described as efficient which is no surprise but the Rovers are something else, they are super efficient and have got me out of trouble a number of times. Drive them both at a steady 50 mph and break hard and you will feel the difference the Rover being very positive without snatching will stop in a straight line where as the Astra tends to shimmy a little and is not quite so positive. The Rover wins.

Gearbox and Clutch.

The Rover box is five speed, it is slick and easy to use and the clutch is easy to use but is quite heavy to use, however the gearbox falls down in use due to its inability to go straight into reverse gear from a forward gear. Rover recommends that you wait 20 seconds before engaging reverse gear after coming to a halt. Now that’s quite a wait in traffic believe me. Try engaging it any sooner and unless you are lucky you will get a violent grating noise, which can do a lot of damage over a period of time. The Astra suffers no such problems but the gear change is not quite so slick. The gear change seems to drag, whether or not this is unique to this particular car I don’t know. The clutch is as light as a feather but it has a very high biting point, which has taken me a while to adapt to. Again its close called but the Astra wins.

Steering and Suspension

Both vehicles have power assisted steering as standard. Both are precise and responsive to the touch. The Rovers steering though is noticeably heavier but not so as to make it uncomfortable. The Rover does score points though with a better adjustable steering column. Suspension wise the Rover is definatly softer and more prone to assorted knocks and bangs. Being softer it has the downside of making the car less stable while cornering at speed. The Astra just seems to plough through whatever you throw at it without any effort. The Astra wins again.

Comfort and Interior

The Rover has seats that are like a comfortable chair, so comfortable that you seem to sink in, but alas there is no lumbar support for the driver. The Astra on the other hand has firm seats which although not quite so comfortable do offer excellent support, in fact the drivers seat can be moved in almost every direction which makes for one very comfortable drive. Both vehicles will hold five people but I would suggest in both cases that the smaller people sit in the back. The rear seat belts in the Astra are worthy of mention as they are all three point belts where as the centre belt on the Rover is a lap belt which requires adjustment by every user. Air conditioning is supplied as standard on the Astra where as the Rover makes do with an electric sunroof. As much as I like fresh air, air con wins the day for me. As regards upholstery and interior trim the Astra is finished in black, which shows every cat or dog hair in existence and they are the devils own job to shift, while on the Rover nothing ever showed up. Both vehicles have a simple but adequate instrument panel, the Astra though displays the outside temperature within the radio display which is a plus point as it will alert you to icy roads. The Astra wins here by a narrow margin as the air conditioning wins the day for me. I should point out that use of the air conditioning will increase fuel consumption.

Entertainment

No contest here the Astra wins hands down with the inclusion of a six speaker three wave band stereo CD and Radio. Turn it up and you can feel the noise with no distortion at all in the sound. There is also a six-button remote control fitted to the steering wheel, allowing you to change from CD to radio and vice versa, change radio channels and adjust the volume. The Rover fails badly here with its four-speaker stereo three waveband radio cassette. Turn this one up and hear the distortion straight away, very disappointing. Its perhaps best described as adequate.

Load Space

Very important this as a car is no good if it won’t carry the weekly shopping and both of these will. Here the Rover wins, not due to space although the boot is marginally bigger but by the simple inclusion of a release lever beside the drivers seat. Vauxhall take note as its not much fun when it’s raining searching for a key with your arms full of shopping.

Security and Safety

Again the Rover wins by the inclusion of an alarm system and an engine immobiliser where the Astra relies solely on an immobiliser unless you pay extra. I should add that the Astra’s radio is security coded and has a removable front panel. The Rover comes with only a driver’s air bag; the Astra supplies a passenger air bag as well. Full marks again to the Astra.

Insurance and Servicing

The Rover was Group 8 insurance and I’m very pleased to say that the Astra is Group 4 so I was paying £320 for the Rover and now I pay the princely sum of £221, which includes Green Flag Cover, so you know which wins there. I can only show the costs of the first service on the Astra which is due in January this will be between £70 and £100 dependant on which main dealer I use. For the Rover the figure quoted was almost £180, so again Vauxhall win. After market parts made by the original equipment manufacturers are readily available for both vehicles if you fancy having a go at servicing yourself, but please don’t try it if you are not confident of your ability. I have seen the results of botched servicing, at the least it can be embarrassing at the worst tragic. The Astra came with two years warranty subject to a yearly service and AA cover.

At the end of the day though it all boils down to preferences, and my preference now is the Astra. Perhaps you will understand when I say that it’s more of a driver’s car. I enjoy driving it, I feel safe and the car looks good. I had considered another Rover but the engine problems that are epidemic throughout the Rover range put me off. I’m glad they did.

<<UPDATE>>

After almost 18 months I can say that without doubt that I am very impressed with this car. I have suffered no problems of any kind with it, every morning even during the coldest of weather it starts first time and yes it is parked outside. It does not use a drop of oil between services and it has not cost me a single penny except for servicing which has cost around the £100 mark for both services from the local Priory dealership.

The only question mark the car raises is that when it becomes time to part with it,do I go for one of the new Astras or turn towards the new Vectra which impresses me.

Oh yes the title, it means, "Thus one goes to the stars : Such is the way to immortality".

Thanks for reading

© Baz 2002
 

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