Advantages: Price, fuel economy, cheap insurance, cheap parts, nice looking
Disadvantages: Drab uninspiring interior, basic equipment levels, horrible seat trim, needs the pokier 16v engine

...I had this car up until last year. It was a 2001 Mk 4 Astra Club in Metallic dark blue with a 1.6 8v engine. The engine to be honest was a major bone of contention for me, leading to me getting rid of the car and upgrading. The 1.6 8v is the same ageing engine used in the Cavalier and frankly just wasn't good enough in a modern car like this. Carrying on with the bad points, the other major bugbear with this car is the frankly awful interior. One gets the feeling vauxhall deliberatly choose the worse colours to use in the basic Astra, I got horrible grey velour seats (yes the same colour as in the cavalier!!) and a horrible brown/beige/black colour dashboard which was franlkly irritating to sit behind. However, good points for this car definitely outweigh the bad, especially if (unlike me) you are not after good performance from your... Read review

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Advantages: Air conditioning as standard; Remote central locking; Power assisted steering; electric front windows, large boot/trunk space; room for three across the back with s/belts; no middle headrest so better visibility
Disadvantages: No electric wing mirror option; not a great range of colours available or trims.

...I have just ordered a new Astra 1/6i Club from my local dealership. Having trawled around other car dealers, it was a pleasure to visit the Vauxhall dealer, who was friendly and courteous and offered advice. He sat down with me and helped me choose the best value for money regarding specifications - electric sunroof; ABS; etc On the test drive, the car was light to manouevre, with good visibility and the gears were much easier than my older Astra. The shape is similar to a 1990's Ford Escort, but still different from most of the new cars on the road. The boot/trunk is large enough to fill with the supermarket shop for a family of 5/6 or with family sized suitcases. 10.3.03 - I have now taken delivery of the car - yippee. This is not an opinion for anyone who knows a lot about cars, this is purely for the cosmetic purchaser! I... Read review

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Advantages: Space, Aircondition, Automatic
Disadvantages: 8 valves, Noisy, fragile

...It was time to buy a good family car, so according to the word around, I decided to ake it a Vauxhall, as I had a Cavalier once before and it was a very reliable car. I went to Network Q, with 118 point check to be sure of quality, not even 3 years old car, paid in cash in advance,and they got me the 1st Astra Club 1.6i car 2 weeks later with 15K miles on. Lots of issues from broken rear mirror to water leaking lights and a noisy suspension system were found. The car is only 3 years old (not even). Returning the car the very next day, the trip was about 3 miles, the Engine light went ON ! 2nd car came and so did the 3rd, Tooo noisy, no power in the push and suspension is Badddddddd to say the least. A friend of mine drives an Astra CD estate, they love it , I dorve their car and it is at least 200% better than the club... Read review

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Advantages: Smooth and cheap to insure
Disadvantages: Its a British Car

...The Model of Car that I have recently purchased is a 02 reg MK4 5 door 1.6i 16V Club Hatchback. It has a max Torque of 100 BHP and is a Multi Point Fuel injected Car with a ECOTEC engine under the bonnet. The Vauxhall Astra runs very smoothly and you can’t even hear the engine running. Since I’ve only had this car for a week then I can only tell you my experiences and they are all good so far. The Features for this car include: - Air-Conditioning - Driver’s and Front Passenger’s airbags - Front Seat Head Restraints - Front Seatbelt force limiters and body-lock pretensioners - Two Rear Seat Head restraints - Power Steering - Steering Column Adjustable for Reach and Rake - Driver’s Seat Height Adjuster - Remote Control Central Deadlocking - Cassette Player/ Stereo - Steering Wheel Mounted... Read review

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Advantages: Rewarding Handling, Torquey Engine, Driving Position
Disadvantages: It's a Vauxhall, Depreciation

...is very usable and seems to have been put together properly. The driving position is good, I’m over six foot and can (just) fit comfortably, all the pedals are light which makes the car particularly easy to drive, however as I mentioned earlier the Vectra gear box means it can be difficult to change gear smoothly. Like the previous model the best aspect of this Astra is it’s engine. It may only be a 1.6 and has just 8 valves rather than 16, but it’s very torquey and pulls well, even when the estate is fully laden there is still enough grunt to overtake safely. It’s also a very responsive engine, which combined with plenty of grip and feel in the steering makes for fun driving if you can find a quick twisty road (A74 into Moffat). I never thought I’d ever say fun and Vauxhall in the same line! As for resale, well fortunately this is my... Read review

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Advantages: goodlooking, sexy, excellent ride ;-)
Disadvantages: common!

...control key once, it locks the car, press it again and the car deadlocks. Electronic engine deadlock immobiliser Locking wheel bolts - (don't lose the key for these as you need it when you get your tyres changed!) ~ Engine ~ Now this is the complicated part! I have 1.6i 16v ECOTEC-4 twinport petrol (1598cc), which means: Max power: 103PS (76 KW) @ 6000 rpm Max torque: 147Nm (108 lb. ft) @ 3600 rpm Emissions: Euro 4 emission compliant Max speed: 117 mph (which of course I've never done….) 0.60 mph in 10.5 seconds ~ The ride ~ The Astra is extremely comfortable the seats have lumber support and the headrest is adjustable so when you are sat in traffic (bored) there is somewhere to rest you head! The steering wheel is a nice size not too skinny and not too big, the horn is on both sides of the wheel for easy access... Read review

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Advantages: No frills practicality
Disadvantages: Model dicontinued

...I don't get excited about cars, so when my previous one started to die I looked around to see what came into my price range, without a clear idea of what car I wanted. I seem to be rather hard to please. A lot of my friends choose a car because of the way it looks and what extra gizmos are fitted to it or even how fast it goes, but not me. I see my car as a tool. It has to help me do what I want, when I want and for as little cost as possible. I wrote a list of must-haves and passed the problem onto the local garage. Within a week I was called in to look at a Vauxhall Astra LS 1.6i Estate. Well it wasn't perfect. I'd asked for a diesel and this ran on unleaded petrol. It was a vile colour but I'm not fussy about that. Someone had keyed it all alomg the drivers side, but it hadn't gone through to the metal. I opened the rear... Read review

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Advantages: Nice styling, outstanding drive and handling, good quality interior!!
Disadvantages: Finicky new toys, 1.6 lacks real muscle and Vauxhall badge!!

...Test Model Vauxhall Astra 1.6 16v SXI Reg no: BF55 FYP UK model RHD Mileage 5912 Actual 0-60: 9.6 Printed max speed: 115 mph Printed economy: 32.8mpg urban Actual economy: 25mpg The new generation Astra has gone through a complete revamp since its ageing predecessor, both externally and internally there are very few features kept from the previous shape. The main improvement overall is the driving experience which has been improved by 80%. The New Astra is a beautiful looking car in sport hatch form and in 5 door form (like the one I tested) is still sporty looking, especially with alloys and front spot lights. As mentioned before the similarities between the previous Astra and the new generation one is minimal, Vauxhall choosing more sporty and dramatic lines to complement the cars shape. Have to say I am no big fan... Read review

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Advantages: Good safety, economical, spacious, stylish, 3rd full seat belt
Disadvantages: Burns oil quickly, poor rear visability, poor stereo system

...and radio reception is excellent. We have had some problems. The car has only done 2,000 miles and has used 6 litres of oil. We took it back to Vauxhall and they said there is nothing wrong with the car the engine is designed to burn oil. Maybe this is just the petrol model. We know of another owner with the same problem. It also needed a new engine management system which they say was faulty from the start. Maybe this had something to do with the burning of the oil. Only time will tell. It's back in for repair this week because the air conditioning has broken. I would reccomend this car for anyone with a family but beware dander from clothes and pet hair is difficult to remove from the seat material. Model is 1.6 petrol Astra Club Enjoy your ride... Read review

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Advantages: Very nippy
Disadvantages: No CD player

...... Read review

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