Advantages: Drives Nice, Great Economy, Cheap Tax, Cheap Insurance
Disadvantages: Not as quick as some.

...I bought this car in November 2005, to replace a rather thirsty, but fun Ford Probe. Due mainly to the fact that I do a 40 mile round trip to work every day, which was costing over £40 per week in petrol, I decided to forget performance, and get a Diesel. I test drove several cars, Golfs, Mondeos, Citroens and the like. I had never considered an Astra, as the Cavalier I had several years ago was the most unreliable car I've ever seen. On a budget of £3500, I was looking to get the newest, best condition car available. 406's, Mondeos (newer ones) and Golfs were all either well out of my price range, or had huge miles. I spotted the Astra 1.7Dti Envoy in Autotrader, at £3495, in Silver, 81,000 miles, with Full Service History, and one owner, on a 2001 Y plate. This was the best condition car I had looked at, by a country mile... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: efficient, utilitarian, family friendly
Disadvantages: No status symbol, not flash, not over-stated

...I've had Vauxhalls before - Chevette, Cavalier, & 2 Astra estates. They've all been 2nd hand and they've all had loads of miles on the clocks 65, 190, 165 and 185,000 miles respectively and all of them have given me very little trouble despite the mileage. So here I am with the newest one I've ever had - 84,000 miles on the clock, almost four years old and it's going like a dream, bought from a dealer that passes on ex fleet cars, the condition of the bodywork, interior etc is excellent. The fuel economy is very good - supposedly around about 50mpg. Big boot, proper seat belts in the back, Air con, elec windows in front, CD player, roomy underfoot as well as behind the drivers seat. A good solid feel to the drive, it goes well - pulls up hills nicely when full of kids and family & when you put your foot down it goes. This car is a really... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Good value, very comfortable, nice extras.
Disadvantages: A little noisier than I would otherwise have liked...

...After I had a run-in with a motocyclist, which wrote off my 2001 Astra, I faced a dilemma. You see, it was a leased vehicle, which means that in the event of a write-off I get to take a new contract. In brief, the price of the Astra has come down a bit since I first bought, ahem... leased, my 2001 model, and I found that if I knocked off the air-conditioning and colour screen GPS, I could probably have afforded a Vectra or Zafira. After spending a few hours in the showroom, I eventually ordered the exact same model that I had had previously. Here's why: I'll admit to being a bit of a gadget kid. The Astra that I now have is a 1.7 DTI Elegance. Which means that the metallic (jade) paintwork and automatic air-conditioning (new for 2003) come as standard, along with a leather steering wheel, and all-around electric windows... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Reliable, Extremely economical, practical and functional. ECO4, Low CO2 emissions
Disadvantages: Slow, slow, not so quick, slow! Plus what is that under the bonnet, a sewing machine?

...'s. The Astra ECO4 will always be remembered fondly, for saving me 25% on every fill up compared to my previous Astra 1.7TDi. Possibly the faces of passers by when I am parking too.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

...~ My history ~ My very first car was a Renault Clio and after a crash on Valentines Day 2005 (which completely wrote it off (oops) and I couldn't believe I had to pay £50 to get them to scrap my little baby! (grr) Because I needed a car to get to work, the search began almost instantly to find another car. I had driven an Astra before and really liked them, I thought they were quite compact but big enough to fit people in without being packed in like sardines. I know I didn't want the bog standard Astra, so I went on the Vauxhall website and started to look at what they had to offer. ~ The Sxi ~ I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to cars and engines etc and was a bit lost as to what spec I wanted and what kind of engine, so was only really bothered about how it looked (typical girl?) This is where... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheap, Very Reliable, Carry Large Loads, Safety
Disadvantages: Fuel Economy is Poor while the HI TORQ claim is false advertising, Security

...I have owned my 1993 (K-Reg) Vauxhall Astra 1.4 HI-TORQ since early 2004 and it has been a great car that has seen many of my other vehicles come and go. The Astra has been my primary car during my ownership covering just under 25,000 miles and has served me with reliability and practicality that would be envied by more modern cars and their owners. GENERAL EXPERIENCE The Astra has been very much a workhorse and has been treated as such. The bodywork has numerous dents and battle scars gained from the general errands that it has been used for. I am often pitied by my mates for driving such a car but it has a certain character that can only be gained by old age. RELIABILTY and SERVICING COSTS Reliability has been excellent bearing in mind that this is a car which I purchased with 69,000 miles on the clock for £425. The clock... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Good reliable car
Disadvantages: Expensive on tax

...I bought this car just over a year ago and it has been a very reliable car. It has 5 doors and the boot is a fair size you could fit a lot into it. This Vauxhall Astra has power sterring and have had a CD player installed in it. It has a hide away ashtray so if you want the ashtray down you press a button and the front comes down. The locks on the Astra i have got has no central locking. This Vauxhall Astra runs on Diesel which is slightly dearer than petrol but you go the extra miles on diesel. Me and my husband took this up to stanstead airport and it only used a quarter of a full tank of diesel. The engine size is a 1700cc engine which makes it dear on the road tax at £93.50 for 6 months. This Vauxhall Astra has a catalatic converter on the exhaust system and is expensive for a new one as i found out when i had the MOT done... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Good looks, even today, cheap to run and insure, ideal first car
Disadvantages: Lacks power, especially at higher speeds

...I bought a fantastic vauxhall astra, M reg last year for 300 quid and so far it has been the best car ive driven! The interior is comfortable, which is great for long trips in the astra, theres plenty of rear legroom and boot space is quite good aswell. The exterior styling, albeit a bit dated now, still looks pretty good, especially if you get the ones built after 1994, which benefitted from a subtle facelift where vauxhall added the "v grill" and slimmer headlights. the car handles pretty well and confidently, although the lack of power steering can make it difficult to do things in town, like parking or 3 point turns. reliability is good too, i never had a problem with my astra, although dont be suprised if a car this age does start to have problems...not to worry though, new parts are easy and cheap to source... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Easy to drive, light steering, good looks
Disadvantages: No electric wing mirrors, no sunroof

...The vauxhall astra has always been a car I fancied driving and when the opportunity arrose to purchase one I jumped at the chance. A silver "03" plate 1.4ls 5dr was now my girlfriend and I 's prized possession. We paid £5.000 for the car at a dealership and with that price we hoped it would be worth the money and boy it didn't disappoint. Its not a speed freak car but it has light steering, easy gear change and when you need it to go it will climb the speedometer really well. I enjoy driving sensable and have started to reap the benefits as the cars gives about 40miles to the gallon. whish with the fuel problems and having to drive 30 miles to work a day is a great help. As with all cars we wanted a comfy ride and with 2 kids needed it to be child friendly. As a car valeter I knew the interior was one that can easily kept clean... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Affordable, good alrounder
Disadvantages: Cambelt change every 40000 miles (expensive)

..., it does not scratch that easily. A heated rear window is good for them cold mornings and does a really good job, lots don’t. The rear spoiler is a nice touch. All the above are nice features that make the car all the more pleasurable to own and drive. After sales As with most main dealers, they are brilliant and couldn’t be more helpful until you have bought. Then they really don’t seem to care. Under duress they have sorted out a few niggly bits for me under the Vauxhall 3 year warranty. If you are going to buy one, do not get a Network Q warranty until the manufactures warranty has expired, it’s pointless and a waste of money, certainly get one after. Conclusion Having worked in the automotive industry for sometime now, I have a fair knowledge of cars and would not hesitate to recommend the Astra SRI (ashtray) to anyone. All things... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful