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

...Revised, edition. Intro A solid, reliable, practical car all round I must say! The performance is good and the suspension serves the car well, it is light and very easy to drive, with good steering and a good ride, maybe a little firm for some. The SRI is a little more expensive than the base models but for that you get a larger engine and considerably higher spec, more gadgets. Engine and Drivetrain The 1.8l 16-valve ecotec engine has a very smooth and responsive power delivery. It can be a little thirsty if you ring it’s neck The gearbox has an average set of ratios, first is a bit too short, basically you have to change into second a little sooner than you would want to, and a sixth gear or a longer fifth would not go amiss. Gear selection can be a little stiff on cold mornings but that is fairly commonplace with any car... Read review

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Advantages: Performance, Cost, Looks
Disadvantages: Common car, petrol and SUSPENSION!

...end about the same though - from experience)! and obviously the looks are the same the wheel size etc... you can get cruise control with both aswell, but traction control is an extra with the 1.8. Now, let me get to the bigest let down on the 1.8 (which is crazy) THE SUSPENSION. I'm not one to change things to do with engines, brakes and suspension on cars..... THIS CAR IS SO BOUNCY HOWEVER, IT NEEDS A DIFFERENT SET OF SPRINGS. ok, its not ridiculous, but it is certainly not as tame as the SXi. Being so used to my 1.6 SXi, when driving the SRi i felt a little queasy afterward. it just doesn't seem to hold the road as good. Vauxhal upgraded everything else such as brakes and general tweaks... WHY DID THEY DOWNGRADE THE SUSPENSION??? So in all, yes the astra is a good car. good to drive, good to run, insure, good looks and i like... Read review

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Advantages: Great handling, Cruise Control, 125BHP
Disadvantages: Wheel spin with heavy acceleration.

...So firstly this is my 2nd car, moving from 1.6 litre Peugeot 306, and boy was I blown away by the vast improvement in switching cars! The handling in the Astra ( SRi 1.8) is excellent, and takes coners with a breeze. From start to 60mph in 9 seconds. And is a surprisingly nippy car, Now for the boring stuff... The gear shift is short and well positioned. The pedals are sited without any offset from the driving position. There is adequate clearance beside the clutch pedal to rest your foot. The pedal weight on the clutch is perfect although the resistance of the accelerator pedal is a little light. The instruments are clear and attractive, and have like a brushed aluminiuim thing around them which compliments other details on the dash and interior, which is rather spacious, than say the corsa, or other vauxhalls, exculding... Read review

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Advantages: Sexy design, sporty look, good on boot space
Disadvantages: Cheap interior appearance, not comfortable

...*~*~Introduction~*~* This review is based on my experience of using the Vauxhall Astra each week for regular motorway journeys down South every week for work. The Vauxhall Astra has been said to have been developed to offer technical sophistication and exceptional comfort, I wonder if my review will agree with that…read on if you wish to find out. *~*~Exterior Appearance~*~* The Astra SRi looks tasty I am definitely not a fan of the Vauxhall's but even I have to admit this model is a pretty attractive car. The model I am reviewing is the 3 door hatchback complete with a sleek spoiler, body colour bumpers, mirrors and tinted glass. My absolute pet hate is the black plastic on the Vauxhalls and the SRi has definitely skipped on this. The standard black trim on the car is replaced with colour coded trim which gives it a much... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Cheap insurance, handling, speed
Disadvantages: ride comfort, fuel economy

...The Car *Purchased 2nd Hand *2004 54 registration *1.8i Club Automatic *5 Door hatchback My Situation The car was purchased from BCA last October as an Ex-Motabilty car with only 4000 miles on the clock! Cost to us was about £6500 Looks I must admit, the semi-new shape (they've released newer now!) Astras are quite sexy looking. I have mine in midnight blue and I think this is a great colour for the car. 16" Alloys are standard and they look real good too. Interior Build Quality So far I cannot pick any faults with the actual build quality of the car. No rattling, all doors, glove box etc... hinges are smooth and don't feel like inferior quality. Obviously as a Vauxhall, the interior will still feel a bit 'plasticy' but it doesn't look that bad and the 3 Spoke steering wheel looks very sporty... Read review

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Advantages: Looks, performance, comfort
Disadvantages: none

...Purchased a '99T Astra CD 1.8 16v as my second ever car and I am very impressed. Used to have a Rover 214. Mine is in dark blue and has the Irmscher spoiler and alloy wheels. Looks are excellent espesially with the Irmscher 17" wheels, makes the car look wider and more ballanced. Dark metalic blue looks great but needs to be kept clean!! Black trim is starting to fade (a problem with all Vauxhalls) but is easily sorted with some back-to-black. Interior looks good and is plain and simple with everything easy to reach whilst driving. Mine has the wood effect dash and gearknob. Could do with having better seats, (maybe the "sports" seats from the sxi or sri models) especially on long journeys, but overall it is comfortable. Build quality seems good, mine is approaching 5 years old and has no major marks or rattles. Interior light... Read review

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Advantages: Well laid out , Tourque and high acceleration
Disadvantages: dull interior and boring fascia's

...Purchased a three year old model in May of 2003 , had an immediate problem with the fuel filter causing the car to cut out when revs were idling , the car came with a network q warranty and the dealer replaced immediately (also replaced the brake pads without any prompt or info from myself). The Car came equipped with a Radio Cassette player (added a single CD player by myself) , Air conditioning , lotus sports suspension (great for hugging those bends although a bit harsh on bumpy roads)and interior sports seat (which i must say are extremley comfortable) , Vauxhall alloys and rear boot spoiler. The dashboard is plain and dull , they have tried to jazz it up by use of white dials , but i think they look tacky. The car to drive is a dream , it really is a wolf in sheeps clothes , i have the 5 door hatch version so it looks like... Read review

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Advantages: Looks sleek, some nice features, comfortable
Disadvantages: Lack of 'feel' - a bit wallowy

...Well, sorry for all you NHS glasses wearing nerds out there, but this is NOT an op about Astronomy! So shuffle off in your green cords and brown suede jacket and visit www.patrickmoore.com!!! Anyone left? Good! Right, I've decided to try to attempt my very first car review - The first reason being that my better half has just got one of these for a company car, and second reason being I'll get paid for this review! God, I'm a cheapskate! The Astra has been around since about 1980, and has come a long way since those first boxy mark 1 models. During it's illustrious 20-odd years, the Astra has had more facelifts than Michael Jackson, but unlike the perv of pop the Astra actually not only looks a lot better, it also doesn't look like it's gonna fall apart any time soon! Over the years, the Astra has appealed to many different types... Read review

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Advantages: Very reliable car
Disadvantages: fuel consumption not great

...... Read review

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Advantages: Roomy, easy to drive and fairly economical
Disadvantages: Horrible blind spot and electrically unreliable

...I have owned my Zafira (elegance 1.8) for coming up to 3 years. It is a V reg. and has been a lovely vehicle to drive, comfortable and easy to get passengers in and out. Children love it due to the height and added visibility for them. The 7 seats have been a godsend at times, but having to remove the boot cover bar each time and store it at home can be a pain in the proverbial. The boot space with 5 seats is very spacious, but minimal with 7. I do have a huge concern with the visibility from the windscreen ,on each side, due to the roof support blocking a significant amount at certain times, e.g turning out from a junction. I've only had one near miss (that was one to many for my liking) and the experience taught me to be even more vigilant when checking the coast is clear. This is a common complaint from others I know who... Read review

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