Vauxhall Astra Estate (1998 - 2004) 2.0 Di CD 5d Owner Review

When I was about 10 I had a friend who's father always bought the same make of car (a Hillman). This seemed really odd to me, especially growing up in Ireland where there was little money around, cars were still quite a luxury and people generally just bought whatever second hand cars were available. But here I am now about to buy my 5th Astra estate (a 2017 J) tomorrow.

However it was this 1998 Astra model that was the real game changer for me. It was such a step change up from the two previous Astra estates I'd had and despite some reviews it was great to drive and really great looking. (I don't know why the Ford Focus always gets such high praise.)

I paid £3.5k for this car, it had 50k on the clock and was 5 years old. I then had it for 7 years, did 120k miles in it and it cost about £800/year on average to maintain. I only sold it because I used it for work and there was rust starting in the wheel arches.

The next car was a 1.7 cdti Astra H estate which I paid £6,250 for, it had just 16k on the clock and was 4 years old. It was a great car but not that dissimilar really to the Astra H. In 10 years it did another 145k and cost about £500/year to maintain. Unfortunately I just had a minor accident in it in the snow/ice before Christmas and this has forced the change.

So for past 30 years Astras have been very good friends to me and the one I'm buying tomorrow, as well as having sharp styling and loads of fancy new features has better fuel economy and zero tax and ULEZ.

Despite my reservations as a 10 year old, I've ended up committed to the Astra - in my experience they are very well designed, a sound, solid, practical choice with good pricing and excellent fuel economy.

A thumbs up from me.