Vauxhall Astra Hatchback (2004 - 2010) 1.6i 16V Active 5d (2006/56) Owner Review

What does this car say about you?

Not sure really, unless you have an SRi or VXR you just kind of blend in with everyone else.

What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

Shocked at the reliability issues!!

Would you buy this car again and why?

Never, I wouldn't recommend a Mk5 Astra, the Mk4 is a much better car, nicer to drive, more reliable and has more boot space. Can't speak for the new Mk6.

What are you likely to buy next?

It's put me off Vauxhall and I've grown up around them but this has spoiled it for me. Looking at having a Mondeo again or something German. Looking at anything at the right price so that I can get rid of the Astra. Anything that's not French that is, been there and done that!! :-)

Type of dealer you bought from?

Franchise

Did you buy this car new?

No

What price did you pay?

£6,000

When did you buy the car?

July 2009

Did you get a good deal and why?

Seemed a goood deal at the time. Car of this spec still fetches almost £6,000 now in 2010.

Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

Had 6 previous Astra's of various ages and trim levels.

What was the dealer like?

Helpful and polite, sorted finance out and took trade ins.

What's it like to drive?

Responsive and willing engine, mine is the Twinport so plenty of torque at low revs and great fuel economy for a petrol, returns 46-40 MPG with short trips, a motorway run will easily achieve 45 MPG or even 50 MPG if you stick to 65. Nice firm, lively handling, can be quite good fun. Revs a little high in 5th at 70 but has enough punch to overtake without fuss.

What's it like to park?

Fairly easy, quite poor rear visibility though.

Have you had any problems with the car?

Had high hopes for reliabilty, they were soon destroyed! Luckily I had 12 months Network Q warranty so it didn't cost anything to put right. Suffered from the notorious clutch judder that seems to affect a lot of Astras around this age. Vauxhall replaced the clutch at 30,000 miles and the flywheel as it had been damaged by the bad clutch! Not too long afterwards it developed a knocking from underneath and needed a broken drop link replacing. The day we got it back a tooth snapped off one of the planetary gears and the whole gearbox had to be replaced, if I didn't have Network Q it would have cost just shy of £1,000. On at least 3 occasions it has failed to turn over and start and left my other half stranded for varying amounts of time!

What's most practical about your car?

Rear passenger space is not bad for a car of it's size, boot space suffers as a result though.

Favourite gadget, option or accessory?

On-board computer is good, plots MPG and trip distance etc, even tells you when a brake light is out and the washer bottle is low.