New car

These are far more attractive than the MK2 Focus, or anything else in its class really.

I know the pain of the 1.6 in one of these, but it really isn't any better in the Focus either (although, the Focus manages to be a bit more economical).

The only real two things that would make me choose the Focus over the Astra however, is the handling and the seats (Comfy, and bolstered).

The former being incredibly good for a "shopping car" - Ford have been sensible enough to put small wheels with huge sidewalls on the car I have at the moment (MK2.5 Zetec) which really help on the comfort side of things, but when pushed a bit the car manages to stay composed without a lot of discernible body roll at all - and it manages to do all this whilst feeling light around town, but retaining some feel that the steering wheel is still connected to the wheels.

The Astra is "wallowy" and feels disconnected by comparison.
 
The Astra is acceptable for someone who has no interest in driving dynamics and just wants something that looks nice to drive to Tesco.
 
does it really look good?

i think that sort of car is for those wanting a reaction along the lines of "oh wowzers, look how new their car is"
 
Matt82 said:
does it really look good?
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For an every day, "normal" hatchback, I think its styled quite well. Granted it isn't exceptionally crafted, sportily aggressive, or what could be described as stunning, but it's far from ugly and offensive.

Many many cars look better, but not many hatchbacks of this size have styling that makes me think "wow, that's better than the Astra".

It's just a shame the rest of the package is so dire.
 
MikeHiow said:
These are far more attractive than the MK2 Focus, or anything else in its class really.
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I retract this statement. Just had a 1.8 Zetec S delivered in Silver to replace the one I had. In short, it looks fantastic. The S kit makes the car in my opinion, and the 1.8 over the 1.6 is like night and day - whilst its not fast, it no longer feels like its struggling and actually has a bit of pace higher in the rev range.
 
^
Nothing wrong with wanting a mondeo as your first car in the UK, they cost peanuts it would be a no brainer if I was in the UK.
The Astra is acceptable for someone who has no interest in driving dynamics and just wants something that looks nice to drive to Tesco.
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Anything wrong with that ? I'm just interested in something that is fast(ish) in a straight line, and something comfy. Handing/feel/dynamics mean bugger all for me.
 
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I have one, it isn't amazing but looks quite nice and does the job. One thing is I have spent literally £0 on it other than petrol and servicing and 1 set of tyres. I did mention to the garage that no new break pads in 5 years was odd but they said they were fine.

I suppose the next 5 years might be more interesting but it really has been flawless so far.


It was the best looking hatch in 2006 when I got mine. I don't think the new Focus, Civic etc was out.
 
snowdog said:
Anything wrong with that ? I'm just interested in something that is fast(ish) in a straight line,
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Vs a Yugo 45 it might be fast(ish) but in the real world its slow.

Nothing wrong with that mind, its an ok car if you don't care about cars, i think the Astra looks quite nice but i hate just about everything else about them.
 
I think they are a good looking car out the box, better looking in Black mind but still it looks good to me. Sits a bit high for me though so I'd drop it down a tad. :D
 
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