Astra 2.0i GSi Turbo - Any Good?

eidolon

eidolon

eidolon

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Are these any good?

I've never really noticed these before but on paper they seem pretty decent. 0-60 in 7secs and 197BHP, Recaro interior etc. for around £7k on a 53 plate. A quick search shows they can be remapped for 245BHP quite easily.

Anyone got one or driven one? I'm just curious to see what they're like.

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My brother has had one, about the only car he hasn't had chipped..

It's OK.. quite deceiving really, like all VX's, although the handling is more then adequate, you have to be 'smooth' and controlled, in which case it makes for a convincing hot hatch.. As with all these cars, the driver makes the biggest difference.. if you are hamfisted and don't have a clue it won't flatter you, but I guess you don't fall into that category!..

For the money, as hot hatches go, it's pretty good, the obvious alternative is a LCR..
 
i went around millbrook in one of these, around the handling course and the oval.

handling track, seemed ok if not understeery (what do you expect)

it got to 150 on the oval, albeit slowly and rattly, remember it is a vauxhall astra just with a powerfull engine so expect poor build quality and the re-sale price to be low.
 
I think the Garage near had one of them not to long ago, and probably still does, the one next to the pub, A1 sports and performance (if you are who I think you are, i believe we've spoken before?).

If you check there website there stock list says they have a convertible turbo in atm.
 
theDude said:
i went around millbrook in one of these, around the handling course and the oval.

handling track, seemed ok if not understeery (what do you expect)

it got to 150 on the oval, albeit slowly and rattly, remember it is a vauxhall astra just with a powerfull engine so expect poor build quality and the re-sale price to be low.
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Quality seems on par with it's competition... I had a 1.8 Sport (cheap ex-company car) and that did 140K Miles and still didn't rattle at all, and felt reasonably solid, nice heavy doors/softish plastics..

Resale price.. they are OK, Focus ST170 53 reg's are well under 7K, LCR's are around the £7.5-8K, and clearly 53 GSI Astra's are around the £7-8K mark, seems 'on par to me..
 
if you get a good one, they will hold value, the GSi is still a desirable astra....i really want one :)

I have a 2.2 SRi and the handling even at standard height is great and the car is poised and VERY comfortable and quiet on long journeys. I was doing 400 mile round trips every 3 weeks to Hull from Oxford to see my Fiancee at uni, and the car didnt miss a beat once.

The Z20LET is a good engine that responds well to tuning too, with packages from a couple of hundred quid up to a couple of £k for 300+ hp.
 
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Good engine, nice enough interior, handles ok I guess, gearbox shocking.

Went for a test drive a year or so ago as I've always wanted one, but I was disappointed :( The engine felt nice, seats were good, handling was ok but not stunning. But the gearbox really blew it for me, it was so soggy and naff. Got back into the 172 and the box jut felt so much more precise and direct. I was crushed :(

I know if you threw some money at it you could make it better, and a remap on a turbo car is always good, but it just disappointed me, but maybe I'm being too picky.

Wouldn't say they hold their value really well, about the norm for a hot hatch of this type, bearing in mind they were something liek 16-17k when new.
 
I own one of these (black 03 plate) and i do enjoy driving it, its very very cheap to run for the performance, ive had no issues with it in the last two years of driving. Doors all feel very solid and the interiour is nice, i find the seats comfortable however a friend wasnt keen on them on a recent 200 mile journey so i guess it comes down to different strokes! Engine is fantastic and very tuneable, although ive not bothered to do anything to it as of yet.

As the guy above stated the gearbox isnt as smooth as it could be, however the only issue with it is second to third shifting where its a bit clunky, other than that the car is great value for money and i cant fault it. Although mine tramlines horrendously at the moment, which im sure is just down to the fact that my tyres arent the best in the world and have done 15k!

Mine has a slight rattle in the dash, but then it is 4 and a half years old now and im sure it could be fixed fairly easily with a bit of detective work.

Paid £10k for it when i got it (one owner with 3500 on the clock in september 05) and i dont regret it, although im keen on getting an S2000 or VX220 Turbo sometime next year!
 
I think they look sooo nice.

We have just bought an SRI with a Pro Drive kit / spec.

Ideally i'd have liked the tubby, but its her car and she does a fair whack of miles.

We have a slight noise in the rear (thick its the shelf its a squeak / rattle)

I love driving it thb - sticks to the road so fun to drive :D

Andy
 
I have the 2.2 coupe and its a nice car, saying that its my first decent car.

Nice and comfy to drive, not as much power as I was expecting but still nice.

The gsi's are the daddies though ;)
 
Resurrection of an old thread but I'm also looking at getting one of these, got rid of the 172 a while ago and fancy a turbo now, not wanting to spend loads though... either this or a Focus RS MK1 but there a bit out of my price range at the moment, they are obviously the better choice.

Any common faults with these? I probably be better posting on a Vauxhall forum.

I do love the way they look, and yes I'm aware it's an Astra :P

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Cheap and cheerful... turbo's are weak but most have VXR ones fitted now. Not much to really worry about to be fair, oil leaks, just general checks that they boost OK and don't smoke. You get good ones and crap ones, not really any in betweens! I still like 'em but they're a bit old hat now.
 
I had one for 6 month with stage 2 mods before I got rid as had no end of problems with it blowing coolant pipes off and turbo going bang (nice repair bill there) . Guy who bought it from me drove it like a complete tool and blew the engine up within a month and had to deal with all that.

It was comfy to drive no matter the weather and had a nice bit of power when I wanted to have some fun. I wish I had a arden blue one though and not silver.

Price talk removed to appease the OCUK masses after not noticing the original post date.
 
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Well aren't you guys quick to jump on it, I hadn't noticed the original post date and I shall now edit to keep you guys happy.
 
SonniLombardi said:
You can't win on this forum, people complain that you don't search for a thread to see if there already is one before you post it.

People complain that why not post a new thread because the other thread was so old..

God help me.
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this sort of comment doesn't apply to 8 year old threads ! people usually mean a thread posted a few weeks / months ago ! I had a massive double take when he commented what good value they were at 7k.

7k ?? for a 53 plate astra ??? Is this real life ?
 
I was wondering why someone was spending 7k on a 12 year old Astra!

Sonni - I think an 8 year old thread is a bit too old to resurrect!
 
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