Astra J Thoughts?

Amraam

Amraam

Amraam

Soldato
Joined
5 Jan 2009
Posts
4,763
Not exactly the pinnacle of motoring, but there's a few sub £5k Astra Js around, typically with ~80k miles. This is to be a stop gap car for probably 6-18 months. Anyone got one? Anything to look out for in particular? The ones I'm looking at at typically 1.4 or 1.6 NA SRi/Elite etc.

Ideally I'd like a 1L Ecoboost Focus/Fiesta to really save on fuel but they're like hens' teeth and thusly priced accordingly...
 
Ive had my Astra j GTC for 6 years now. My son has had his 5 door 1.6 for the same amount of time and he changed to the newer one recently.
To be honest its been so reliable hence me keeping it so long.
Bad points for me had to be the lack of bluetooth music streaming yet I could use my phone via bluetooth. (not a problem if you find one with nav or like me changed to a nav system)
Mines the 1.7 cdti and i manage 50+mpg these are a lot bigger than the fiestas you are looking at.
Ive been looking at the mokka as I change ive been that happy with it however the cabin space in it is crap.

So yeah a little ramble but genuinly solid cars.
 
Horrid interior, everthing feels like its in the wrong place. No steering feel at all, any kind of slightly enthusiastic driving makes the tyres squeal like mad.
 
phil675 said:
Horrid interior, everthing feels like its in the wrong place. No steering feel at all, any kind of slightly enthusiastic driving makes the tyres squeal like mad.
Click to expand...
Buying it for a daily driver not to drive hard or fun. I'm coming from a Model 3 so everything is going to flat and boring in comparison.

Do you fly RC helicopters by any chance? There's someone in our discord group with a very similar username.
 
Cupra said:
Ive had my Astra j GTC for 6 years now. My son has had his 5 door 1.6 for the same amount of time and he changed to the newer one recently.
To be honest its been so reliable hence me keeping it so long.
Bad points for me had to be the lack of bluetooth music streaming yet I could use my phone via bluetooth. (not a problem if you find one with nav or like me changed to a nav system)
Mines the 1.7 cdti and i manage 50+mpg these are a lot bigger than the fiestas you are looking at.
Ive been looking at the mokka as I change ive been that happy with it however the cabin space in it is crap.

So yeah a little ramble but genuinly solid cars.
Click to expand...
Is yours running the M32 gearbox? How's that faring? I had the M32 fail on my VXR after ~30k miles and I can see that this Astra J SRi has a 6 speed, which probably means M32 :/

I though the 1.6 SRis had a 5 speed?
 
Amraam said:
Buying it for a daily driver not to drive hard or fun. I'm coming from a Model 3 so everything is going to flat and boring in comparison.

Do you fly RC helicopters by any chance? There's someone in our discord group with a very similar username.
Click to expand...

Nope not me :D
Fair enough if you just need a car, I really didn't like the Astras I've had as rentals over the years though.
 
We've got a K 1.4 Turbo 150 Elite Nav and it's bloody horrible, I hate everything about it except the engine which is fairly decent. Interior feels cheap and layout is daft, airvents don't allow you to point them where you want, fake leather seats are horrible and clammy. Huge disappointment and that's coming from someone who really liked the Astra F they had years ago. Get a Focus and be happier.
 
My eyes have been opened. Foot flat on the floor in 2nd gear at 3000rpm and absolutely no acceleration at all. I was expecting even a 1.4 NA to be THAT gutless :(
 
Drove an Astra J as a courtesy car when I had a Zafira in for repair. Honestly the Zafira (based on the older Astra H) felt better to drive in every way.

It's the only car I've ever driven, that when I got out I felt as if soul had been sucked away.

Whilst neither the MK2 or MK3 Focus are the pinnacle in dynamic and engaging driving experience, they are worlds better and I would buy either over the Astra J.
 
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