2007 Holden Astra CDTi (Diesel) Road Test
July 30, 2007 by Matt Brogan
2007 Holden Astra CDTi (Diesel) Road Test
Test Models: 2007 Holden Astra CDTi (Diesel) Manual & Auto.
CarAdvice rating: 
Recommended Retail Price: $29990 for the Manual – $31490 for the auto
When I handed back Holden’s awesome VE SS for the keys to a mid-sized diesel hatch, my contemplation for wanting to hand it straight back could easily have been forgiven.
Upon turning the flip-key the rattler sprung to life. Loudly. I’d been given a tractor hiding inside an Astra shell. At idle this has to be one of the most rattly and noisy turbo diesels on the market.
Sarcasm aside, I hit the road determined not to like what I was about to drive, but once mobile the rattling subsided, and a curious deep note ensued. Peculiar yet pleasant, almost songful, it’s somewhat like what I should imagine a sedated lion’s purr to sound like.
Quickly finding the strangely positioned “Sport” button high on the dash, I promptly stuck the boot in, deciding I should see how far diesels have come for Holden since the Gemini’s half-hearted attempt some twenty-five years ago.
The 1.9 litre ECOTEC oiler has some serious pull for its 88kW, thanks mostly to the 280Nm on torque on tap from just 2,000 revs. The power delivery is very linear and strong, and more surprisingly, Astra isn’t reluctant to find the top of the tacho.
Power delivery does however feel a little disjointed from stand still. There’s this ‘gap’. It’s not a big gap, but it’s a gap none the less. Perhaps it’s turbo lag, albeit brief, perhaps it’s the silly auto box that slips in to neutral when stopped, or perhaps it’s the traction control sorting out torque steer, but you do feel a definite pause before the surge begins.
The six-speed automatic is one of the best autos in the Holden line-up, and apart from the annoying jolt in and out of neutral at the lights (Holden believes this technology saves fuel), is a well-sorted affair that doesn’t mind being pushed a little in manual mode. It won’t allow you to try too hard, but can make for a bit of fun when the mood strikes you.
After a couple of days with the auto, I went back for the keys to the manual. Make no mistake. This is a different car. The manual gets an 110kW twin-cam variant of the same motor, and coupled to a neat shifting six-speed box, is a real treat. The clutch is well weighted, and whilst not as fluid as some of its Japanese rivals, does provide smooth and balanced pedal feel.
Though I found the auto’s handling to be reasonable, good even, the manual is in a league of its own. Holden’s ‘Sports Chassis Pack’ offered standard on the manual model (not available in auto variants), makes the whole set up feel crisper, well balanced and fun, surprisingly fun. I even caught myself grinning on a few occasions when using the manual’s 320Nm to pull out of corners. Sure, it will understeer if you’re overly enthusiastic, but the ESP should sort out most of us long before it gets that far.
If you wouldn’t normally consider a manual, but enjoy driving, then go try the two head-to-head and you’ll see what I’m on about. If you can’t drive a manual, learn, you’ll be glad you did. Not only is it cheaper to buy at $29990 (auto from $31490), it’s cheaper to run, using less fuel than the auto and is bucket loads of fun besides. Easily on par with the 2.2 litre petrol SRi.
Holden claims 7.1 litres per 100km and I found, for once, this was close to the mark, returning an impressive average of 7.4 litres through mixed city and highway driving.
Braking is very confident, and the car stops flat and fast. The four-channel ABS system works confirmatively, and even through hard cornering is not easily upset. I did notice a touch of pedal fade after repetitive hard driving, but it’s not something you’d usually expect to notice in the course of normal driving.
Exterior styling is fittingly European, considering the car originates from Opel’s Belgian plant. Modern yet subdued, appealing though with well sorted character and edgy high lines, it will age well. It’s not a ‘look at me’ car, but as such, it won’t date quickly, nor will it attract unwanted attention. It’s a good choice in the looks department for those who want to hang on to their investment a little longer.
Paint finish too is just as we’ve come to expect from the Opel marque – ten out of ten. I had the ‘Ultra Blue’ auto and ‘Sapphire Black’ manual, which although a tad more costly at $360 (metallic paint charge), really is worth the extra cash. Black especially suits this car and would easily be my first choice, contrasting the chrome bits and pieces especially well.
Panel fit is also better than most other contenders. The doors and hatch too have a good solid feel on closing.
Standard 16” alloys finish the package, and do suit the car well, without being overstated. I did find mine quickly blackened from brake dust and were a little hard to clean, so if the dealership offers you alloy wheel sealer – take it.
It wasn’t until I spent a while inside this car that all the nice gushy feelings I had came crashing back down to earth. In a word, it’s boring. Almost as though the interior was an afterthought, hastily thrown together from pieces of recycled lego.
Door trims, plastic. Dashboard, plastic. Console, plastic. Even the horn button is plastic. They haven’t even tried using different plastics to break it up. It’s bland, monotone, cheap, inescapably everywhere and is dotty, like braille to touch. Wrongly this interior makes all thoughts of build quality dissipate.
The dash layout too is boring and unimaginative, and the instrumentation’s orange back lighting looks dated and tacky. The uninspiring instrument panel is effective though does feel like a little piece of the old eastern bloc hiding somewhere in your peripheral vision.
Legroom is liberal up front, though adults may find the back seat quite tight on longer trips. Comfort though is a let down. The seating position is too flat, too firm and offers little lateral support for cornering. A big let down when you consider how surprisingly capable this car is through the twisty bits. On longer runs I felt sore and tired in the upper thighs and lower back. In short, this sort of seating isn’t even fit for a commercial vehicle in this day and age.
The indicators, whilst on the right side this time, are automated, and while reasonably clever, can’t cater for every situation and do take a little getting used to.
Ventilation and air-conditioning systems are very good, quiet, and the heater is great. It gets warm quick too, making cold winter mornings, and the drab interior, a little more bearable.
Stereo performance is adequate but not fantastic. Astra only offers a single-disc MP3 compatible player as standard equipment with no factory upgrade available. Steering wheel controls are a welcomed addition as the head unit itself is fiddly to use.
As for the steering wheel itself, this is one thing done well. It has a comfortable grip with good amounts of adjustment available, and is spot on in terms of both size and balance, making all that pointing down twisty roads just that little bit nicer.
Boot space is ample and practical, which combined with a 60/40 split-fold rear seat, makes for acres of room when visiting the nursery. Rear window height is low enough for the little ones and isofix preparation makes fitting kid’s seats easy.
Dual front, side, and curtain airbags are all standard, and when you consider the five-star ANCAP rating, standard ESP and ABS, it’s a great safe package for the price tag. Great for any young family or budget savvy buyer.
Currently the diesel is only available as a five-door hatch, but may be made available in wagon or three-door if sales are sufficient down the track. Service intervals are 6 months / 10,000kms and warranty is 3 years / 100,000kms.
Matt Brogan
Print it: 
It’s annoying how Australia doesn’t receive the 110kw 6-sp auto, but then again atleast the has an auto transmission, unlike the Focus and Mazda 3.
It’s hard to justify the cost benefit of a diesel motor when you’re faced with the glaring price disparities against regular unleaded petrol.
Filling up my diesel this weekend, I had to pay $1.33 per litre, with the price of unleaded at the same service station being $1.12 per litre.
Caveat Emptor.
Maybe take the lead from VW and do a supercharged and torbocharged motor similar to the Golf TSI and it would sell unreal. The idiots at Holden are starting to lose it, the Rodeo looked half decent and now that have funny upswept edging looking headlights, then with the Astra they took away the silver bezel surround around headlight / blinker / high beam cluster on the front headlight and made it look silver (it looked better with black as toned down car look and made headlight look sportier) – now they have dived into Korea with gusto and deliver the entree fools gold of a car the EPICA. Great work Mark Simcoe and buddies who were shipped over there. Their is more than fancy lights, holden grille, cool looking LED rear light clusters with bright diamond look plastics and you delivered it in bucketloads with the EPICA. Shame ESP, airbags, ABS and other safe quality items for safety did not go in and the motor is less then me lawnmower! HOLDEN IS A FOLDING… Korean meltdown slowly…
Foggy…
I totally agree. I’ve been looking at purchasing a diesel passenger car and i’m having trouble justifying the extra spend…!
To me the negatives and positives with diesel bring them back into line with standard petrol models.
It’s a give or take to me until the price of diesel vehicles improves somewhat, even then some diesel engines have cam belts rather than chain driven devices and that increases service costs over most modern 2.0 petrol chain driven engines.
But…….
Do they have “Powered By FIAT” across the windscreen as thats where the engine came from [And the only good thing to say about it:-)]
Cheers
F-0
Frugal one…
Why do you waste your time?
A lot of people (like me) these days use 95 or 98 RON fuel for the economy and power benefits they bring, and they cost about as much as diesel, so the OH NOES TEH COST argument tends not to sway me.
By way of explanation – the economy savings we get from our 98 Impreza RX mean we actually save money by using 98 RON.
Although there is quite a difference in price for the diesel, the torque bonus is pretty handy. I find the 1.8 Astra pretty pointless and even more so in the wagon. The diesel is a welcome addition to what used to be (in the last gen.) a class leader.
I test drove the Astra diesel and thought the engine was brilliant. Then I thought about it and really told myself that the peaky diesel was fun, if I was 18. As an adult that was really looking for something more refined, I am leaning more towards the Peugeot 307 Hdi for a few grand more and a seriously eye opening amount of refinement.
Diesel engines should be slow revving and fat with torque. I’m not saying that the Astra’s engine was bad. It was just a little more like a 2-stroke then a nice torquey flat power curve.
I totally agree that the interior was boring and extremely low quality.
Though I didn’t like the car very much, I thought the exterior was different, and I like different.
The main thing I’ve been looking at with a small turbo diesel isn’t about the fuel savings, although yes, that’s a bonus. It is unfortunately outweighed by the higher asking price of Diesel in Australia. But I justify the extra cost of a diesel with the amount of grunt you get in a small package.
Diesel engines are chocker block full of technology these days. Modern “oilers” don’t seem to blow any smoke or soot, at most maybe a little towards the end of it’s service interval. And I think there’s a myth about how Diesel fuel is not as refined as petrol is. I think just about the same amount of R&D goes into both, and just as much refinement in the fuel making process. Just that diesel gets a different treatment. I think this is die to the certain chemicals in the fuel. I’m not too learned into the chemistry, so please feel free to add to and correct me. But diesel has some sort of toxic rating of parts per million (I just forget what it is and cbf’d looking it up as I’m trying to pack for Tassie).
There’s an industry standard as to how much ppm of this stuff diesel has. And the world standard is decreasing dramatically. Australia is known to have one of the worse quality fuels in the world. So whenever you see the price of diesel, it’s because it has to go through further refinement over regular unleaded.
The sad part about all this is that most European and other diesel powered cars can’t even make it to our shores because our fuel isn’t good enough.
Classic example is my Peugeot 405 Mi16. The original UK models produce a nice figure for a 1.9L 4 cyl engine. The aussie model got 20-30kW less due to poor fuel. And as such, lower compression ratio, retarded timing and probably a different ECU mapping to cope with our rudimentary excuse for petrol.
Steve
It is all about choice, I drive a BA Falcon Ute with every extra on it, including LPG. For around $48 I fill up and get around 550-600kms per tank full which makes all your fuel and diesel bills a waste of time. Ford only one bright spot on horizon – LPG only motor assembled in factory and unlike Holden or others are dual fuel and do out of the factory. I laugh when I see non-LPG cars getting filled up paying huge $$$. I only drive it with work and would have no problem getting another one! YOU LITTLE BEAUTY!!!!
A Tsi engine would be stupid for GM to even consider. Can you imagine how expensive it would be to service? This is GM were speaking of, it may be a German car, but it is still cheap, and GM are not well known for making reliable 4 cylinder engines in the past so why bother now. They could do it but it would be worthless, unrelaible, and expensive.
This pro-diesel thing gets a bit out of hand sometimes. If you do low kms, don’t waste your time…
My missus does 6000kms a year and that equates to about $10 a week in fuel for her petrol Jetta. The Diesel was $2500 more and that would save maybe $3 a week ?
$150 a year…
The petrol motor revs freely, is smooth and quiet. The diesel is noisy, has turbo lag and makes you visit the smelly, dirty end of the service station.
You pay more for the car, to service, insure and to put on the road (extra stamp duty).
For us, the petrol was the way to go…
yeah im with roberto, i still dont totally get the diesel thing. maybe its cause i also have an LPG falcon ute sitting in the garage?
i mean yeah you outlay a little more (like the same premium as diesel demands i suppose) but the goverment is pretty much refunding every dollar of it now.
so you could say its no bigger outlay yet you return half the fuel bill. not just a szving of 2L 100k or what ever. a gas falcon would run at the same cost as a small diesel car yet you still get the power and space the falcon offers.
yep im about to upgrade again and i am only disappointed that in LPG you cant get the falcon in manual anymore or even the 6sp auto would have me in there tomorrow
I have just clocked up my first month and 2000kms in my new Astra CDti (manual). I think it is brilliant and saves heaps in fuel costs – average 720 kms per tank around Melbourne. I love the solid European feel and the massive 320nm of torque. It is more fun than my previous Subaru Imprezza (manual) which I still have and enjoy driving too. I have been driving for 40+ years and the Astra beats them all!
I was impressed first up with the Diesel, it handels well, feels solid as and has plenty of torque. The major disappointment for us is some where in its life up to 8000Kms it has started to blow (blue/black) smoke.While we aren’t talking massive amounts, from what i am lead to believe it basicaly shouldn’t be blowing any unless under extreme load!or perhaps on fist start up. The car is currently under a oil consumption test (fantastic for a new car!!!!!!!)via the dealer ship,then i guess it depends on the results if any thing can or will be done? I thought these were a tried and proven motor over sea’s? Beware!!!!!
50000km so far in my manual Astra diesel. Mainly country and regional town driving averaging 6.0l/100km. Fantastic and big brakes (pads not even half worn), good handling and 850km per tank. The big let down is the crappy seats, few storage areas in nthe cabin and clunks from the suspension (partially fixed by poor Holden service department).
I also own an AU on gas. They are on par cost wise in regional Victoria but the diesel goes soooo much further on a tank. Gassing a car also takes much more time than dieseling up.
Out in the country, 4 on board, leave it in 6th and let the torque do the work. It’s as good as a big Aussie 6 and it loves hills. Yeah it’s noisy at idle but you don’t notice it on the move. Would I buy another one. Probably not and only as the Holden warranty service leaves a lot to be desired.
I’ve had my Astra Diesel auto since January – done 17000 kms in it around the Hills. And love the engine (have driven diesel for many years back in Africa). Also totally amazed by the pull of the engine. That get’s full marks as far as I am concerned, but I agree about the warranty service from Holden. Firstly when I sent it in for a tow bar hitch to be fitted the car came back with a reverse sensor problem. After much headscratching by the tow bar fitters they discovered that the technician at Holden who fitted the reverse sensors had used the hitch wiring socket instead. Now the back seat’s trim has separated at the seam. I tookd it in to Holden and their “zone rep” tells me that it is impossible to do that as the material is fused to the foam underneath so they wouldn’t repair it under warranty – in his view it must have been one of the kids poking a pen through the seat!! I went back to him about ten minutes later and told him that he was a bloody liar, proved that he was wrong and then proceeded to tell him that if it was not sorted out by them at their cost they could have the car back and I would buy a Toyota!! Within 15 minutes I had the branch manager phoning me to tell me that the warranty would be honoured and I would get a replacement car for the time that my car was in for repair. Incidentally, my husband was waiting for the Captiva Diesel to be released as he wanted one, but after the problems with the after sales service he was vowed never to own a Holden!! I don’t blame him…. I don’t think I will again after this.
Hi Alison, John and any one with warranty complaints,
We strongly recommend forwarding us any and all information about your issues via the ‘Warranty Complaints’ tab on our home page.
As we have many contacts through out the industry there’s a chance we can put a little squeeze on your behalf.
Cheers.
I am an Astra CDTi manual owner, my car has done 13,000km so far and apart from a tiny rattling noise inside the dashboard (i hope Holden don’t jerk me around with the repair), i am stoked with the overall quality – particularly the performance and handling. The interior is no Calais but it is neat and practical.
I knocked the on-road price down from 34,000 to 29,500 and got free mats and a full tank thrown in for free (i drive a hard bargain). Best 30k i ever spent!!!
I have a 2006 Holden Astra CDTI Diesel. I think the car is very economical to drive. I usually get about 800 kms out of a tank driving around Melbourne.
I am very tall 198 cms and find the car has the best legroom without having to go up into a V6 or higher.
Unfortunately, I am very very disappointed with Penfold Holden. I have had a suspension problem from about 500 kms from new. I now have about 23 000 kms on the clock and the suspension bushes (which is the problem) have been replaced and the noise has reappeared again.
Holden only replaced them as beforehand they kept telling me the noises were normal. It wasn’t until a Holden Mechanic went for a drive in my car for 5 minutes and agreed the sound was very annoying and distracted my attention to the road.
Summer is on the way and the creaking has started again. I am very disappointed that in a new car Holden has not been able to rectify the problem once and for all.
Jeff
I have a 2006 Holden Astra CDTI auto Diesel.
Recently I have had my car back to Holden for
- engine stalling problem (was supposed to be fixed by a software upgrade) but I’ve had the problem repeat several times since then. Now it’s supposedly the CIM (something about the column interface? something or other).
After I griped about the inconvenience of constantly having to take my car in before they open and be picked up on way to work, have someone from Holden come and get me, etc., today they actually brought my car to me at work. On Monday they will pick it up from work and bring it back so as not to inconvenience me (helps if you whinge obviously!). This is to replace a part to fix the CIM? issue.
- also had the suspension bushes problem that Jeff above had. This was also supposedly “fixed” by me taking back the car yet again to have a part replaced. And guess what!! Still has the problem.
How many problems does it take before the car’s declared a lemon??? =P
Other than worrying about stalling at 110km an hour on the freeway and being annoyed at the creaky suspension, I do love my car. It’s extremely economical (average 800km per tank)and definitely has enough grunt for everyday driving.
Jeff,
I was just on the phone to the Holden Rework Assistance Centre and apparently if you’re not happy with the work of your Holden mechanics, you can contact them and they will set up a “case” regarding the issue…
does anyone know what the diesel astra is like at towing (automatic preferrably?) I have a boat which is approx. 1200kg and would have thought the engine would be torquey enough and it seems to have good brakes, but I’m a bit worried about the weight over the tow-ball and consequential lack of weight over the front (driving) wheels.
i have an astra diesel auto at times the power seems to stutter like it wants to change gear this only happens occasionaly and wont happen when i take it to the dealer they seem to think it is a stop clutch on the torque converter coming on and off when the system is warming up i wonder if this is normal with automatics otherwise its a nice car using 6.1 per 100 ks
Alfred – I’ve not heard of this issue occuring in the course of normal driving, not even when “warming up” and certainly not so as it is noticeable. I think they’re feeding you a story.
May I suggest having this followed through again. The dealership may try all that they can to avoid you, they’re very good at it as a rule because it costs them money, but do insist – strongly if you have to.
It’s your car, your money and you have to live with it, so keep at them. If the dealership will not follow through and have your needs met, please contact us via the Warranty Complaints tab and we’ll do our level best to follow it up for you.
matt i took my car to the dealer recommended and they replaced the egr valve and this solved the problem.i saw somewhere the tow bar rating was 1300 kilos.also a person whose car was blowing blue smoke found handbrake wasn’t off properly.
A good car ,bad things are dash plastics and seats!
And is it better than a ford focus?
I am a Astra diesel automatic owner with 26,000 kms travelled. I also have owned two Ford dedicated LPG cars ute and sedan. The Astra is on the par with those cars for economy with likely less tuning issues in the future. I do country kms and get 800 to 900 kms to a tank. in the old language 47 mpg or 5.7 litres/100kms. The car is solid and very practical. I have had an issue with the the car hesitating when changing gears esp second to third and have returned it diagnoed incorrectly as dirty fuel but i believe it is the turbo lag cause it has reappeared. otherwise a damn good car plenty of power. towing would be good but would leave it in 4th gear as top two gears are overdrive only. yes i wuld tow with it but not the full 1300kgms recommended, maybe max 900kgms.
tony dawson if you look you will see i had this problem turned out to be egr valve
I have a 6sd astra, it has done 35000k and is economical with a very flexible and powerful engine.
PS it will pull well over 200kph
I have a2007 Hold astra cdti auto diesel. i have only done 3600 and have had it back to the dealer 3 times . I hope they have fixed the engine stalling problem with thesoftware upgrade( ok so far)the suspension creaks, they are dismissive of that, sort of you have to put up with that…….But the mystery isthe noises afterstarting. As the car moves offthereis a faint click click , thenafter picking up speed thereis a distinct clack clack between 2nd & 3rd. This only happensafter a key start, not after having stopped at the lights. The dealers mechanics seem to be mystified , presenting several stories to explain it.
I like the style and features included in Vectras and Astras but I just won’t trust any of their motors. In Europe there are large batches of Fiat diesels fitted to these cars that drink oil like a wino. The petrol range isn’t much better – a lady in Europe is putting up to 1.5 litres every week in her Ecotech motor, while I now use a litre of oil every 3000kms (after 54,000kms of driving). It started at 450 mls at 15,000 kms and heading towards 5 litre capacity at 75,000 kms.
The feel and pose of European Holdens won’t sway me back to this manufacturer – they have let me down with two Vectras, so why would I buy an Astra.
In your 2007 Holden Astra CDTi (Diesel) Road Test you said something that made me very angry. Let me explain..
Commercial drivers should expect the same level of comfort as any car driver and your comment “In short, this sort of seating isn’t even fit for a commercial vehicle in this day and age” only enforces the industries reluctance to recognise driver comfort and seat ergonomics within the commercial sector.
Not all van drivers are stereotypically sweaty unintelligent and vulgar people who deserve nothing more than a plank of wood to sit on, and I myself as a van owner, drive 1000 miles a week and have actually replaced the seating myself because of the reasons motioned in your review. Yes, a van driver actually changing seats? You must be amazed!!
Rant over.
Brought an Astra Diesel 6 month ago. It is lovely to drive and I get a figure of around 600km city driving around Melbourne.
Although the car has a problem where it looses power, starts to hesitate like I have it in too higher gear. The engine then starts to rattle, knock and black smoke pours out the exhaust. Barlow World Holden pulled the fuel system apart (even the turbo) and I waited for 5 weeks for a fuel lifter from o/s. That fixed it and It has now happened again 2 weeks later?
so the general consensus is that the astra crdi is a great car to drive but let down by build quality and reliability issues coupled with piss- poor and tardy holden dealership service?.
methinks i’ll look elswhere for my small diesel hatch!
I consider myself very well educated when it comes to cars and very mechanically minded and are amazed at the problems the people above are having with their Astra’s I really feel for you people it is terrible when you have bought a new car and have problems and bad service …I back the Astra fully and believe they are a fantstic car but for some maybe not…
When the AH Astra first came out my girlfreind and I were very keen and she decided to purchase the top of the range at the time which was the CDXi with leather and all the bells and whistles,to be 100% honest the car has not let us down once and being as fussy as I am we have kept the car immaculate polishing it regularly and keeping it in pristine condition as we believe if you look after your car it looks after you (I know it sounds a bit stupid but I believe that after having stripped my old VL TUBO BT1 and restoring it and that car never let me down ,back on topic our Astra has now clocked over 57,400 km and has not missed a beat there are no rattles or strange noises and we just purchased 4 new Continental tyres for the car..
The only thing we could pick on when we first got the car was the crackling noise coming from the contact of the top of the windows against the rubbers when you put the windows up but that has now gone due to the fact that the rubbers are a little bit more worn in now ….
For me and my girlfreind the Astra has been great with fantastic handling capabilities around the Dandenongs and also pulling up the brakes are outstanding ,we have the 6 stacker cd player with 7 blaupunkt speakers they sound great with plenty of bass the seats are now moulded you could say and are comfy as on long trips ,petrol is still good even with the price averaging 750km to a full tank on PULP 98 ,fog lights are handy in this winter weather and also the safety and sturdiness on the road is outstanding .
My Girlfreinds Mother opted for the Toyota Corolla at the same time we purchased the Astra in 2005 and is very reliable as the Corolla always has been but if you want cheapo interior mouldings,tinny doors ,and a loose feel on the freeway I would suggest the Corolla ,I have now driven both and even though the Corolla may be more popular they still have a very cheap feel to them where is the Astra has that solid European feel on the road ,On a descent bend of road 140km is nothing for an Astra and efortless driving but in the Corolla I felt unsafe and it seemed as though the steering wheel was like jelly not very conforting at the same speed…
But at the end of the day each to their own and I just prefer not to buy Japanese cars ,maybe the Ford Focus is a good buy aswell…
I’m wondering and asking you guys, I may be going to buy a 2nd hand Holden TR Astra. I do not know alot about them and wondering if you know if they have any problems I need to know if I will consider it.
Appreciate any of your thoughts or experiences you have had. e.g Are they reliable, any problems you have had? etc.
Thanks.
NO don’t bother, unfortunately we had to drive an Astra CD for 6 months and had nothing but trouble with rattles, poor plastic quality and engine probs, so we bought a Ford Focus and what a difference, very happy with the quality and performance.
^No not the new AH series, but the TR Astra Series 1995-1998 I think.
Poor plastic quality what do you exactly mean (Ford Go Better ) can you please elaborate I find that really hard to believe as the plastic trim on the dash and surounding areas of the interior are all very thick and sturdy unless you kick or pull at it or something else like kids wrecking it ,sounds a bit over the top for me seriously what exactly was falling apart on the Astra without it being ill treated in the first place after all it aint metal or steel ….the whole car is very solidly put together when you shut the doors they feel heavy and make a solid sound shutting ,I do believe the Ford Focus is a very good car aswell with German engineering like the Astra but I think the styling of them is ugly and the interior in cheaper models (Better than an Astra inside ????? I don’t think so they look cheap and nasty compared with an Astra unless you are talking about the XR5 and the ghia models which don’t look bad at all but then again why would you bother for the outrageous price tag when the nicer Holden Astra SRi TURBO and GTi Volkswagens start to fall under the same price tag and have shit loads more power and refinement and also better looks ….
In response to the question about purchasing a TR Astra
I would go for the TS instead they can be found for the same price if you are looking at spending anywhere between $7,500 – $10,000 ,and I would look for one with full service history if you can find it ,also look out for or ask about the timing belt they are a common problem but can be a minor problem if you have them regularly checked for splitting and wear usually if the car has done 60,000 or over have it checked if it looks like it’s wearing have it replaced ,check the service book or ask if the Astra you are looking at has had it’s timing belt changed lately and you should be right apart from this issue they are a great little car and will not let you down…
At the end of the day if you look after your car and have it regularly serviced you should be fine ,it’s the people who expect to much from their cars that never open the bonnet between taking it to a garage you must check your fluid levels and put a bit of effort in yourself…
They are not bullet proof…………..
^No can do matey O! It’s TR only, not TS!
Fair enough I’d still say buy one as they are economical and pretty reliable and safe ……..
Are you talking to me German Tech? Well if you are thank you. But you know the TR is made in England not Germany. Though I thought the TR sounds like a good buy because I have heard that Astra’s have been a great car.
Yeah I’m actually Adrian the guy above with the essay as a response ,sorry about that I had German tech for some reason I don’t know why ,yeah I knew they were made in England ,yes they are a great car I drive one an AH and used to drive a TS Astra both never let me down just like I said above the timing belt needs to be checked and everything else is pretty good on them ,I have heard of the water pump going on a few but at the end of the day all cars have their problems and glitches…
You can buy a corolla they are reliable but I just think the interior quality and build lets them down ,my girlfriends mother opted for the 2005 Corolla the same time we got the Astra it has been great apparently but I drove it and it feels bloody awful on the road like jelly and now at 32,480km it has a chasis squeak that cannot be fixed ,but apart from that she’s happy ,I’d still prefer an Astra though , even Compared to the Corolla comparison of the same year as the TR Astra…
Now it should be Adrian
Question. Should the deisel continue to be loud after a trip of 20 k’s ?
At 50ks my front tyres were wearing well, i got a wheel alighnment and rotated the tyres and found the rear tyres had worn badly on the inside any idea what would cause this