Astra GSI vs Integra DC5
Discussion
Basically I'm after a new car soon been driving a boring 320d for the past year or so while I save up, so the shortlist I narrowed it down to is DC5 or a MK4 astra GSI.
Pro's of the DC5 I can think of is it should generally be more reliable than the astra, looks better (subjective) only problem is I'm a Honda man I have had 2 DC2's and I had a 260 bhp EP3 in the past and it cost me a fortune to tune and also got tiresome having to rag the death out of it to get anywhere so I might get bored easily.
Pro's of the astra is better tuning results with FI, cheaper to service and maintain and parts are generally cheaper faster in a straight line, won't be as good handling and also not a massive fan of the dash.
Would like to hear from people that have owned both
Any suggestions also welcome
Pro's of the DC5 I can think of is it should generally be more reliable than the astra, looks better (subjective) only problem is I'm a Honda man I have had 2 DC2's and I had a 260 bhp EP3 in the past and it cost me a fortune to tune and also got tiresome having to rag the death out of it to get anywhere so I might get bored easily.
Pro's of the astra is better tuning results with FI, cheaper to service and maintain and parts are generally cheaper faster in a straight line, won't be as good handling and also not a massive fan of the dash.
Would like to hear from people that have owned both
Any suggestions also welcome
Danny4494 said:
Pro's of the astra is better tuning results with FI, cheaper to service and maintain and parts are generally cheaper faster in a straight line, won't be as good handling and also not a massive fan of the dash.
There's also the fact that it's a giant dog turd of a vehicle. It shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as the Honda.If it helps, I went from a modified EP3 to a 290bhp Astra VXR and in less than 12 months swapped it for a DC5.
The torque is nice to have day to day but doesn’t get boring, the DC5 never got boring at any point. If it hadn’t blown the engine spectacularly due to a slight mis-shift it may well not have been sold even now.
The torque is nice to have day to day but doesn’t get boring, the DC5 never got boring at any point. If it hadn’t blown the engine spectacularly due to a slight mis-shift it may well not have been sold even now.
Mr2Mike said:
Danny4494 said:
Pro's of the astra is better tuning results with FI, cheaper to service and maintain and parts are generally cheaper faster in a straight line, won't be as good handling and also not a massive fan of the dash.
There's also the fact that it's a giant dog turd of a vehicle. It shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as the Honda.I'd concede, a DC5 us a more exciting car out the box and more suited to track driving but the Mk4 Astra GSi isn't a dog turd. Far from it actually. Surprisingly good chassis, well built, stupidly cheap to run and modify and with minimal work can be a very quick car.
I ran one, started off standatd but ended up 275bhp, KW coilovers, poly bushed and set up correctly and it would easily out pace Type R's and such like on track. It also did 25k a year for two years with minimal issues.
My sister still has one, standard aside for lowered slightly... drives it every day and it's been fantastic. Very underrated cars and as usual, the Vauxhall badge snobs struggle to accept that.
Day in, day out I'd have the Astra but as a track / drivers car then I don't dispute the DC5 is the better car, more so if comparing standard examples.
I ran one, started off standatd but ended up 275bhp, KW coilovers, poly bushed and set up correctly and it would easily out pace Type R's and such like on track. It also did 25k a year for two years with minimal issues.
My sister still has one, standard aside for lowered slightly... drives it every day and it's been fantastic. Very underrated cars and as usual, the Vauxhall badge snobs struggle to accept that.
Day in, day out I'd have the Astra but as a track / drivers car then I don't dispute the DC5 is the better car, more so if comparing standard examples.
Given the choice between any other car and a Vauxhall, it would be the other car. They were beyond useless when my Astra, owned since new, serviced at the dealer bang on schedule, blew up it's engine a few months after the warranty expired. The engine blowing up puts me off, but the way they dealt with the problem means that I will never, ever consider one of their vehicles again.
PS - mine was a Mk IV, with a Z20LET engine.
PS - mine was a Mk IV, with a Z20LET engine.
Edited by syl on Wednesday 22 August 21:38
But have either of you owned a Mk4 GSi Turbo or a DC5 and can offer the OP some personal opinion on either or is this just going to be another generic list all your Vauxhall tales of woe. I mean, I had a Vectra 2.0DTI and it was utter crap, terrible car that had no end of issues but then again that's not really relevant to the subject in questions unless the OP fancies one of those instead...
It's a landslide 
I know it's a very strange comparison I'm just verging more on the side of boost over NA feel like I have done the Honda thing now owned pretty much every type r minus the FK and DC5 and don't get me wrong they have all been fun if I had to have one back would be a hard decision between the ATR or EK9 , on paper the GSI doesn't look like a bad shout obviously not, another left wing choice for me is a JRSC EP3 my 260 bhp NA one bored me to be honest would the boost make up for that ?
I know it's a very strange comparison I'm just verging more on the side of boost over NA feel like I have done the Honda thing now owned pretty much every type r minus the FK and DC5 and don't get me wrong they have all been fun if I had to have one back would be a hard decision between the ATR or EK9 , on paper the GSI doesn't look like a bad shout obviously not, another left wing choice for me is a JRSC EP3 my 260 bhp NA one bored me to be honest would the boost make up for that ?Danny4494 said:
It's a landslide I know it's a very strange comparison I'm just verging more on the side of boost over NA feel like I have done the Honda thing now owned pretty much every type r minus the FK and DC5 and don't get me wrong they have all been fun if I had to have one back would be a hard decision between the ATR or EK9 , on paper the GSI doesn't look like a bad shout obviously not, another left wing choice for me is a JRSC EP3 my 260 bhp NA one bored me to be honest would the boost make up for that ?
I owned a 310hp Jrsc EP3 defo wont get bored anytime soon in that but if your mind is already kind of set on the GSI get one now while you can still find one that isn't a dog may be looking for a while tho but they are out there. I know it's a very strange comparison I'm just verging more on the side of boost over NA feel like I have done the Honda thing now owned pretty much every type r minus the FK and DC5 and don't get me wrong they have all been fun if I had to have one back would be a hard decision between the ATR or EK9 , on paper the GSI doesn't look like a bad shout obviously not, another left wing choice for me is a JRSC EP3 my 260 bhp NA one bored me to be honest would the boost make up for that ?Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff