2010-2015 Astra petrol buying guide

2010-2015 Astra petrol buying guide

Author
Discussion

A500leroy

Original Poster:

5,138 posts

119 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
Anyone advise please?
What engines/trim best, what to avoid, ideally estate version. Ta.

Macron

9,899 posts

167 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all

Ron99

1,985 posts

82 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
1.4T, SE or Elite trim.

fatboy b

9,500 posts

217 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
Mods: Can we start a ‘random posts’ stickie hehe

Gojira

899 posts

124 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
Macron said:
10/10 for helpfulness...

I'd have thought a car forum like this was a sensible place to ask for opinions on cars, but then I used to drive an Insignia, so what do I know....

RazerSauber

2,287 posts

61 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
Budget?
Any specific requirements?
Usage?
Mileage?
Sausage?

More info please! The other half has a 1.6 Petrol which is adequate. I had a 1.8 Vectra which was also adequate.

mygoldfishbowl

3,707 posts

144 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
If it's any help I once owned a 09 2.0 litre diesel estate and it was really ste, by far the worst car I have ever owned.

But saying that I believe the later versions, which you're looking for, had cured the gear box problems by then.

Bonzo1930

182 posts

57 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
Why on earth do you want an Astra? I can't think of a worse car in its class, make sure you have breakdown cover, from my experience of Vauxhalls you're gonna need it!

A500leroy

Original Poster:

5,138 posts

119 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
Bonzo1930 said:
Why on earth do you want an Astra? I can't think of a worse car in its class, make sure you have breakdown cover, from my experience of Vauxhalls you're gonna need it!
That bad? im coming from a fiat for general usage.

mygoldfishbowl

3,707 posts

144 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
A500leroy said:
That bad? im coming from a fiat for general usage.
I can honestly say that my 09 was worse than "That bad".

Don Roque

18,002 posts

160 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
That'll be the J model. We use them at work and still have loads on our fleet. They are as tough as old boots and take loads of abuse (whereas the Astra H models we had before were nowhere near as tough).

I don't have any experience of the petrol models but the 1.6 Whisper diesels and 1.7 CDTi engines are decent. The 2.0 CDTi is the pick of the bunch though, and whilst it is an old block and a bit noisy, it has a good punch.

Problems-wise, the only thing I can think of that the TPMS needs reset if you change a wheel or it'll leave the 'service TPMS' message on the dash. This can he sorted out by any professional fitter but all our work cars have this warning light on as we change our own wheels from spares we keep.

underphil

1,246 posts

211 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
The 2.0 diesel is pretty rough, the later 1.6 136bhp engine is meant to be better and a lot cheaper to run

SRi suspension handles a lot better and is still quite comfortable, also the SRi sports seats are very comfortable

The 1.6 petrol is a bit slow, but was fine for town driving, very simple engine, reliable if not very economical


Killboy

7,384 posts

203 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
J/GTC is great. VXR is obviously the pick of the litter. And it beat most other models in the shootouts. wink

The only crap thing is the media capabilities suck a little. USB iPhone integration only (not Android - need to use an aux cable), and only audio through the bluetooth. VW wins here hands down.

They are cheap, and every now and then vauxhall accidentally builds a decent car. I recon this is one of them.

ZX10R NIN

27,648 posts

126 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
Obviously the VXR is the pick out of the rest the 1.6T 200 in Elite Nav trim is the pick of the normal petrols:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

In diesel form it's the BiTurbo 160 Elite Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Bonzo1930

182 posts

57 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
Must admit mine was an Astra H but traded in at 18 months old on the back of an AA truck! Would never touch another VAUXHALL!

A500leroy

Original Poster:

5,138 posts

119 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
Mixed review then!
Cant have a bmw cause of the timing chain
Cant have a tsi cause the engine explodes
Cant have a merc cause they rot
cant have a toyota/honda cause there dull!

Whats left?

ZX10R NIN

27,648 posts

126 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
What's your budget OP?

Crafty_

13,297 posts

201 months

Tuesday 19th November 2019
quotequote all
A500leroy said:
Mixed review then!
Cant have a bmw cause of the timing chain
Cant have a tsi cause the engine explodes
Cant have a merc cause they rot
cant have a toyota/honda cause there dull!

Whats left?
The reality is that all cars have faults and problems, the reality is only a small percentage will suffer the "common" issue in most cases - its just you hear about the bad stuff more.

Its just a case of working out which car you like the most and are happy to accept the risk of whatever issues befall it.

A500leroy

Original Poster:

5,138 posts

119 months

Wednesday 20th November 2019
quotequote all
ZX10R NIN said:
What's your budget OP?
5k. id really like a golf but the TSI issues put me off. MUST be petrol and 5 door.

Kev_Mk3

2,784 posts

96 months

Wednesday 20th November 2019
quotequote all
Astra J.


boring as hell but served a purpose. 2ltr diesel would be the engine for me range was brilliant and mpg. Loads of room in the Elite Spec leather seats, heated seats etc was decent but 99% don't have Bluetooth as you had to spec the better radio from factory and most didn't know so you have to get a aftermarket kit.

Ours was great but so glad to get rid. Never had any issues was low miles and we piled them on going to France etc but lacked anything fun / exciting.