RE: Vauxhall Astra GTE (Mk1): PH Heroes
Discussion
Still as sharp as an 80's suit with matching shoulder pads. I actually like these more than successive Astra GTE for looks.
I think the one in the article is from the Vauxhall heritage collection, so probably well looked after. But pretty much all the others have died (or are kept roadworthy with lots of work) due to excessive rust:
http://www.uksaabs.co.uk/UKS/viewtopic.php?t=17509...
http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11007...
If I could find a nice one in black, it might make a nice 16V turbo conversion, but alas, I guess I'd run into the same metal moth issues as the threads above.
I think the one in the article is from the Vauxhall heritage collection, so probably well looked after. But pretty much all the others have died (or are kept roadworthy with lots of work) due to excessive rust:
http://www.uksaabs.co.uk/UKS/viewtopic.php?t=17509...
http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11007...
If I could find a nice one in black, it might make a nice 16V turbo conversion, but alas, I guess I'd run into the same metal moth issues as the threads above.
cookie1600 said:
I think the one in the article is from the Vauxhall heritage collection, so probably well looked after.
Probably so as EVO borrowed it for a similar article last year - ( see above for link ).Interesting to see how a lot of these older cars that weren't class winners in contemporary articles by journos of the time are coming to be well regarded now by scribblers now i.e.DC2 ITR, E30 M3, 964RS etc
And vice versa of course!
"Never understood the love for the MK1 Golf GTI and it's position as the benchmark which all old hot hatches are compared too.
The GTI had slow, heavy steering. A thrashy engine which didn't like to rev. It was a bit wallowy. A 205 GTI it wasn't"
The Golf came out 9 years before the 205 too. Makes a little bit of a difference.
The GTI had slow, heavy steering. A thrashy engine which didn't like to rev. It was a bit wallowy. A 205 GTI it wasn't"
The Golf came out 9 years before the 205 too. Makes a little bit of a difference.
Alucidnation said:
8.5 to sixty from 115bhp isn't too shabby either, although weight was a lot less back then
I was kind of thinking the same....although from a different angle. This is said to weigh 998kgs, yet a modern hatch with a MUCH nicer interior (look at that in there! 
), loads of creature comforts, bigger and heavier wheels/tyres (which offer far, far greater grip and stability), engines with way more power, bigger brakes, better suspension, 7 speed double clutch gearboxes, shed loads of safety features; with overall MUCH better performance and economy figures, and a small hatch still only a couple of hundred kgs heavier.Crikey, I haven't seen that dashboard for about 25 years. Talk about having a flashback! My custard-yellow 1.4 Kadett was a brilliant little car, but that hazard button got well used too. All part and parcel of motoring at the time - unless you went Japanese.
My mate had one of these GTE's and my abiding memory was the fact it could lug itself and 5 blokes up the hill to my house in 4th gear. Most cars would be in 2nd or 3rd. Very flexible lump for its time.
My mate had one of these GTE's and my abiding memory was the fact it could lug itself and 5 blokes up the hill to my house in 4th gear. Most cars would be in 2nd or 3rd. Very flexible lump for its time.
s m said:
cookie1600 said:
I think the one in the article is from the Vauxhall heritage collection, so probably well looked after.
Probably so as EVO borrowed it for a similar article last year - ( see above for link ).rix said:
Bit of rose tinted glasses here. Has the author driven either the mk4 GSi or Corsa VXR? Both are prettty good, the Corsa in particular being actually quite fun and lively. I haven’t driven a mk1 but with the exception of lightness, are you really suggesting it was a ‘better’ car?
I agree. The Corsa VXR in particular is a bit of a gem. Not a bad handler at all and makes good use of the 190 odd bhp..The Mk1 GTE is a good car in the same way the Mk1 Golf GTi is good, but it is what it is. Light, basic and rough around the edges and quite fun for a bit or nostalgia.
Fire99 said:
rix said:
Bit of rose tinted glasses here. Has the author driven either the mk4 GSi or Corsa VXR? Both are prettty good, the Corsa in particular being actually quite fun and lively. I haven’t driven a mk1 but with the exception of lightness, are you really suggesting it was a ‘better’ car?
I agree. The Corsa VXR in particular is a bit of a gem. Not a bad handler at all and makes good use of the 190 odd bhp..
Loved my Mk1's and preferred the handling to the latter cars.
Cars of their time so looks and build very similar to their competitors and this will come as a shock to the "kids of today" but Vauxhall did build some good cars back in the day and for me certainly better than Ford for example.
Those of a certain age will remember lusting over magazine car adverts that actually had some charm and a bit of edge. I remember also going round the dealers as a kid to collect the brochures and the GTE one was special in that it had its own dedicated pamphlet which was away from the rest of the range.
Would love to get a Mk1 GTE in the garage today
Cars of their time so looks and build very similar to their competitors and this will come as a shock to the "kids of today" but Vauxhall did build some good cars back in the day and for me certainly better than Ford for example.
Those of a certain age will remember lusting over magazine car adverts that actually had some charm and a bit of edge. I remember also going round the dealers as a kid to collect the brochures and the GTE one was special in that it had its own dedicated pamphlet which was away from the rest of the range.
Would love to get a Mk1 GTE in the garage today
BFleming said:
s m said:
cookie1600 said:
I think the one in the article is from the Vauxhall heritage collection, so probably well looked after.
Probably so as EVO borrowed it for a similar article last year - ( see above for link ).
E65Ross said:
Alucidnation said:
8.5 to sixty from 115bhp isn't too shabby either, although weight was a lot less back then
I was kind of thinking the same....although from a different angle. This is said to weigh 998kgs, yet a modern hatch with a MUCH nicer interior (look at that in there! ), loads of creature comforts, bigger and heavier wheels/tyres (which offer far, far greater grip and stability), engines with way more power, bigger brakes, better suspension, 7 speed double clutch gearboxes, shed loads of safety features; with overall MUCH better performance and economy figures, and a small hatch still only a couple of hundred kgs heavier.The equivalent modern vehicles aren't small hatchbacks but medium sized , ie Ford focus or Honda civic .
The ones equipped as you spec tip the scales at almost 1600kg for the Focus St and 1400kg for a high spec civic .
Other factors also come into play such as rolling resistance, wide heavy wheels and tyres need more grunt to push them along .
The secrets of quick cars is almost always power to weight .
Very cool, I love the sporty variants of car of the mid/late eighties and early ninties (I think maybe the era was a sweet spot in car design and technology, a balance between modern automobile refinements and relative mechanical/electrical simplicity...).
Anyhow, there does seem a bit of rose tinted revisionism going on in the write-up, I don't remember these GTE's being particularly well received by the motoring press of the day. Though I do find it interesting sometimes with motoring journalism how certain models are feted and touted, and thus become fashionable, while others are dismissed over fairly minor differences.
Anyhow, there does seem a bit of rose tinted revisionism going on in the write-up, I don't remember these GTE's being particularly well received by the motoring press of the day. Though I do find it interesting sometimes with motoring journalism how certain models are feted and touted, and thus become fashionable, while others are dismissed over fairly minor differences.
lee_erm said:
Never understood the love for the MK1 Golf GTI and it's position as the benchmark which all old hot hatches are compared too.
The GTI had slow, heavy steering. A thrashy engine which didn't like to rev. It was a bit wallowy. A 205 GTI it wasn't.
Never driven the GTE, but I knew someone that had one back in the day, back then he said my 1.8 GTi was a better car. True the Golf wasn't a 205, it wasn't prone to going through hedges backwards.The GTI had slow, heavy steering. A thrashy engine which didn't like to rev. It was a bit wallowy. A 205 GTI it wasn't.
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