RE: Vauxhall Astra GSI: Spotted

[dunnoreally]

Yeah, +1 for the price being pretty reasonable for this mileage and condition. Been looking into mk2 Focus STs recently, and they're no cheaper.

If you want any interesting midsize hatchback in good condition nowadays, 5k seems about what you'll be paying.

[warch]

[lee_erm]

These drove pretty well. Better than anything else available at the time in the segment, GTI6 aside, which was only available when this was long in the tooth anyway. These are a much much better steer than the MK3 Golf GTI.

The engine was an utter peach too.

[Welshbeef]

aaron_2000 said:

Damn, nearly 30 years old.

I recall working as a store assistant in a very cheap supermarket back then. One day one of the other lads came to work on his day off to show off his new steer a white GSI 16v. What a machine - back then we were pootling round with st box 1ltr 4 speed Novas 30/40bhp and then he comes in with that beast.

We were earning £2.03/hours too....

Anyway he had it repossessed within a year but he lived the dream. (The girls loved his car if you know what I mean)

[h7ust]

Had 4 gsi's and 4 gtes and still got 1, love them.

[rossub]

h7ust said:

Had 4 gsi's and 4 gtes and still got 1, love them.

Where do these lurkers keep coming from.... nearly 11 years before the first post!

[Drive Blind]

A friend had one. Looked great, the engine was great, shame it was a let down dynamically. As mentioned though it was up against the Escort and the mk3 Golf.

The Fiat Tipo 16v won the magazine group tests of the era iirc

[Nik Gnashers]

I think you'd have to be a griffin fan to think this is a classic.
The only reason these are rare now, is because they were built badly, handled badly, and the image/status was chavvy. As a result they were either written off, rotted away, or 'modified' to death.
Just because a car is 30 years old, does not mean it is automatically a wonderful classic car. These were poor when new, and still poor today (in my opinion of course - never been a griffin fanboy though).
I could name 20 other similar cars of the same era I'd rather have, and yes I am plenty old enough to remember and have driven them.

[s m]

Drive Blind said:

The Fiat Tipo 16v won the magazine group tests of the era iirc

It did indeed - dynamic prowess is no guarantee of future strong value as said

Hardly ever see those Tipo sedicivalvole cars anymore

[smig12345]

I always liked them, they were fast cars in their day and I liked the looks of them too.

[martin mrt]

I’ve always liked the mk3 Astra, I had one some 19 years ago that was written off by a loony lady in a wayward Saxo.

One of these though were what dreams were made of at that time.

They still look fresh even today, it’s just a shame they rust so badly.

The steering wheel and drivers seat in this example don’t reflect that of a 64k mile car imo. These were stupidly simple to clock

[Johnnytheboy]

I'll take one of these instead:

[techguyone]

As a former Mk 2 GTE owner the mk3 styling wise inside and out left me cold, looked a little too bland even with bonnet vents which also mysteriously seemed to find their way onto many other non gm cars. Not for me.

[smithyithy]

Wasn't this regarded as one of the worst handling FWD 'hot' hatches ever?

[BeirutTaxi]

Would rather own this than a new and soulless BMW 420d (yes, seriously).

With a cone air filter and bigger backbox this thing will be a real giant killer

[cerb4.5lee]

Johnnytheboy said:

I'll take one of these instead:

I love Pacifica Blue(my fave for the RS2000) and I had one in Radiant Red, I still think that the Red Top engine in the GSI was better than the I4 16v unit in the RS though. I'd take the Recaros in the Ford though because I loved those to bits!

[Sion111R]

I had one of these in black from new in the early 1990’s. I loved it. It handled really well and was more than quick enough. Fantastic seats and a free reving engine. Every drive was a smile a mile. I had some great road trips in it, Scotland and zipping round the Alps stick in my mind even after more years than I care to remember. It was the early 1990’s, so it was stolen. Last time I saw it it was grounded in a hedge in a Park near Shirley, Solihull. Scrotes had jumped all over the bonnet and roof to try and get some traction. Still not sure I’m over it....

[tim-jxv5n]

lee_erm said:

These drove pretty well. Better than anything else available at the time in the segment, GTI6 aside, which was only available when this was long in the tooth anyway. These are a much much better steer than the MK3 Golf GTI.

The engine was an utter peach too.

Renault 19 16 valve drove much better than these

[cerb4.5lee]

Sion111R said:

It was the early 1990’s, so it was stolen. Last time I saw it it was grounded in a hedge in a Park near Shirley, Solihull. Scrotes had jumped all over the bonnet and roof to try and get some traction. Still not sure I’m over it....

Gutted for you.

It was an absolute fluke that I was walking by my BIL's house late one night and I caught two lads trying to nick his off his drive. I chased them both across the garden and they jumped over the fence, it had door lock damage but they didn't get it thankfully.

I spotted a car that was waiting for the lads up the street, and I got close enough to see the reg plate but because I was canned up I'd forgot it by the time the police had turned up! Not that it would have made much difference anyway because the car that they were in was more than likely nicked anyway.

[cerb4.5lee]

tim-jxv5n said:

Renault 19 16 valve drove much better than these

They were one of my favourites as well, I thought that the steering was brilliant on them. I took one for a test drive for a mate who was interested in buying one...I remember getting a rollicking off the salesman for going too quickly!

This thread is bringing so many memories back for me.