Need opinions, buying used: Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi vs 1.6 C

[netropo]

Hi all,

I need your opinon on something. I am doing some research to buy my first car in the UK. I will use this car primarily on weekends and bank holidays to escape London and during summer for going to campsites in the continent. I'd say about 10.000 miles a year, 80% A roads, 20% b roads.

I've found some Vauxhall Astra 2013-2014 around a budget bracket of £4000-£6000 which seem will do the trick for me, but I am trying to decide between 2 engines:

- The older 1.7 CDTi
- The newer (introduced in 2014) 1.6 CDTi

Based on the reviews and opinions that I've read online it seems clear that I should try to get a 1.6 CDTi over the quite old 1.7 CDTi, but there is a difference of about £1000 that I need to racionalise and justify

I made some numbers and it seems I could save about £500 in diesel in 4 years if I went for the 1.6 TDCi. Also, these units use to have fewer miles (about 10k less in average). Also the 1.6 TDCi seems to be exempt from road tax.

So far so good but there are some other aspects I know little about and

- Is there a difference in how these engines get old, the amount of servicing they need, how expensive their repairs are?
- Are there known issues with any of them that I should be aware of?

Essentially, in my position anbd with my requirements, what would you guys do? Expend £5000 for a 1.7 CDTi or £6000 on a 1.6 CDTi and why?

Thanks in advance!

[T0MMY]

I've had both as company cars, although both were ecoflex versions. Is the 1.6 the newer Astra or just the newer ("whisper") engine in the older model?

I found the 1.6 ridiculously economical, 70mpg+ easily although a lot of my driving is on the A47 doing 50mph for miles and miles in traffic. The 1.7 was more like 56mpg but that was in the older Astra (2011) which is a fair bit heavier I believe. The 1.6 was much quieter and generally a nicer engine, also felt a bit quicker (again though, different weight car!). Can't really comment on reliability as I never ran them into the ground but no problems when I had them.

EDIT: Just thought, if you're claiming business mileage, bear in mind the 1.7 gets 2p more per mile than the 1.6 which makes a big difference to the break even MPG.

Edited by T0MMY on Monday 1st October 18:28

[netropo]

T0MMY said:

Is the 1.6 the newer Astra or just the newer ("whisper") engine in the older model?

Thanks for sharing your experience TOMMY! It is the whisper engine on a 2014-2015 Astra

[T0MMY]

netropo said:

Thanks for sharing your experience TOMMY! It is the whisper engine on a 2014-2015 Astra

Ah well it may be entirely different then. It's certainly a lot smoother and quieter that engine but even that may have been to do with the later car perhaps having better soundproofing (although I doubt it). The MPG and acceleration differences are possibly only due to the weight difference but it did feel like it pulled better from low revs...basically felt like the turbo spooled up quicker but without then losing out at higher revs. Incidentally I also had the more powerful 136bhp version briefly and actually thought the weaker ecoflex engine (110bhp) was better!

Edited by T0MMY on Monday 1st October 18:37

[ZX10R NIN]

Go for the 1.6 it's the better engine quieter better on fuel the extra 1k is worth it for the refinement & fuel alone.