[anastasios]

Hello all!

Tomorrow it will be 2 months since I picked up my Astra Sri 1.4 150T Granite Grey. I have done 3000 miles already so I thought to share some of my thoughts.

The car is nice and it seems technologically advanced with all the add ons (lane assist, parking sensors, auto lights, etc).

However, I have to say that it seems that the 'core' product (aka the car) is a bit 'overpriced' (I paid almost 20k). The 'bad' surprise came when I saw that the car was manufactured in Poland. Ok, not a big deal but when everywhere in Vauxhall they had banners Made in Britain, I was expecting that at least the UK market would be covered by the UK factory. The second came when I found out about the Watt linkage.....Totally unacceptable. I placed the order at the end of November and I received a car that has less specifications! Anyway.....

My first concern is about the gearbox. It seems to be not smooth at all when putting 1st and 2nd gear. I went back home for the Easter Break and drove the Audi A3 of my father and I remembered how a smooth gear box feels like. I was able to put 1st gear just with my finger. Having read online about the gearbox it came to my surprise that the gearbox that GM put to this car is the same that they put in Astra J. Gearbox M32 which is notorious for having issues. Anyway I have extended warranty so I hope that when and if the time comes I will change it for free.

Also the steering wheel is very 'heavy' for a new car (Sport button not activated).

The colour I chose is granite grey which is nice. However, it seems very sensitive. I opened the door once and I literally just touched the door of my neighbour, and I lost a bit of the door's colour. I was surprised. So I decided to put some cream/wax to protect it. While I was applying the wax I found out that the metal on the roof is very thin! If someone barely press the middle it goes in (and then goes back to the original shape). But it is something that I was not expecting from a new car. The same applies to the Vauxhall sign in the front part of the car and the Vauxhall 'part' that is used to open the boot. If someone places a little bit of pressure to them they move. It seems very cheap.....The same with the wing mirrors. Every time I need to fold them it feels as the last time!

The rear and front parking sensors are very good but very sensitive as by the time they beep like hell there is still a good 20 cm gap between my car and the obstacle.

Also the auto lighting sensor seems to be problematic sometimes. Outside temperature 12C, sunshine and the lights are on....Very weird. But this is the least of the 'problems'.

Overall, these are my first thoughts. I understand that we pay for all this fancy things, like AppleCar, touch screen, steering wheel buttons, rain sensors etc. but based on my two months experience I am concerned about the overall quality of the car. Maybe I am wrong (I hope that I am wrong). When I see an old Astra (53 plate) on the street I am thinking if my car will be able to be in such condition after 13 years. I really wanted to like the car and I still put a lot of effort to it. I even changed the oil and the oil filter this week since I believe that it is good for the engine to change the first oil soon regardless of what companies say.

Future will say about my choice of car.

Sorry for the long post!

All the best!

 

[Kristis]

I agree on most parts, but as for gearbox... Do you also have a problem that sometimes 1st and reverse are hard to engage and seem "locked" until u try to engage other gears? I tend to get locked 1st from time to time when im stopping at the lights or parking

 

[Guest]

My dad's 2013 Astra J does this, first gear and sometimes reverse are difficult to engage. He'll get the dealer to take a look before the warranty runs out later this year. I did read that they were supposed to be completely overhauling the box for the K. I hope that is the case for you both!!

 

[ZappyPayload]

As a whole I relay like the car after about two months as well, it feels really nippy and controls well.

I really like the tech and the look inside the car with the screen etc and minimal amount of buttons. The software seems a bit armature however with the layout and how it performs.

The feel of the steering feels perfect to me but I guess that's personal taste.

The auto features perform well for the most part but are sometimes a bit strange. You could have an entire covering of rain on the windscreen at a stop and they take ages to notice. At speed is better but sometimes take a while to realise they need to be going at a higher speed if the rain is heaver.

Totally agree with the lights. I would in a large office with its own multi story car park. When I drive out of it on an overcast day the lights will turn off as soon as I leave the car park so thats good. As you say, when it is sunny however they stay on for a good ten mins before turning off, really odd. I guess its a feature of the software however.

I like the feel of the gearbox being deliberate, my old car had quire a soft gearbox, I guess that is personal taste again.

I didn't go for the LEDs on the front at least as the demo I saw they looked really laggy. Maybe on the next car once they have time to iron that out.

My biggest annoyance by far is the interior rattles. They seem to be all over the place. Most noticeably on the roof lining and the drivers side pillar. Its almost like they produced my particular car as a joke car in that respect! Went for a drive whit one of the techs and he could hear all of them so its not me being picky, I really expected a new car to be solid on the inside and not have any of those issues. They said they would need the car in for at least a day to investigate. I'm not really sure if I want them to rip the whole of the interior trim out to find something that really shouldn't be a problem in the first place and even then they might not be able to get to the bottom of it. They said it might sort itself out so I'll leave it for now and see.

On the whole however really happy with the car. I would be far more so if it didnt sound like music lesson at a primary school whit all of the rattles.

 

[Kristis]

Seems u guys are unlucky with rattles the biggest plus for me is that this is my first car that i CANT find ANY rattles Even my Lexus has some...

 

[James 33]

It's our 1st Vauxhall and coming from mainly V.A.G ownership my whole driving life I find the Astra lacks the small details that the Germans think of.
Our last car for example was a Seat Altea Xl and had neat touches like the front fog lights are used a directional lights so if you turn left the left fog light comes on to light up the inside of the corner better.
Also when you selected reverse the stereo volume would decrease so you hear the parking sensors better.
The mirrors would fold in when you help the remote lock down and come out next time the ignition is switched on.
I like the Astra don't get me wrong but little touches like this I'm missing. The equipment is there on our Elite to have added these things as well so I'm disappointed that they didn't.

 

[Kristis]

Go to the manu, astra has directional fogs or leds, depending on which headlights u have

 

[James 33]

Not seen them in the settings. Don't have led headlights so don't know if that makes a difference.

 

[anastasios]

Forgot to mention the irritating reflection to the windscreen from the plastic. Probably the angle of the windscreen is good for aerodynamics but not for clear vision.

 

[DiscoPanda]

I don't think I want to order this car anymore :-(

 

[daddydoug]

Ha ha DiscoPanda. I have felt the same since joining the forum. Too many negatives. I am now on my 4th Astra, a J model 2.0 Elite with exterior pack and 18" alloys. It is four years old and I love it to bits, but thought would get a K model. However having read some of the problems on here and also having test driven a Qashqai the other week, the new Astra just doesn't do it for me. I will be ordering a new Qashqai any time soon.

 

[DiscoPanda]

Problem is I keep my cars for a long time. Current civic is 16 years old and never skipped a beat. Still drives like a dream. What am I handing 20k over for??

 

[Paulch]

I don't think I want to order this car anymore :-(

Hi

Is that due to the comments or because you've had a test drive?

Personally I am very happy with mine.

Cheers

Paul

 

[1900sr]

I'm happy overall with mine too, sure it's not perfect but it is very good indeed. Ordering a brand new model I expected some niggles, but I'm sure they'll be sorted under warranty.

People end to use forums to highlight problems, not to say evetythings wonderful.

 

[Guest]

Very happy with mine too. Popped it into sport mode along the country lanes earlier and it felt great. Engine is very quiet and effortless. The odd rattle the odd time but nothing worse than I've heard from other vehicles (one reported in another thread not happened at all today). Had a small concern with the seat but I think that's me being hypersensitive because I had a seat problem with my Corsa and I'm desparate for it to not happen again!

 

[James 33]

Go to the manu, astra has directional fogs or leds, depending on which headlights u have

Been through my settings and can't find anything for directional fog lights.

 

[anastasios]

I'm happy overall with mine too, sure it's not perfect but it is very good indeed. Ordering a brand new model I expected some niggles, but I'm sure they'll be sorted under warranty.

People end to use forums to highlight problems, not to say evetythings wonderful.

But isn't this normal? If someone wants to see the advantages/benefits of every car, all s/he has to do is go to the manufacturer's website. They present every car as if it is the best car, however, every car has its own problems. I did not mean to guide anyone on his/her buying decision. These were just my thoughts.

 

[1900sr]

It is normal, it's just worth remembering that the relatively high number of problems reported on a forum (for whatever brand) doesn't necessarily mean that the model is poor.

 

[otj]

It's our 1st Vauxhall and coming from mainly V.A.G ownership my whole driving life I find the Astra lacks the small details that the Germans think of.

Well, actually the Astra is a German car, in other parts of Europe the design of the car is marketed as "Sculptural Artistry meets German Precision".

From what I've read, Britain's car magazines somehow seem to think German cars are better. Should GM consider using the Opel badge also in the UK and voilà - you've got a German car, as it is in other parts of Europe.

 

[DiscoPanda]

Should GM consider using the Opel badge also in the UK and voilà - you've got a German car, as it is in other parts of Europe.

In my opinion I think this would be a tremendous move.