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28 Posts
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!
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!