[Kristis]

Hi,

Finally i got my car
I will do a youtube review sometime this weekend. But first impressions are kind of mixed
I've been scammed by Opel with Watts and acoustic pack - that's bad and i do think that its likely last Opel for my company as i do think there should be some honor involved in the contracts and the sale itself. Since Opel/Vauxhall is not aware of what honor means - they issued me some refund and i managed to get some of my money back because of being scammed

Back to first impressions. Coming down to Opel from Lexus and Alfa Romeo - everything seems strange I went for full spec's, and that included keyless entry/go. Problem with it is that u still have to press a button, they saved a few euros on the touch sensors (thats strange). Other super strange thing are the seats. I have top spec AGR leather seats and... Leather is only on the visual parts, everything else is either cloth or fake leather. I havent seen any car maker before doing this (I had top/good spec. Toyota's, Lexus, Alfa Romeo and Porsche's). What they did is they skipped on leather everywhere where u can not directly touch by sitting or putting your hand down

I opted for automated side mirrors, but they only are only manually automated and u can not fold them when u put on brakes

Since i bought my Astra kind of blindly, since they didn't have AGR seats, neither full auto seats, i was expecting to have a wider adjusting capability of them. That means - for them to go down further. Yet i got disappointed again - seats are still not going down enough and your sitting position is kind of high, which i do not like as I prefer to be as low as possible every single time.

Sound insulation. Well, there's none, zero, na-da I was thinking that acoustic pack involved only the soundproofing of the bonnet, but apparently there is completely no sound insulation in between external body panels (metal) and internal panels (plastic). I quickly dismantled all the panels in the boot just to find that those panels ARE THE SINGLE INSULATION I have never driven such cars as Dacia, Lada, low spec Citroen, low spec Peugeot and other crap, but i was never expecting Opel not to have any sound insulation And yes, bonnet insulation is unnecessary, but sound coming from the back is horrible... So i will be doing how-to instruction on how to do a PROPER sound insulation, not that scam from Opel which they call sound insulation

But the electronics pack is impressive. Really love how car handles, and i LOVE the headlights, they are fantastic. And i really love the color and the fact that i'm getting a lot of attention from passer-by's

Overall i would give the Astra a nice and solid 8/10 My impressions might sound bad, but i just pointed out the bad parts

 

[Kristis]

Finally picked my car after detailing + NANO coating. Looks great and i really love that it feels very slippery now So here are a bit more photos done by my Samsung, which by the way is not compatible with the head unit Damn, the only reason i went for that NAVI900 was bigger screen, and now i have to wait and pray to get an update for it

 

[Kristis]

A bit more thoughts on the Astra:
Seats. I really dislike them. I've went with the best possible option with AGR seats with massage function. Massage is... well... I would advise u spend the money somewhere else Side support: complete crap. Looks like the seats ware designed for fat people, and i dont mean mildly obese, i mean fat. Im the best athletic built but i do sport a lot and consider my physique to be mildly athletic, yet those seats even on the "tightest" side support settings feel like a bath tub Come on Opel, we live in Europe, not US, why would we need such seats? I'm 192cm and 92kg and even i think those seats have not enough side suppot Besides from lack of side support, i like their firmness and feel. Overall not the best seating position and that AGR certified hype is over rated but they are OK. And I also like their auto retraction function, makes one feel like a bit of "lexus" in it

Sound insulation. Well... Car has none The only sound insulation in this car are the inner panels. Frankly, i have never ever seen a modern car which would not have at least some kind of sound insulation Even under the carpet there's none. For that i'm super surprised as the car is quite noisy especially road noise. So proper sound insulation is a must and i will try to make a to-do in the coming months when i have time to remove all the interior panels + carpet and do the proper sound insulation, the way it had to be done by Opel in the first place

Did I tell how i love the lights? Best think one can buy in this car! No Astra should ever be sold without them!

 

[Kristis]

Few more photos during detailing. Really love the nano coat's

 

[drey_p]

Lovely colour.... although... I may be slightly biased! LOL

 

[Kristis]

I found some dents in my trunk. Anyone else have them? They seem to be done in the factory during assembly. Can anyone confirm theirs does not have these? I have 2 dents from inside the trunk and one going from outside to i side...

 

[MarcR]

Can you show us a picture of where in the trunk / boot we need to look?

 

[Kristis]

 

[Figgz]

Side support: complete crap. Looks like the seats ware designed for fat people, and i dont mean mildly obese, i mean fat. Im the best athletic built but i do sport a lot and consider my physique to be mildly athletic, yet those seats even on the "tightest" side support settings feel like a bath tub Come on Opel, we live in Europe, not US, why would we need such seats? I'm 192cm and 92kg and even i think those seats have not enough side suppot

One question (since I'm 193cm/85kg myself), have you adjusted the seats to the tightest, since that option is available on the AGR leather seats?
Because if I adjust my seat tight it's definately a lot tighter seat than the wifes Audi A4 -13 with sport seats.

Apart from that, lovely car! I was choosing between white and red when I ordered mine, so it's fun to see a red one with 18" aswell

 

[Kristis]

I was lost between the two too but sadly Opel doesnt have a pearl white (my Lexus is pearl white, love that color).

I did adjust them, but still they are not snug enough for me. But then again, i'm used to driving Italian and Japanese cars so they have a bit different "client sizes"

 

[James 33]

Just lifted my boot carpet for the 1st time and yes it has the same dents as yours.

 

[Kristis]

Strange... i dont get it, why do they do this...

 

[Gilmore]

I was told at least one of them dents is a marker for putting spare wheel in

 

[James 33]

No spare wheel in mine though. Seems a bit savage to put a dent in the metal to identify it too. Surely a sticker would be easier.