2003 Vauxhall Astra Elegance review from UK and Ireland

There have been minor problems with rattling trim. Both front windows have suffered, as has the centre console surround. These started roughly around 6,000 miles and have started to disappear again around the 15,000 mile mark.

There has been some minor condensation around the offside headlamp.

Other than that, the car has been perfect.

What is worrying is that a definite mechanical rattle is appearing (possibly timing chain) between 1000 and 1500 revs. This is worse when the car is cold.

It doesn't appear to affect the performance though - it's just getting noiser as the miles pile on.

In Elegance trim, the normally dull Astra cabin is lifted quite a bit by the fake wood trim and chrome rings around the dials.

The air-con is very efficient. The seats very comfortable - even on long journeys.

Performance is spot on, 0-60 isn't blinding and some turbo lag can be a problem at roundabouts, but in gear performance is fantastic. This engine was built for overtaking.

The gear shift is also of a high standard, getting a much smoother shifting box than smaller engined Astras.

However, the big diesel engine dulls the otherwise good Astra handling. Smaller petrols are more fun to drive in the Astra range.

Economy is fantastic. The best I've got is 65mpg, the worst 46mpg. I'm typically getting about 52mpg in mixed driving.

Worst fault is probably the huge amount of black smoke when accelerating hard - seems to be a common problem with 2.0 and 2.2 DTI engines. Vauxhall says it's normal though.

Note, the well known issue with these units burning oil quickly has not been a problem for my car. I've never needed to top it up in over 10,000 miles of driving.