2007 Opel Astra CLASSIC II 1.4 16v petrol

Summary:

Economical choice

Faults:

No failures so far (the car is quite new).

There is just one little thing: a bit annoying rattles and vibrations while starting gently (when releasing the clutch). Becomes unnoticeable if accelerates harder. Dealer claims it's a normal behavior, I wouldn't say so. Not fixed anyway.

General Comments:

This car (called ASTRA CLASSIC II) is technically a basic version of a previous European ASTRA-G model. GM continues to manufacture and offer it in some markets, Eastern/Central Europe mainly.

The interior is roomy although little on a cheap side.

Suspension/steering is well tuned and provides a good comfort/road feedback proportions.

Small engine does its job, has enough oomph for a city commuting. Surprisingly, due to a short gear ratio at the 5th gear, the car accelerates relatively well even at the higher speeds (becomes noisy though).

Fuel economy is very good, it can easily achieve 56 mpg in the relaxed country lane cruising, 38+ in a city traffic.

There are some minor drawbacks though:

The 90 bhp TwinPort is a noisy, lazy revving engine (not particularly good for the the city stop&go conditions).

To keep the basic price down, there is an extra charge for almost everything: power windows, seat height adjustment, trip computer, A/C,...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 26th March, 2008