2008 Opel Astra H 1.4 TwinPort EcoFlex

Faults:

Ventilation air recirculation button does not work.

Brake light switch error appeared once.

Otherwise nothing.

General Comments:

I bought this car because I wanted a reliable estate car with an air conditioning option.

I bought it for it 4700 EUR, used.

I chose this gasoline version because I do not like diesel noise, and I thought that a simpler engine would be more reliable than a turbocharged engine with an expensive fuel injection system.

Exterior:

I like the design of the car. It's simple and clean. I think that it does not look outdated yet.

Interior:

Assembling quality is OK, no squeaks or rattles. However there are hard plastics wherever you look or touch. There are very few storage places inside the cabin. Even my previous Dacia, which is renowned for its spartan interior, had more places for cups.

The seats are supportive and the driving position is good for long journeys.

Legroom on the backseat is very good, but the cabin is narrow. Definitely not 3 seats in the back. More like 2 adults alone or 2 kids and 1 adult could fit.

Driving:

Steering is very good.

Engine torque curve is very good for a naturally aspirated small engine.

The engine is pleasing between 2000 and 4000 RPM. Still, it does not look like an engine which likes high revs. Seems to be tuned for down torque.

The gears are very short and that helps the small engine.

At first, I was really concerned that the car is underpowered with only 90 HP and 125 Nm. But it proved out to be really OK for legal speeds (90-120 km/h range).

Handling is not impressive, but it feels safe (at least for legal speeds).

Soundproofing is quite good. I am using Mobil1 0w40 engine oil, and this seems to reduce engine noise.

Brakes are very good and ESP is fitted.

Fuel consumption:

8 liters/100 km for city driving (mid size city, not capital city).

6 liters/100 km for country roads and highway.

Safety:

8 airbags are fitted, plus ESP.

The car feels solidly built.

The car has cruise control and automatic headlights and wipers.

The only thing I do not like about the car, is the harsh gear change and clutch operation. Changing gears is far away from the smoothness of my previous car.

I found out through the years that many German cars have unnecessary harsh gear shifter operations.

Aside from that, I am really pleased with the car and somewhat amazed that a car designed in 2004 is not completely outdated. Good engineering from Opel.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th May, 2015

10th Apr 2016, 10:23

Original reviewer here: the car has now 132 000 kilometers.

Except for 2 headlight bulbs, nothing was changed, not a single screw.

The car is now fitted with an LPG kit. It costs pennies to run.

With good tires and synthetic oil, the car is able to cruise quite comfortable at 130 km per hour.

I am pleased with the car, and the only things that I do not like are the lack of refinement at high revs and the harsh gear change.

The upside are the running costs. Reliability is good and fuel consumption is low.

7th Feb 2017, 22:27

Another update:

The car has 143 000 km.

One rear suspension spring broke and it took 50 euro to fix.

Aside from that nothing.

Good car and good engineering from Opel.

2007 Opel Astra Cosmo 1.7 turbo diesel 110hp

Summary:

Efficient all rounder

Faults:

During a long trip (1300 km), the turbo vacuum valve made the light on the dashboard light up and the car go into safe mode. Happened twice during the trip. From then the light is lit, but the engine is working fine; no loss of power, no other problems at all. The light on the dashboard disappears after driving some 20 km (the engine warms up).

Other cars are a bit lighter (some 10-40 kg), and this impacts acceleration and fuel efficiency.

General Comments:

What I like is:

- Very fuel efficient: I get 4.4 l/100 km if I drive normal.

- If you keep it under 90 km/h, you will get 4.0 l/100 km

- Reaches 160 km/h very quickly.

- No creaks.

- Seats are very good.

- In the back there's plenty of space.

- The dashboard has many useful, very well sized buttons.

- Plenty of space at the driver's seat.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 1st August, 2011