Faults:

Not Vauxhall's fault! The previous owner obviously had an incident and replaced the bonnet... with high grade rust!

Dodgy electric windows, if you want them to open, you have to ask them nicely! Offer them a cup of tea perhaps.

New electricity making thing... dead battery.

General Comments:

What a good looking car!

It's a scream to drive too, and holds the road very well indeed Big, wide, low profile tyres ensure lots of grip.

The acceleration 'feels' good, even if it is, actually, not that special; it revs frantically but well.... you won't win at Santa Pod.

Comfort...Hmmmm, if you want comfort, fit some cushions woven from pig iron, that should improve things no end. I wouldn't want to drive it for more than an hour or so but I do suffer with a glass back bone so you must bear this in mind before you make your judgment.

Parking...get Yoda to park it for you. You do need ESP. The rear visibility is marginally worse than if you don a pair of welding goggles. Truly dire!

Being a 'rag top', it's surprisingly quiet at speed, which is quite disappointing and peaks just shy of twice the national limit with its top up. But that's not the point. The best bit is to have the roof off, the windows down and honk along the motor way as a passenger in the back... It's a complete riot!

Faults:

Pops front headlamp bulbs like it's going out of fashion.

Air con broken.

General Comments:

This is my 3rd Astra Van in succession.

My first one was the new 1998 shape Astravan with the Isuzu engine (1.7 td). This one was a good workhorse. I purchased it at auction, and it was very reliable, even though it had quite high miles (130k).

Second up was a lovely 2001 registered Astravan (LS MODEL IN SILVER - MINT) model I managed to steal from a guy for £3000 with a genuine low mileage of just 34,000 on the clock. It was in silver with the all new dti engine.

Sadly this one I had a turbo problem, and it gave up on me at 52k, and ended up costing me £1800 to put right, which hurt the wallet to say the least.

Which brings me to my latest van; the Astra Sportive...

I LOVE IT!!!

I managed to get it on eBay for £5000 02 plated, with just 52,000 on the clock. It boasts a full Irmsher kit all round, air conditioning, cruise control, alloy wheels, electric front windows, full alarm & immobiliser and tinted windows all round.

The performance from the dti 16v engine is not overly great; it's OK and does the job well, also giving excellent mpg, and on a run the debadged Recaro seats are just excellent, & really supportive on a run up the motorway.

The cabin is a bit dreary, and feels a bit cheap, but all of these model Astras feel this way, so it's not really that much of a downer. I really prefer it to the new Astra's silvery look dash.

The van's overall look is just one of sheer coolness; the bodykit really turns a pretty plain looking van into a tarmac terrorist, and it gets admiring glances from all walks of life on the road.

I hope some fellow Astravan drivers read this, as if you can invest in a upgraded van, I really would recommend buying a Astra Sportive.

The kitted ones are extremely hard to find, but if you find a good one, snap it up as quickly as you can, and I promise you'll never want to change it again!!

I will be keeping my one for as long as I can, I know that!!