2006 Holden Astra CDTi review from Australia and New Zealand

Nothing (yet :)

I was going to buy a 2.0 TDI golf, I already have a 2003 Passat that I bought new, so it’s not as if I am new to the VW badge.

What was attracting me to the Golf was the 320 Nm or torque and a generous 103 kW. I did quite a few miles test-driving the Golf. I wanted to get the Golf, but the interior (boring grey on grey) and exterior (looking like a corolla) were depressing me. I also thought the ride on the golf was a bit jiggly. And the demo car had some squeaks and rattles…my Passat had the same squeaks and rattles…what was I going to do I seem doomed to buy a boring, squeaky car with a great engine.

Enter the Astra, 320 Nm torque and 110 kW, looks better inside and out, goes harder, handles better than the Golf (IMO) and had a better ride quality…for about $8000 less (after haggling) than the similarly equipped Golf. This car put a smile on my face and hardly dented my bank account. You have a national network of Holden dealers to back it up…I mean how many VW dealers are there around Australia…there is only 1 in Adelaide where I am.

I love this car.

Nothing is perfect –

This diesel engine is a little noisy at idle (although you get used to it after a couple of days). At any speed over 30 km/hr the engine has a smooth grunty sound. At 80 you are struggling to hear the engine any more.

This has to be the Holden of the decade.

Welcome to the future Holden.