Faults:

Absolutely nothing (yet).

General Comments:

The new Opel Astra is a real step forward for Opel. I owned the previous model, also 1.4 litre engine, so my enthusiasm is "educated", so to speak. Opel managed to maintain the low fuel consumption and still develop a sufficiently powerful 1.4 90bhp engine. The main pro's of this new model are the comfort level, the detail of the interior finishing and the exterior design. I've only had this car for 13000 km so I really can't speak about it's reliability, but so far so good, absolutely nothing wrong with it despite me driving it over the declared maximum speed of 178 km per hour. Also good stability - I got it with 16 inch wheels and I think this counts. The previous Astra models were average at best, but this one is a keeper, and personally I think it's better than the rival Volkswagen Golf V.

Faults:

Passenger window cannot be operated from the driver console. The vehicle has been in the workshop for a week and a half, still the problem is not resolved. The irony is, that this was a demo vehicle that was driven by the manger for new car sales!

General Comments:

The sales and after sales service has been extremely disappointing.

Faults:

Nothing yet mechanically has gone wrong with it, even though, I have only had the car for the last 8 months.

General Comments:

I bought the full-spec version with Easytronic gearbox.

Comfortable ride.

Excellent grip and handling.

Faults:

Nothing so far.

General Comments:

Great hatch-back. The 1.6 Twinport is some-what underpowered for driving in town and from robot to robot. On the open road it runs beautifully. Nice solid quiet drive. The fuel consumpsion is great (7.5l/100km). Car is packed with luxeries.

Overall great value for money.

Faults:

Nothing yet mechanically has gone wrong with it, even though, I have only had the car for the last 6 months. Of these 6 months my wife uses it to get from home to work and back. We have taken it on very few journeys so far.

General Comments:

I bought the full-spec version with leather interior, alloys, visibility pack, etc. The car was a present to the wife as an upgrade from a 1.2 Peugeot 206.

Very comfortable ride.

Excellent grip and handling.

Takes long to accelerate (of course I am comparing to my 1.8T Passat) but drives beautifully at high speeds and on corners and mountain roads.

Faults:

Nothing - realy!

General Comments:

Only a Toyota fan would understand how difficult it was to buy an Opel, but I am most impressed.

The deciding factor in buying the car was its excellent safety rating and comprehensive maintenance plan (even the wipers and brakes are covered). Looks can be deceiving, you may not believe that this hatch actually weighs 1.3tons! This only adds to safety.

My Astra is spacious, comfortable, reliable and very economical.

The boot is surprisingly big (for a hatch) and this with a full-size spare!

Fuel consumption has been 7.9l/100km average over the last 12000km. However, I've seen 6.5l/100km when driving a steady 120kph with a family of 4 and the boot packed for a week's vacation.

I didn't pay much attention to it when buying, but that MP3 player which came standard is really nice. Would appreciate some cup-holders though. I also regret not taking the cruise control option - I found myself doing over 150 a number of times.

I certainly don't encourage reckless driving, but it does handle corners well and it comes with brakes that will stop a train.

The car is an excellent all-rounder and will serve a wide audience. Mine, a family car and a worthy replacement for my good and faithful Camry.