2002 Vauxhall Astra LS review from UK and Ireland

Nigglely squeaks from the dash

Engine hunts on occasions when in at idle, also the rev counter raises, this being expected, but what is surprising is the speedometer jumps to 20 miles per hour and dances between this and 30 miles per hour, all whilst stationary.

Brakes are lacking when used hard.

It is very very uncomfortable.

Personally I am not to bothered about how it looks, but I do think that the Astra hatch, and the estate that I have are very smart looking cars, much nicer than the earlier models.

It is far from quickest diesel I have driven though, and if you need to pull away quickley from an island or junction then you had better switch off the air conditioning as this makes a noticeable difference on initial pickup on acceleration.

470 miles from full to the flashing of the fuel light is fine by me too.

BUT... The driving position is horrid. Its fine for short trips, but try doing high mileage in them, a few other people I have spoken too feel the same too, I suffered initially numbness in my left toes within 4 days of taking delivery of the vehicle, it then progressed to hip pains and lower back pains, none of which I have a history of until 7 months ago when I recieved the Astra. I have traveled a distance of 25,000 miles so far. The seating position places the weight of you body on the left side of your bottom and your legs point slightly diagonally outwards towards the front of the car, the top half of the body points slightly into the middle of the car so you are twisted at the waist. I have tried getting out after 45 minutes to an hour of driving, but to no avail. I certainly would not recommend the Astra to high mileage users and my questioning of other users has been from those tall and short of stature.

The little points are neglegible, but the seating point is dissapointing as if it was comfortable the astra could be a really nice vehicle.