2003 Vauxhall Astra Elegance review from UK and Ireland

The only thing that has gone wrong is the radio/clock display. Half of that doesn't light up properly.

Other than that, it's been faultless and has not needed any dealer attention apart from a regular service.

The most important thing to me is comfort. Here the Astra excels, the seats are nice and supportive, not tiring even on longer journeys. A little bit of lumbar adjustment would be nice, but it's OK without it.

Economy is pretty good, averaging around 40mpg on daily long journeys.

The interior is quite nice compared to another Astra in the family. Here, the dash has tasteful fake wood trim which really smartens the look. The regular SRi with black trim looks so dull in comparison.

The gearshift is a bit poor, slotting into place with a sharp and unpleasant clonk. The gap between each ratio makes it tricky to drive the car smoothly too.

Performance is adequete most of the time, and the engine has a nice raspy growl. However, when the air-con is switched on, acceleration is noticably hampered. So much so that it's better to suffer the heat instead.

The effect could best be described as a kind of "butterflying", with the pull as you press the pedal down feeling like it is varying in time with the air-con compressor. I've tried the air-con in a more torquey Astra (the 2.0 diesel) and that effect was absent there.

Other than that, the car can bring a smile to your face, the steering is sharp and turn-in accurate. For such a dull looking motor from the outside, it can be remarkably good fun to throw about. The purposeful engine note makes you feel you might be in something more exotic too.