A sticky valve at 511km.
Rear reverse parking sensor was stuck on with double sided tape and came off.
Tinted windows have started to peel off.
Very fast car to drive, but also very expensive on fuel. They say 9 ltrs per 100km on the Holden website, but it's more like 12.5 - 24 ltrs per 100km.
The leather steering wheel is very slippery and hard to get used to. I drove to Bowral and Berrima from Sydney, and it felt like I drove to Melbourne; the seats hold you in too tight. Because the breakes are so responsive, you have to focus heaps on how you brake, therefore making your knees very tired.
Don't even talk about cruise control, it is extremely hard to set and takes time to get used to.
The premium sound speakers are crap.
The positives:
Eye catching
Heaps of safety including curtain side airbags
Very fast in sports mode
Very heavy and good quality doors
A very low reving engine even when speeding
Strong high beams
Rubber wiper blades for safety of pedestrians
Climate control.
People forget, the SRi is a SPORTS LUXURY hatch.
In all honesty, I think you may be driving a different SRi to myself, because I completely disagree with almost everything in this review that negatively reflects on the vehicle.
The seats are more comfortable than anything else in the Astra range (bar the VXR). The seats are bolstered and trimmed to keep you firm in the seat under heavy cornering, which this car does without so much as a blink.
It is NOT heavy at all, but low weight, high build quality.
The engine is very perky and low on fuel consumption (I'm getting 9.2L/100kms after 12,000kms).
The manual gearbox is smooth, handling is unbelievably good, and the best thing, it is QUICK.
Having driven a friends CDTi Turbo recently, we both agreed that the SRi was indeed quicker as from the time the clutch goes down there is power. Even with 4 friends in the car.
Space is plentiful, and the ride is so smooth its like driving on clouds.
Put the boot in and the factory sports exhaust lets you know there's certainly a bit of engine under the bonnet. The engine note is quite impressive to the ear too.
The cruise control is simple. Get up to speed, press the button on indicator. Can't be much easier than that.
The wheel is perfect size and slots nicely into the hand, further adding to the "chuck-ability" of the vehicle.
Finally the sound system. My best friend is a professional sound system installer and was impressed. The bass is deep, and if you play with the equalizer, you can really get the tunes cranking with crystal clarity.
All in all there's only one reason not to buy the Astra SRi, and that's if you can't afford the price tag :)
I'm a proud owner of a 2007 SRI Astra and it's a fantastic car with loads of safety and luxury features. I would recommend that people go and test drive one, cause you will walk away being a proud owner as well. Well done Holden on importing this fine car to Australia.
I said to my girlfriend "I'm only going for a test drive". I walked out of there having signed my contract. I'm picking my new SRI Manual Hatch in 2 days.
Word of note!! - When I went to the first dealer I enquired as to why I couldn't see a 5 door SRI Hatch on the floor, I was told "They stopped making those a while ago..." So for those of you who want the 5 door Hatch SRI, get in quick, they are becoming a scarce! But... I got mine!
If you want any Astra, you ought to hurry in, cos Holden is phasing out the Opel product in favour of crappy Daewoo engineered trash soon.
Barina Europe, Astra Classic and Vectra have already bitten the dust, so Astra cannot be too far behind.
I picked up my new black SRI 2.2 coupe earlier this year and after 4,000 km's, I can honestly say that overall that it has been very good. There has been a minor problem with engine knocking when run on standard unleaded (the brochure says it can run on standard), but is perfect when run on premium. The dealer is trying to solve the issue still... I put the 18" SRI turbo wheels on it and looks a treat - still get a lot of compliments for its looks (blokes included). Performance still excites, especially mid-range 2nd and 3rd gears. I find the seats comfortable, audio quality very good (after tweaking the eq), the paint job superior to cars above its class and the transmission and handling surprisingly good. Likes to be driven hard, but will burn more fuel than you'd expect. Overall, a great value package... recommended for someone looking for an agile runabout.
Just traded my HGT Punto for a diesel 9 month old Vauxhall Astra CDTi SRi XP 150ps. That's a long bit of guff for a car.
Anyway, to my point; thought I was going to miss my wee cars performance. Was I bloody wrong; that diesel is as quick off the mark as my old HGT. Must admit though I will miss the engine noise from my HGT, but that's all. The Astra win hands down in the most important areas like insurance. Service every 30.000 miles; amazing considering the costs. Miles per gallon 40 plus urban, 60 plus motorway.
Can go on and on, but as a good shopping cart, good sized boot, leg room in rear in not bad, build quality good, lovely 18 alloys on it.
Also; spend 300 pounds and get a ECU remap; 210bhp, not bad for a small improvement on the engine.
Anyway can go on all day about this car; just recommend a test drive to anyone who has never driven one. You will be surprised; just press the sports button on this car and enjoy.
A diesel; never thought I would see the day I would own one.
pps. just put your fingers in your ears when it starts, or ear plugs; you will need your hands. It drives very quiet and smooth.
I totally agree with above comments. We have had our Astra CDXi since it first came out in 2005. It has done 57,680 km's to date and never missed a beat. It is packed with all the bells and whistles, like leather, adjustable headlights, fog lights, cruise, ABS, 4 electric windows, heated seats, and the list goes on.
The paint is outstanding; it really turns heads. Ours is Breeze Blue; a colour only available on the 2005 models...
This car has been nothing short of amazing; flying past Mazda 6's and Corolla's on sweeping bends at 140km is something those cars are just not built for. The handling is amazing, and even though it's the 1.8 litre, it can still pack a little punch on take off with the sport button, and at high speeds it has plenty of torque to satisfy.
I really don't know what people expect??? The stereo is fantastic ,and me myself having been a professional audio installer earlier in my career, I have to say that Blaupunkt do not make garbage, and if you know how to use an equalizer, you will understand how to adjust it accordingly to the style of music you are playing, and therefore it will sound a lot better... our speakers have plenty of bass and clarity...
The engine is reliable; no timing belt problems, uses stuff all petrol, and we look after it. I think maybe that a lot of people buy cars that haven't been looked after, or don't look after them and then write a review about the car being garbage...
Astra's may not be as popular as a Corolla, Mazda6 and others, but that could be because they are cheaper and cheaply put together.
I suggest that if you want a solid feel, reliable engine and safety, then the Astra has it. If you want a reliable engine, and bad styling and cheap plastic interior, buy something else...
Happy Astra owner... :)
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