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“Vauxhall Astra GSI's are very good cars and have very...”

written by spliff1star on 12/05/2005

Good Points
Reliable if looked after ie: servicing. Looks, rareness, performance, comfort. Good on fuel for a 2.0 16v. Very tunable- redtop sfi engine by far better than the later ecotec engine. Later models have better looking alloys, side skirts and interior. Hold there value 0-60 7.5sec. Tunable to 200bhp+. Turbo conversion 0-60 6.0secs tunerble 350bhp+

Bad Points
Rear arches rust badly, gsi bodykit very expensive and hard to source for any parts. Common vauxhall tear on drivers side. Handling around tight bends very poor with standard springs. Hinge on doors can drop. Traction control light. Also traction control does not help much. Front tires can wear out quick. Ecotec versions can have valve problems. Cheap gsi's are no good. Sunroof not opening, electric windows sticking.

General Comments
Vauxhall Astra GSI's are very good cars and have very good performance. Some can hit 150mph in standard form with just 147bhp (with cat) 153bhp without cat. I was very impresed with my standerd gsi on the motorway. Mk4 golf gti 1.8 turbos (150bhp) were no problem for the gsi along with many more powerfull cars. A 180bhp seat leon was a bit too much for the gsi at say 80mph to 130mph but eventualy the astra would catch up and stick right next to it. This is what I loved about my standerd astra gsi. I aslo had a turbo converted gsi pushing near 300bhp. Which was a completely diferent car. I advise anyone looking to buy a gsi not to buy a cheap one for say £1000 - £1400 because you are bound to spend money on it and these cars are not cheap unless you know the right people or you yourself are a good mechanic. If you do find one within this price and it has just been serviced and has a long m.o.t then you have a bargin. If the car has £1000s of pounds in reciepts this also doesnt mean the car is good. I'd stay away. From £1800-£2500 you should have a good gsi. The best gsis are £2500-£4500. You may find some have been turbo converted at these prices. But turbo cars are always more expensive to run than a non-turbo car so you should be prepaired to fork out. I did see a one owner j-reg astra gsi with 50,000 on the clock and full service history for £4500. You can get the newer p-reg or limited edition r-reg gsi from £2500 (I have never seen an n-reg) which is a lot better looking and most are in better condition than some of the older j,k,l reg models. But has the ecoctec 2.0 16v which is slightly less powerfull and not as good an engine as the sfi 2.0 16v but still a good car. The one big problem with gsi's is the arches on the rear rusting, bubling, roting away. Again the newer gsi's dont have this problem as much as the first gsi's do. Thats basically all I have to say. So if you are looking to buy one. Get a good one and start tuning it or get a turbod gsi mk3.