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“I've been driving the Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi Design...”

written by Easyspace on 19/08/2007

Good Points
Nicely kitted out interior, good fuel economy, smooth at motorway speeds.

Bad Points
A tad on the noisy side at low speeds, stiff clutch.

General Comments
I've been driving the Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi Design for about a month now and I love it!



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Features & Trim

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The Design trim comes with the majority of the bells and whistles that Vauxhall offer as standard. Air Conditioning which is quiet whilst operating and cools the cabin quickly. CD MP3 player with full ID3 tag support, this means you can burn CD's from your PC and if the name etc is encoded on the MP3 the in car display panel will show the name of the song. One slight drawback with this feature is that the title doesn't scroll at all - so if its a long track name you only get the first 12 or so characters. Very minor issue really.



The Design trim comes with half leather interior, at the time of writing there is only one fabric option which is a black/white sort of block effect, with leather trim on the doors, up the sides and backs of the seats as well as the headrest. It adds a touch of class and improves comfort without being god awful cold when you put your bum on it in the mornings!



Soft Touch Indicator stalk has been a bit of a talking point in all other reviews I've read, yes, its a bit different but it only takes a day or so to get used to - and once you HAVE gotten used to it you really won't know what all the fuss was about. It's a nifty little system.



The Electro-Chromatic rear view mirror is excellent, I was a bit skeptical at first however when your cruising down the motorway and someone nips in behind you with either full beams or extremely bright lights it's great - automatically dims to adjust so your not left squinting from the glare. No more flicking the rear view mirror with the little tab on the back of normal mirrors!!! Not sure if this will effect the cost of replacement windscreens at this stage - I would imagine it does but most insurance policies cover that sort of thing anyway.



AutoLights - HMMMMM. Yes, it's nice to have lights switch on automatically but from what I can tell it never ever uses the intermediate parking lights - straight to full beam which doesn't really bother me but I just think its a bit of an oversight.



Rain Sensing Windscreen - BRILLIANT! I was skeptical again of how good this could actually be - living in Scotland we get a lot of rain and I've been able to test this thoroughly, its spot on. Even when pulling in behind larger trucks with lots of spray - it automatically adjusts perfectly.



The seat positioning is great, with full forward/back/up/down control as well as the crucial lumber support - you really cant fail to find your own comfortable driving position. Complimented with the up/down/in/out steering column you cant really ask for much more - other than making it electrically controlled!



The on board trip computer is a great tool, Instant MPG, Average MPG, Average Speed, Trip Distance, Total Consumed (in gallons) and a stopwatch really help you to keep an eye on your driving and how efficient/fuel friendly you are being (or not being!).



Steering wheel controls are efficient enough, no real gripes there. Personally I preferred the Focus style of having the radio controls on a stalk behind the wheel rather than on it - but thats purely personal preference.



Cabin space is limited, with very few hidey holes other than the door areas - the Astra makes up for this with a larger than normal glove compartment which doesn't impede on the passenger side space. Rear leg room with two adults of 6ft+ is ample, another 6 footer might struggle a bit with a tall person driving but generally speaking for a Hatchback - more than enough room.



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Ride & Economy

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Firstly, I'm 23 - one child and married who lives in the sticks, fuel economy and ride quality is important to me as I spend a considerably amount of time driving (upwards of 400 miles per week - not astronomical (geddit?!) but enough that I know I need something comfy and cheap to run).



As I mentioned in the bad points - this really is a noisy beast when in 1st-3rd gear. It's a diesel so it's to be expected but you will find yourself racing for 4th gear just to get rid of the really loud noises. The suspension handles cornering a bit flatly, as a previous Focus driver you notice it quite a lot - whereas the Focus felt like it drove round the corners, the Astra feels as though its gliding and is a bit soft. Some folk might like that, personally I would prefer if it was a bit more aggressive in cornering (I'm 23!!).



I've noticed a slight judder around 70MPH when overtaking - it feels like there's something bouncing in the back to make the car really unsmooth - I suspect this is something to do with the fitting of a rear tyre which had the valve replaced a few days later so will be going back to the garage to get it checked out as I'm sure it didn't do that during the test drive and first few days of driving it.



1.7 CDTI - the TI is the important bit there, drive this carefully and you will average 55-60MPG easily. Drive like a 23 year old (me!!) and you will average 50MPG. Still a vast improvement on any petrol offering really, but you notice it will chomp through the fuel if you keep your foot down.

The incar display is useful for kerbing that sort of behavior though - I always feel guilty when I see the instantaneous usage drop to 12MPG/H and ease off on the accelerator ....



CO2 emissions are reasonable at 138g/km - the lowest in the Astra range means your taxation will be OK. Being a diesel will also make your insurance a little bit lower (especially if your a young driver like me).



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The Family Life

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The Astra's boot space is impinged by the loading constrictions in place as a result of the funky exterior styling - that however shouldn't take away from what is a decent load space. It may be tighter access, but it is significantly deeper than either the Focus or the Golf. You will fit a large pram in the boot with room to spare for a few bags of shopping. If your using a buggy you will have PLENTY of space for a full weeks shopping. Bare in mind this is the 5 door - no idea what a 3 door is like, but bearing in mind the 5 door is a full 4 centimeters longer than the 3 door - it may be a good bit different.



Rear passenger space is excellent, with full automatic windows in the back too - as well as reading lights for any passengers who are reading your map for you or the latest Harry Potter!!! The rear electric windows can be locked from the Driver console - so little fingers don't go opening it whilst your horsing it down the motorway!



ISOFIX child seat controls are fitted as standard in ALL Astras nowadays - a brilliant safety feature for children's car seats which means you don't have to muck about with seat belts wrapping around a car seat - ISOFIX enabled car seats clip into place quickly and easily. I should point out you will have to rip out a part of the seat to gain access to these so it may affect future value when reselling or trading in.



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Upkeep

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Having only driven it for a month I can't say for certain - but I have had to investigate a replacement tyre and your looking at £50 per tyre for a cheapo brand, going up to £90 for the better known. Have a look around online as there are various options - just don't go into your nearest Kwik Fit as your likely to get mugged for silly money in there.



Being a half leather interior also makes cleaning up easy - my little one has a habit of dripping milk on to the back seats - my old Focus had horrible milk stains ... the leather covers most of the area where his car seat is so any milk dripped is wipe clean ... a godsend!





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Summary

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The Astra really is an excellent all round family hatchback - the 1.7 CDTI isn't going to satisfy company car drivers or even younger drivers who like a really fast car - but it will satisfy any parent or more sensible individual as well as affording them all the comfort and style of a mid range luxury car. My next door neighbor drives a brand new BMW which has half the features of the Astra Design and it cost about 8k less.



An excellent car. If you're interested in buying get a test drive as soon as possible - and if you want the Design spec make sure you test drive the Design spec - as the Life/Club specs really are not a patch on this model specifically.