Astra Sri Cdti 1.9 16v

[Peetypug 5]

Been looking for a diesel hatchback for the wife for a month or so now

She can't make her mind up what she wants!

I've tried to get her to have one of the following

Focus 2.0 diesel titanium

Golf gttdi

Seat Leon tdi

Or a A3 tdi

 

She now wants an astra

 

Opinions please

[hcmini1989 16]

Good cars really nice inside quite pokey,One problem they dont have a temp guage ,And theres a few little rubber pipes above the gearbox witch split ,And then its game over because the light on the dash doesnt come on untill ther fubared,Worth looking at if your going to look at one.

 

But other than that there really good cars

[smithy 1]

they suffer with DMF failure

 

also DPF and EGR problems are fairly common especially if used for a lot of town driving.

 

nice and smooth/quiet to drive but the engine is typical fiat hence why saab have now done a deal with BMW to get shot of it.

the cars are actually quite good for a vauxhall just let down by a weak lump.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Anything but a Astra, in the group they are the worst on everything and use really anoying steering wheel buttons which you keep knocking all the time, I;d go with the Focus, 307, Golf, Leon, A3, mind the TDi engines need allot of oil

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

My 150k mile 1.9 TDI VAG engine doesn't use a drop from one service to the next. Literally doesn't use any, I have 2 cans with about 1/2 litre left in from the past couple of oil changes.

 

Pete a mate of mine has the Astra, he likes it, it hasn't cost him a bean other than tyres and brake pads, goes really well too for what it is.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Thats a odd one, I know all the ones Friends of mine have owned have all used allot of oil, If you never topped up between services the oil would run out, Even a new Caddy van next door has suffers the same fate

[blue_haddock 2]

whats wrong with a metro?

[smithy 1]

My passat 1.9 tdi does not use much oil at most half a litre is used between service.

All diesels use oil because of the EGR and breather set up when I worked at vaux acceptable usage on the 2.0/2.2 dti engines was a litre every 1k miles.

[Peetypug 5]

Smithy could you explain DMF (dual mass flywheel?)

What are DPF and EGR?

 

I had a passat V6 4motion before and that used quite a lot of oil between services. I heard it was normal for them to use it

 

I'm getting more and more out off by the astra now! I can't believe they don't have a temp gauge!

[Andy_C 50]

I had a 54 plate one of these with the EXT pack - best looking car I've had. It had the lower powered engine from memory and I only had it for about 40k as I changed jobs. Good little car but the seats gave me back problems.

 

The only fault as I recall was a didgy alarm which took the dealer 2 weeks to sort but otherwise all was OK.

[Matt205 14]

I've often been given astras as hire cars for work. Simply, I hate the very cheap interior and the seats and so so so uncomfortable. I've owned a focus TDCI and it was far better than the astra. We now have an S-Max TDCI Titanium and it does the job very well. I'd go with VAG or Ford.

[Peetypug 5]

going to look at a focus titanium in a bit

same money, 2 years newer but 20k more miles than the astra she tried to get me to buy last night!

[welshpug 1,657]

Goliath has a Focus TDCI, just a 115 bhp 1.8 but it goes well enough, not a bad chassis though you do feel the weight of it, coming from a pug you do feel a bit isolated from what's happening at the wheels, but it doesnt take long to get used to.

 

Even the basic ones have plenty of toys, not like the days of yesteryear when a passenger mirror was an extra

 

Most modern cars nowadays have Dual mass flywheels though they don't cause half as many issues as they did a few years ago when they were first introduced, DPF is a particle filter in the exhaust on a diesel engine.

 

EGR is exhaust gas recirculation, not common in petrol pug engines till recently thankfully, introduced to try and maintain an optimum clean burn under all conditions where possible, unfortunately this more often than not simply clogs up inlet tracts and EGR valves and solenoids with carbon deposits and oily soot, not much you can do about them nowadays with the complex engine management systems used.

Edited November 15, 2010 by welshpug

[Peetypug 5]

Most modern cars nowadays have Dual mass flywheels though they don't cause half as many issues as they did a few years ago when they were first introduced, DPF is a particle filter in the exhaust on a diesel engine.

 

any idea when they sorted the dmf problems?

a dealer did mention they used to have these problems

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Been looking for a diesel hatchback for the wife for a month or so now

She can't make her mind up what she wants!

I've tried to get her to have one of the following

Focus 2.0 diesel titanium

Golf gttdi

Seat Leon tdi

Or a A3 tdi

 

She now wants an astra

 

Opinions please

 

I've driven the old Astra, Focus, Golf and A3 before I got my 1 series. Deffo the Focus out of them lot.

[205freak 7 1 Cars]

How about the new Ibiza TDI 1.6 105bhp i own one and pretty happy with it!!!

[Lan 24 1 Cars]

any idea when they sorted the dmf problems?

a dealer did mention they used to have these problems

 

they haven't sorted them, there slightly better but still have a replacement interval most dealers now offer the option of a single mass replacement though

 

heres how they work

[boombang 2]

I had a 1.6 xsi Astra, used to drive to work and get into a Focus 1.6 (whichever model had the vaguely sporty trim level) to drive about.

 

Getting back into the Astra was quite simply a pleasure after that s*itbox.

 

Worth noting both company Focus have had A/C, clutch, gear linkage and rattles.

 

The Astra is now 5 years and 45k on, just had it's MOT and only 1 advisory for split rod end boot. No other work outside of servicing (which our local Vauxhall dealer does for £100).

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

The A3 will feel the most "premium" quality inside even though the spec is quite basic (split climate excepted). I've not noticed the engine using much oil either (2.0TDI 140). It is noisy though when cold, but acceptable when warm/on a run but it still way way behind a BMW 2.0TD, and probably even the Ford/Vauxhall for refinement in town traffic (unless you get the new CR Audi A3s 2008-on). It is very quick and economical though (easy 55mpg).

 

After sitting in a tidy A3 I'm not keen on the Golf Mk5 interior, and the Leon feels really plasticy too, but they are all essentially the same car underneath, the Audi has the edge on styling, interior etc, even the sound system is very good compared to the others but that's where the price premium comes from.

 

But I think they're ALL smart looking cars though. The Astra looks great in that mid dolphin grey colour IMO with a decent trim level.

[arwel 43 2 Cars]

I have one. Its a 2007 1.9 cdti 150hp with the exterior kit. Really good looking car and does roughly 50mpg with mixed driving. Its pretty good reliability wise but in the 2 years and 8 months I've owned it its had 3 EGR valves, new air conditioning condenser, an injector re fitted and a new altenator 2 weeks ago. Everything was done under warrenty apart from the altenator which cost £300. Another common problem not mentioned is the gearboxes can fail at pretty much any time. Any strange noises then leave well alone as they are apparently around £2k to be fixed in Vauxhall. Overall not a bad car but when it goes wrong its going to cost some dollers.