2005 Vauxhall Astra Estate reviews

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.3 CDTi Life 2005

A cheap second-hand buy to replace a lovely but rusty Skoda Felicia Estate. The Vauxhall looks great & does things well enough, but it feels designed for a sales rep in a hurry rather than for a man who prefers taking life easy. It’s at its best on motorways & main roads & at its worst around town. It just doesn’t drive like a diesel! Acceleration is excellent as is fuel consumption but you have to get used to using the gears to keep the engine above 2000 rpm, otherwise its dead. Sixth gear is a waste of time in the UK as the car needs to be going either downhill or well above 65mph for the engine to maintain speed. Also unlike most diesels it’s not happy climbing hills with a full load & a cold engine. It struggles to leave our driveway in first gear - a hill the Skoda could happily take in third. On the practical side, the boot is rather shallow for an estate car and the roof rails are so close together at the back that my roof bars won’t fit. On the other hand, the car’s just narrow enough for my wife to get her motorbike past it when it’s parked on the driveway - a very important issue for us! There have been just 2 reliability problems, both to do with the brakes. A hose from the ABS system needed replacing which was done under warranty, but just 2 months after the warranty expired, the back brake pads were worn down (56000 miles) & all 4 brake discs need replacing - due to rust - at an estimated cost of over £300! How long will we keep it? Probably only a short while as I really think I’d prefer something less racy & more of a carthorse.