Vauxhall Astra Estate road tests and consumer car reviews

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.2 Diesel 2008

A great car that is very economical, great to drive and has plenty of room. I bought mine at 3 years old with 68000 miles on the clock and it runs and feels new.

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.6 i 8v club auto 2000

I bought this car when it was 3 years old with 22,000 miles on the clock. I kept it for 7 years it never used any oil between services. I towed a 4 berth caravan and trailer with it drove to the south of France and did Lands End to John O’Groats in it. It never cost any money for repairs and went though all its MoTs with no work required. I had it serviced by my mate every year and bought 3 sets of tyres, no brake parts, cambelt changed at 8 years. The brake light bulbs don’t last long. I traded it in for a 1.8 Astra Estate design auto at 3 years old with 17000 miles on the clock. My mate will service this car too as he is a self employed mecanic.

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.4 2008

Bought from new, done 19000 miles, oil changes only on services. Only complaint is the hub caps need cable ties to prevent loss. Would I BUY ANOTHER? Yes, ordered last week.

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.8 2007

Just purchased this car, no complaints except the manual covers to many models and I can not find out what is built into my 2007 1.8 astra auto estate design. Very pleased with my choice of car.

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.8 CDX 1999

Now up to 125k miles, 11 years old, still going strong and has never let us down. Ideal workhorse for the young family in estate form. Aircon packed in this year - not the end of the world, £700 repair so we haven´t bothered. 1.8 16V engine brisk enough, could be slightly higher geared IMO. Wound it up to a GPS indicated 127mph on the Autobahn last year. The front end goes a wee bit light over 120mph. The Astra G is a cracking underrated car. Get one!

Vauxhall Astra Estate 2005

Hi, I have owned my Astra 1.3 cdti estate for 2 years now. At first I had a problem with the gears; they wouldn’t select reverse then all gears went and nearly burnt the clutch out. Took it to the garage to find out it was only a nut worked loose by the gear leaver. I was relieved as I thought the gear box had gone. Since then I have had no problems with the car, it handles really well and is good on fuel .The tax now is only £90 a year and it only has 10 bhp less than the 1.7 cdti. I find changing from first to second going up hill can be a bit of a struggle, it also from suffers from a bit of turbo lag; a k&n panel filter would probably help with the turbo lag. Over all the car is great, not really fast but will sit at a ton and it only feels like your only going half the speed. A practical car.

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1600 8v 2003

I bought my Astra in Jan 2009, it is the worst car I have had, it had 49,000 miles on the clock, it now has 58,000. After three months I had oil coming up through the sparkplugs, my local garage says this a common fault with these. Also, every four weeks the dipstick reads nearly empty. I only do a very low mileage, my garage says another common fault as the oil is just being burnt. Also, the gearbox is very notchy third to fourth is very poor. At speeds at 60 or above it can get very noisy and fuel consumption is very poor. It spends more time in my local garage than it should.

Responses to this review

Hi Keith, do you still have your Vauxhall as I have recently bought one and have similar probs. I go through 1 litre of oil to 1000 miles and number 4 spark is covered in hard oil and the enigine light has recently came on. dD you have any more ideas as to why the oil comes up to the sparks? - Rebecca from England

I am thinking of purchasing a 2003 Vauxhall Astra estate 1.6i Club. Any problems now? Faizal Badat from Yorkshire

I have same problem with my Astra 1.8 16v. Oil in the fourth spark and burns hole in about 1 month. How much would this cost to fix and what is the problem? Mark Archer from Bedfordshire

The 8 valve ohc opel/vauxhall engine is extremely reliable. The usual problem with these is cylinder head gasket and does tend to be around no 4 cylinder. Oil is probably leaking into no4, if all other spark plugs are clear of oil contamination - Phil from Swansea

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.7 CDTI 2006

Had the car since new, covered just over 91000 miles in a little under 4 years. Uncomfortable seats, problems with engine, new head gasket, turbocharger, various coolant system hoses, complete new front suspension, ongoing problems with rear reg. no. plate illumination lights bulb holder corroding badly, front ball joint and even had new rear shock absorbers on its first service at 20000 miles just for starters! I might just be unlucky with a Friday afternoon special, but would second the motion that "GM, engineered by accountants." When the lease runs out, Vauxhall will be first to be struck off the replacement vehicle list! In summary, rubbish vehicle, would not recommend!

Vauxhall Astra Estate Design 1.8 Automatic 2007

For me this car, which I’ve had from new, was a good choice. It’s comfortable to drive and is a good motorway car. The general road handling is better than the 3 or 5 door versions because of its longer wheelbase. It’s been a reliable vehicle. The only time it has seen the garage is for its annual service. My only complaint with this car is that the heating and air con controls are too small and set too low on the centre panel, an error that appears to have been corrected on the new 2010 model.

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.3cdti 2006

Got as a company car. Fuel consumption was 55mpg on a trip, but car cut out all the time, on motorway, in town, everywhere. Took to main dealer for service, drove 300 yards after collecting car, big bang & car stopped. Dealer collected it, kept it for a week, "fixed" the gearbox (why I don’t know) and it now does 150 miles less per tank, average 37.7mpg on long trip, grinds in second & sixth gears, and now needs to use 2 gears lower for the same hills that it managed in sixth. Had to take it back to get pollen filter changed (supposed to be done on service). The car is a joke to drive, even a Transit pulling a trailer will out drag you at the lights (used to go really well before service). Good news is the stalling is cured! This is my sixth Astra estate and they are great until the dealers touch them. They have ruined my others eg serviced & left dipstick out, fitted wrong fuel cap so tank & filler neck collapsed, on my first one, brakes failed in dealer car park after brake repair. Only by this car if you service it yourself! Basic design seems good & robust, but dealers lack basic skills & will wreck anything they touch.

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.

Responses to this review

Wow, Glad I read this review, I have a lovely old 1.9 diesel estate, Felicia, fabulous old motor, go anywhere, 55MPG on motorway runs. Never let me down in 4 years. I was thinking of changing her for a Vauxhall estate !! not now. What is up with you lot at Vauxhall? You used to be real reliable plodders - Paul Schorn from Hampshire

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.9 cdti design 2008

Having owned three Alfa Romeo’s buying a Vauxhall was hard to do but with two dogs and a baby on the way I needed practicality, safety, reliability, comfort and looks, so getting an Alfa Sportwagon would only get two of these! So I looked at Vauxhall and got all five, this car is amazing.....it’s black so looks cool, has 150ps so plenty of power, handles almost as well as my Alfa 156, lots of little toys to play with, reliable, has a sport button which actually works so as you notice it.....the one and only drawback is that this model doesn’t have an on board computer which for a car that cost this much should have, but other than that an all round excellent car.

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.7 CDTI club 2005

This car does what is says on the tin and also looks quite good too. The diesel returns 55 mpg on long runs, is not too obtrusive if you keep to 60 mph. It is not as quiet as the French diesel engines that go in the Focus, Citroen’s and Peugeot’s. It is well built, it handles very well for an estate (it has a longer wheel base than the hatchback). The loading entry for the boot is excellent, no obstructions and low. it has a comfortable cabin. safety equipment in the club version is very good.

Vauxhall Astra Estate SRi 2007

The 150 CDTi Estate is Spartan in the cabin (it does not even have an engine temperature gauge) and somewhat noisy until warmed up. The ride on those 18 inch low profile tyres result in a hard ride with a lot of road noise. However on the plus side the performance is astonishing. If the ’ sport ’ button is pushed the response to the accelerator is so quick it is a bit difficult to drive smoothly which is not helped by the very powerful brake assistance. Very much a driver’s car which puts a smile on ones face. My wife hates it for its lack of comfort and refinement.

Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.6 16v Club 5dr 2005

I’ve had this car from new and I’ve not regretted buying once. A very practical car that gives an enjoyable drive too. The engine is smooth and quiet and it handles very nimbly for an estate. The space is good and the interior is comfortable; very good driving position too. Overall this is an excellent estate and you could do a lot worse. For someone like me the down side is resale value is low, but if you’re in the market for a used car you could probably pick one up for a bargain.