2009 - 2015 Opel/Vauxhall Astra in-depth review and owner experience

After I already did English reviews of several cars on this channel, I realized that I have not reviewed my own car in English. So here you go, this is my 2014 Opel Astra J 1.6 CDTI reviewed in detail. Although a long video, I hope you will find it useful despite my mistakes here and there. After all, I am not a professional journalist. Enjoy!

[@adamhalasi154]

Hey man! What a perfect and deep analysis about this car! Congrats! I have a 2016, 1.6 petrol one. I’m not gonna lie, you can not go for a drag race with the car but it is so reliable and if you drive it normally and in a watchful way you can push it as well. I am very satisfied with it! Good luck with your channel and with the car too 😊 Greetings from Hungary! 😊

[@JurnalAuto]

Thank you for the nice and encouraging words, Ádám! Indeed, 1.6 petrol is slow, but in the times we live now I think its reliability is much more important. All the best to you from Romania!

[@TDI2044]

I really liked your review 👍🏼 I have a 2012 pre-facelift Opel Astra SportsTourer with the 1.7 CDTI 125HP and the „Sport package”. My Astra has nearly everything what was available back in 2012 like heated seats, a lane assistant which works quite well, a rain and light sensor, parking sensors and the Navi 600, so it‘s a well equipped model. I agree with the things you said, it’s definitely a very smooth and comfortable car which will glide on the Autobahn even at higher speeds perfectly. The diesel-fuel-consumption is okay too, on the Autobahn it gets around 6L per 100Km which is quite nice for a car this heavy. What I can totally agree on is the poor space on the inside, like you said it’s totally acceptable for a family but coming from my first car, which was a 2001 Volkswagen Passat Variant 1.9 TDI, which is nearly the same size on the outside, the Astra is really really small. The Passats trunk was way more useable and especially the space on the backseats was a lot more. it felt roomy and there was more than a hand between my knees and the front seats, in the Astra now it’s the same „problem” for me, like for you in the Video, my knees are touching he front seats. I also had a lot of troubles with the DPF because i do not always drive for long distances, for example my way to work is only 12Km and the Astra doesn’t like that at all 😂😅. But overall it‘s a pretty good car for the money 👍🏼 thank you for the review 😊

[@JurnalAuto]

@@TDI2044 thank you for your comment and confirmation! Here in Romania many had problems with the DPF too, the reason being the same, namely driving it for short distances.

[@davidholis9549]

I totally randomly found one listed, the 1.4 turbo and i hope i'll get is as soon as possible before somebody else buys it. This video really helped me to make the decision. Because somehow i became obsessed with it in the past few days. And this video is just a confirmation that the Astra J is a great car. Thanks for is and let's hope i can get my hands on it ahah.

[@JurnalAuto]

Thank you for your comment and more than this, I am happy that it was helpful for you! 1.4 turbo is a good engine with no general big issues.

[@Stefi-ni6cc]

Wonderful episode! Stay strong! 💪

[@JurnalAuto]

Many thanks for the kind words! 😁

[@mpmagber1]

Great video. BTW, diesel version is only good if you are doing lots of out of city travel otherwise you will have big dpf issues - expensive! For city travel you had better use the petrol engines.

[@JurnalAuto]

That is correct! Happily, I use this car only for out of city travel and that is why I have zero issues with it. DPF works perfect. I use a small petrol car for short trips around the city.

[@radeklatal810]

Thanks for the review! Much appreciated since I am thinking about buying this particular model - particulary because of the safety. The drawbacks you mentioned - the large windscreen pillar and smaller boot - are probably a price to pay for having one of the safest cars from that era. Total 95 % in Euro NCAP is better than all competitors and even cars from higher class (even insignia or i40 can't match that). Again thanks for the review, helped a lot!

[@JurnalAuto]

I am glad it was useful for you! Indeed, it got great safety results back when it was launched.

[@radeklatal810]

@@JurnalAuto Thank you for your response! Since you own the car and are a car journalist also, what do you think of a Chevrolet Cruze from the same era? They seem to be closely related to Astra and seem to be somewhat cheaper. Also I was wondering if by any chance you know if the "leather" on the seats is an actual (cow/pig) leather or syntethic? Many thanks, regards from Slovakia!

[@JurnalAuto]

@@radeklatal810 yes, Cruze shares the same platform as Astra J called Delta II developed by Opel in Germany. It also shares many engines with Astra as well as many parts, including interior buttons. However, Cruze offers extra the 1.8 petrol engine with 140 HP that was put on Insignia, but not on Astra. That is a nice engine. It also offered a 2.0 diesel (143 I think and 150 HP) related to a Kia engine. Also a reliable engine. Cruze was a good car. Overall, Astra J seemed much posher on the interior, but they are very closely related. And I think you can still find parts for Cruze since it shares so many with the Astra. At least the taxi drivers were happy with the Cruze and this says a lot. Regarding the leather in Astra, I am not sure, but it seems natural. Eco leather was not really a thing back then. P.S. I have been to Slovakia 4 times 😁 visited Bratislava, Nitra. Also went through Košice and Prešov. Loved the food and the mountains.

[@radeklatal810]

@@JurnalAuto Great insight, thank you very much! Glad that you liked Slovakia also :-)

[@JurnalAuto]

@@radeklatal810 you are very welcome!

[@attilahuszar6342]

I really like this video, but just 1 thing: the 1.6 petrol SRI might not pick up the speed quickly, but once it does it is running like a dream

[@Schcarraffone]

I have ( for a short time now... soon will be gone) had this car from 2011. It had 16000km when i bought it. Now it has 290 000km and i am absolutely happy... In october 2025 in my country diesels euro5 will get prohibited so then i will have to renounce to it...

[@JurnalAuto]

@@Schcarraffone I love it too. Mine has only 218.000 km at the moment. I was thinking to sell it and buy something newer, but I decided to keep it for 2 more years and then we will see.

[@ladas8219]

you do great reviews i also have the same car but with a 2 0 CDTI engine.

[@JurnalAuto]

Thank you very much! Any issues with your engine?

[@ladas8219]

@@JurnalAuto not yet, I just replaced the oil pan sealing ring as a precaution. and one spark plug. Now I have driven 180,000 km.

[@brian2njoroge366]

Very nice car 👍, Would prefer this or a ford focus or a Renault megane 1.5 for a daily driver

[@JurnalAuto]

Hi and thank you for your comment! I have driven all 3 of them and I even have reviews for the Focus and the Megane on the channel, even if the Focus is the hatchback version. Now, here are the strengths of each of them: COMFORT: definitely Astra. It's like a soft sofa on the road in its class. SOUND PROOFING: also Astra. Not noisy at all. BEST INTERIOR SPACE: Megane, which makes it a little better for families from this point of view. BEST BOOT SPACE: also Megane as it has a slightly bigger boot space than Astra and Focus. BEST TO DRIVE: clearly Focus! BEST ENGINES: Megane first, Astra second and Focus third. Overall, which one I would prefer as a daily driver? Well, the Astra because I love comfort and quietness and because I do not need more space for now. However, for families that are looking for some extra room, reliability and low costs, I recommend them the Megane. And for those who are young and not interested in comfort or extra room, but interested in a sporty feeling, then I would recommend the Focus. All 3 have different characters for different people.

[@calamo21]

The Astra J was a car for its generation, a very good car and especially the gasoline engines, especially the 1.4 turbo 140 hp. They no longer manufacture simple cars like the ones they used to, which in my case have lasted 100,000 kms without any problems. They were manufactured by General Motors. Not like now when they are manufactured by the Stellantis group that is going from bad to worse. El astra J fue un coche para su generacion un muy buen auto y sobre todo los motores de gasolina sobre todo el 1.4 turbo 140cv, Ya no se fabrican coches sencillos como los de antes que en mi caso me han durado 100.000kms sin ningun problemas. Los fabricaba General Motors. No como ahora que los fabrica el grupo Stellantis que va de mal en peor.

[@tobbyasz]

I own one 1,7 diesel, made the UK Romania journey without any problems.

[@JurnalAuto]

Good old 1.7 diesel 😁 I had it on my first car, a 2002 Astra G. Just that on Astra J this engine was updated.

[@iwangulenko4935]

Great video! What’s the source for issue with 1.6 benzin Turbo 180 hp?

[@JurnalAuto]

Thank you! From what it seems, the turbo from this engine seemed to be quite problematic and there were also reported issues with the thermostat. Other than that, no other known general issues.

[@eddiejones.redvees]

I have owed my 2015 1.6 diesel 110 hp j Astra for two years now it was a x fleet car with 45.000 on the clock it is I bit rough inside but it has been well serviced and I got it for a good price it now has 55.000 miles on it the only problem is the is a little bit of water getting into the boot but I can live with the best parts of the I like it is very comfortable and quite for a Diesel I had a 1.4 tdi vw polo for 12y which was very good but I can’t believe the Astra does more mpg even with the extra cylinder it may be down to having six gears 2024 update I now have 62.000 miles on the clock in the last 12 months I have to spend some money on my car on replacing the glow plugs and new brake pads all around my nephew who is a mechanic tested my battery and his fancy test recommended replacing the battery which I will probably do before the winter comes also fingers crossed I think I have fixed the problem with water getting into the spire wheel well I put silicone seal around the screw grommets and foam seal at the tail light cluster I spotted water coming out of the removable access panel so that how I think it was getting in my old vw polo was water tight all the time in the 12 year I owned it I would probably going out back to a vw or Skoda for my next car

[@JurnalAuto]

It is incredibly quiet for a non-premium diesel. I made a test and on highway at 130 km/h (81 mph) the sonometer showed only 60 decibels 😲 this is the noise level of a normal conversation between two people. Also, more reliable than I expected 3 years ago when I bought it.

[@eddiejones.redvees]

@@JurnalAuto the first long trip I took in mine was a round trip to my brothers in London of 500 miles the is a lot of moter ways work going in U.K. so most of it was at 50 60 mph then some at 70 mph when I got home the It still had 260 miles range left in the tank I think my battery is starting to give up the stop start is not cutting in has much now it’s the original battery

[@JurnalAuto]

@@eddiejones.redvees wow, it really has a lot of range. I had the same issue with the battery. The previous owner told me that soon will reach the end of life and because of this start stop was not working. It still worked for 1 more year, but once I put a new battery, start stop began working normally.

[@felbringer5541]

Only the the older 118kw 2.0 had serious problems with oil pressure but 121kw is way better and biturbo is way too rare

[@djay5640]

how on earth have you found one with a sunroof

[@JurnalAuto]

My father found it in Germany. And it previously belonged to a company which is even more rare since usually companies do not select sunroofs from the equipment list. But my father has enough patience to search a lot until he finds the most suitable car.

[@gabrielmunteanu2445]

Year?

[@JurnalAuto]

2014

[@joseavalon5692]

❤

[@fantinilukasz]

standard gear box🤣🤣