Vauxhall Astra estate review - CarBuyer

Vauxhall Astra Estate 2014 review: bit.ly/199YjI1
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The Astra Sports Tourer is perfect for people wanting elegant hatchback looks and big car practicality. There's clever FlexFold seating which allows drivers to fold the rear seats at the touch of a button, increasing the load capacity to 1,550 litres -- that's even more in than the larger Insignia estate. Yet the Astra lives up to its 'Sports' badging on the road. It feels very stable, while keen drivers will also find that there's plenty of grip and responsive steering. On long journeys it's comfortable, although that large boot area does amplify road noise at motorway cruising speeds.
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[@trailingarm63]

I've got one, 2015, 1.6 diesel, bought at two years old (40k miles) for about £8,000. I think it's a brilliant car. I traded down from a 2.2 Mercedes saloon, but don't miss it. The newish diesel engine is swift, quiet and has a chain-driven camshaft (which I believe all cars should have). The handling is great on motorways or B roads, I don't know why Rebecca had reservations about the latter - I'm a motorcyclist and suspect I corner the vehicle a lot faster than she does. And I don't know why she's moaning about the interior controls, they all look good, work fine and are easy to understand. It's a very comfortable car and very stylish considering the budget. I do agree that the key fob could be improved, but it's a trivial detail. Well done Vauxhall, five stars!

[@lukeraynorguitar5885]

Sounds like a decent car! I guess when they review cars all day everyday they are going to find issues that are trivial for most people in normal life!

[@martinmuldoon603]

Its the first time I even considered looking at the Vauxhall Astra, I think the key is the very same as VW AUDI, so I can't take this review serious, There's more to a car than cup holders and storage, what people need to know, is it well engineered first and foremost.

[@PHADAVIES]

The key! Are you serious? The switch gear is fine, good quality and easy to use! After the radio is initially set up its easy to operate from the steering wheel controls. I'm on my second Astra and as much as I like the odd 'Focus overtake and leave them for standing in my 165bhp 2.0cdti' , 99% of the time its not used as a racing car and the steering is fine...Very average review!

[@abraxii]

oh man if only they would add a nice badge to the key then i would buy 15 of these cars

[@renaultopelbmw]

Owned a 2010 1.7 cdti Astra estate, best car ever, change oil, put petrol. Great on highways and even on secondary roads. A bit noisy but I guess you have to compromise somewhere when you spend less than 16k euro on an estate.

[@IliescuBenyamin]

why she doesn't fold down the rear seats? that's what i wanted to see in this video

[@autofreak7]

I find the diesel is excellent. It's very quiet and it doesn't need cambelt changes since it has chain driven camshafts. Visibility out of the rear is quite poor however. The buttons come up on every review, it's perhaps a bit of journalistic peer pressure that they think it matters and don't want to lose face vis a vis their colleagues who also all mention it. There are many buttons but I find them easier than to have to scroll through 50 different menu's in these more modern touch screen systems to change the temperature. It is far quicker to have a button or knob than to plow your way through pages and pages of selection menusOverall very satisfied with this car and my dealer gave me a large discount to clear his inventory for the new model.

[@timppa600]

They both used to have their own model line-ups, but in the 90's GM (which owns both of them) decided to combine the two companies, and thus Opel models are sold as Vauxhalls in the UK.

[@geoffgreen3345]

Bought this 2013 2.0 Cdti Astra as it seems to be the only Estate where the rear seats fold flat, Golf 6 ,Leon, Skoda , Focus all stick up at an angle. Better than my previous 1.9 Golf 5 Estate and with 60 bhp more and around 7 mpg better ... Luv it...and the switchgear, oh and the Astra seat doesnt cripple me like my old golf, always thought it was the Germans way of getting the Britts back...the Brand Snobs dont know what the're missing,

[@p3t3rmax]

Bought a 2013 2l diesel auto with 7,500 miles for much cheaper than an equivalent Focus wagon about a month ago and I love it after doing quite a bit of driving. Previous car was an 09 Focus 1600 auto and was just too under powered. Goes very well and feels solid, the boot is practical and the gearbox is very good - smooth, changes sensibly, etc. Like the styling too. Has a bit of the German solidity that I had in a previous Audi A3. Not perfect most probably, like any car, but so far so good.

[@mrnicktoyou]

I always wait for her to say 5 foot 4 and a half every time now, lol.

[@georgearmerding]

I'm going to look at this professionally done review again. Except this time i'm going to try and pay attention to the car and not the gorgeous Brit reviewer.

[@DrClaw77]

I must be the only one who likes "all those buttons" on the dash. For some reason that makes it look more "European" -- and German in particular. Contrast with the "one-size-fits all" entertainment centers of American GM products in the latter half of the 2000s until they were forced to diversify their lines in earnest.

[@hammy434]

there are plenty of cars without rear electric windows. it's not to do with the age of the car. electric rear windows are an optional extra on every car that doesn't have them as standard anyway.

[@mickadatwist1620]

I drove one of these recently and was surprised how refined it was. Good used buys.

[@ANDREWCOUK]

( It feels very stable, while keen drivers will also find that there's plenty of grip and responsive steering.)

[@lellobgc]

FORD FOCUS, FORD MONDEO, FORD FIESTA... ENOUGH WITH FORD

[@zify89]

It is a subsidiary of GM. Vauxhall is in UK and its "sister brand" Opel is from Germany. It is plain to see the distinction in reviewing cars in the UK and the US. People here like performance too, but how often do you go from 0-62mph in tyre-smoking 4.4 seconds? Day to day usability is more important to us. :)

[@calculus77]

Interesting how she has great legroom at the back seat, but when I was shopping for a new wagon a year ago I had absolutely no way of getting into the back seat when the driver's seat was in my driving position (I'm 192 cm). However, in our previous car, Kia Ceed wagon, I was able to sit at the rear seat behind my driving position. Astra's boot space was great, however, but in the larger Insignia, the boot space was an issue. I ended up with a Mondeo and haven't regretted my decision.

[@Babel368]

Opel is sold as Vauxhall in the UK. A Vauxhall astra is exactly the same as an Opel Astra. Both Opel, Vauxhall as well as Holden in Australia are sub brands of the GM group.

[@sloot69x]

THE KEY!!!!

[@Adam-lf9vs]

Describes her criticism of the handling as 'picky' then goes onto nit pick about the keyfob!

[@benadamsons]

I do wish this car was available in the UK with the 1.4T or 1.6T with the Auto 'box. It's a real shame that this country is so hooked on oil burners.

[@yamahaevo]

Extra weight for the estate you say?? How mutch in kg?????

[@core42069]

oh ok because we have buick (not sure if they are just US or in Europe) And there selling point of the buick is that it is the same as the Opel in Europe. I was just pointing out some differences that I noticed from car shows and reviews that are here in the US. And her information is good but could be better. They should have these 2 review some US only cars and see what they think.

[@zify89]

I do not need "infos from other comments", I read a lot about cars to know which and what they are. :) But yes, I do not have any problem with your opinion, I do think those cars are more upmarket - at least interior wise - compared to this Astra. Volkswagen is lucky to have Audi - the people at Audi certainly know how to build interiors. GM, however, have not bestowed Vauxhall/Opel with such advantage.

[@rzvn111]

I was talking about a comment where someone told that Opel is no longer german and i said that you can say the same about Jaguar and LR because their owner is Indian.

[@unda25]

can be use for UBER in london?

[@PedroFTeixeira]

You just reviewed the I30... you could compare them both.

[@hammy434]

The Vauxhall Astra is mainly manufactured in the United Kingdom, though.

[@timl4257]

Its not bad, good design. Don't always need to compete with the premium brands. The top brands don't always get it right either.

[@Speck1119]

An Opel badge in the front and rear is more to my liking.

[@DrClaw77]

Yes. Vauxhall is a British brand for GM, which more or less is a badge swap for Opel (the core brand of GM Europe), with the cars built in RHD. Also, yes -- "estate" is British English for "station wagon".

[@Sweepdog700]

Are you still 5'4?

[@Mattyj3388]

Don't forget the half

[@1lPav]

Does anybody know if this is the MKI or MKII version and if there is any difference in the two?

[@martinmuldoon603]

Its the first time I even considered looking at the Vauxhall Astra, I think the key is the very same as VW AUDI, so I can't take this review serious, There's more to a car than cup holders and storage, what people need to know, is it well engineered first and foremost. I'd say this is a very poor review of what looks to me like a fairly good car.

[@LRS905]

I wouldn´t actually mind not having rear electric windows. Since I rarely carry anyone in the back seat, I don´t need them, and periodically I use them, to prevent anything happening to their components. If they ask me, the only electric things I would rather have would be front windows and rear view mirrors...

[@kcarsonsChannel]

Three cup holders at front, are you asking for cocktail, sir?

[@stapler3000344]

Oh mmmm i like this car, wish i could get in states.

[@northstar1950]

Three cup holders, wow!!

[@firstbrotherDK]

what's wrong with the resolution?

[@hamster639]

The seat isn't all the way back when she shows the rear room ;)

[@GenghisKhan22]

Thumbs up for nice brown boots !

[@DrClaw77]

"Government Motors" ... sounds like someone who likes bagging the tea. In any case, GM owns the Vauxhall brand, which has been in Britain since near the start of the 20th century. For the last 30 years or so, Vauxhall has been a UK-only landing spot for Opel (they even co-signed dealers with Opel's logo in the '80s), a German automaker owned by GM. GM largely lets Opel do its own thing, as it does Holden (in Australia), though the latter has some Opels and Korean Chevrolet cars in its stable.

[@DAVESGOLFMK4]

What are those funny little sticks on the rear doors at 1:09 ?

[@Romulan2469]

Vauxhall customer service is awful and the reliability of this car is questionable given how bad the last model was. I've had 3 Vauxhalls so far, all have cost far more in the long term to maintain than any other car I've had.

[@moleman1961]

Romulan2469 Why did you keep buying them?

[@core42069]

isn't vauxhall a general motors for Europe ? all they review are how big the boot is and how much space there is and how many waters bottles they can hold... an american car show is how fast 0-60, how fast 1/4 mile and how quick it can stop. i am guessing when they say estate they mean station wagon ??

[@garethifan1034]

No, they mean 'estate' lol.

[@ilwol1004]

Matt's quote. And that brings on to this car's DOWNsize....

[@Sectoidzor]

Isnt Vauxhall and Opel the same thing? Opel is german anyways.

[@seauryakumar]

Who is talking in the background?

[@mak450]

Isn't that kind of an obtuse way to look at a car company though? I mean JLR is headquartered in the UK, and they don't do much significant development work in india as far as I'm aware. So aren't they just a British company that happens to be owned by an Indian company?

[@theoharrison1]

I know!

[@jmmpdfdg]

OH COME ON !! No Rear electronic powered window's ?? :/

[@reddexred]

yes they are!!

[@00kirbyd]

Don't even consider the Renault Megane estate, it might have a better boot, but the Scenic is nicer in just about every way you can think of. Or buy this.

[@MakeTheDream1]

Rebecca makes good reviews, but Mat is still better, he makes reviews more interesting.

[@q3b26]

Not even electric rear windows?! My mum's 10 year old LX Mondeo even has that!

[@joako2706]

A VW badge looks good? Really?

[@Sectoidzor]

You dont have to point out that the rivals are german since the car is in the same category. Should be just "rivals". Just sounds odd.

[@sjcap4233]

I do not know what these reviewers are on, the switchgear complicated dont make me laugh the Astra has the best compromise of comfort and handling, in our company the Focus cars kept breaking down crap economy, the Astras were brilliant.

[@Stichting-AAP]

A golf or something has simple design, but doesn't bore me. It still looks fresh. Where as the astra.. just doesn't. It not exciting and it really bores me. Even the insignia is boring to me, but not when it was new. I would prefer a megane or octavia (for cheaper range) And if you want to spend some more, I would consider the Golf. For me, a daily driver doesnt have to be exciting but also should not dissapoint me. The astra has firm suspension and the engines feel small. (Thumbs down..)

[@jaffacake1578]

How amazing, I have a Titanium X Sport 2.0 Ecoboost and shan't ever buy another car other than Ford again.

[@SlizzFN1]

14th of December was my birthday

[@fabiohenrique3]

Beautiful car!

[@MrKulakkiri]

1:06 wait wait wait! No automatic rear windows? OMG!

[@hammy434]

what did your comment say?

[@venom5809]

Rebecca a little feisty today in this review. lol

[@Themawechsel]

And then there's Holden which is identical with the Opel and Vauxhall

[@Osquar]

I have it. I like it. Looks great (probably the worst colour for this car is red as the rear lights dissapears then). Can't complain about the steering. I personally like alot of buttons on my dashboard. Makes me feel as a pilot and keeps other peoples hands away from touching the instruments. Only problem is that legspace in the back is a bit limited. My 1.4 turbo petrol drives like a charm. Would never buy a diesel as it is very expensive to tax in my country, changing tje particle filter costs a fortune (needs to be done once every 4-5 years from what I've heard) and drives like a tractor. The fuel of the devil.

[@L77yma]

This estate is a bit shit but if that's what you're looking for then it's perfect for you !

[@SwPiotrek]

Nice car.

[@benadamsons]

Nope. You have to have the SE to get those (which is the top model for the Sports Tourer). Shame really.

[@kxantonxk]

Indeed. If i would of know nothing about cars and just continue watching Carbuyer i would think Ford Focus is a spaceship with lasers and such. They really give Ford / focus way too much credits for what it is, an average car, a bit overpriced for that.

[@bestpeter78]

There is no plenty space on the back...this is no importend when you buy a car

[@garethifan1034]

Extremely uncomfortable drivers seat in my newly bought 2016 reg Astra J. I'm already thinking of changing after two weeks of ownership - back and leg ache driving this 3 year old car - I hate it!!

[@Basic002]

come on now.. an astra vs a megane? was that a joke?

[@rzvn111]

Opel is not that german, and Jaguar and LR is not british anymore, they are Indian if we are talking about owners ....

[@raffafan]

Thought I'd add a cheap sexist comment about how good she looks in that car.

[@wazazone]

The worst German manufacturer is simply Opel

[@billywilliamswilliams4198]

the key looks budget? for fuck sake

[@markhpman]

just your opinion

[@sanjogar]

Her hands look OLD and BAD at 2:50, did you notice?

[@graphenes8437]

Pmsl

[@CatVAsya]

Rebecca's beautiful.

[@bestpeter78]

Do not buy it second hand...gearbox m32 with 6 speed have factory problem and will gone after 80-100 k km

[@sethn8021]

watch this vid in full screen then hold down the space bar

[@Ikesthetic]

1:03 eh?

[@BestCarSound]

VW badge doesn't look better than Vauxhall's to me :)

[@mustsilm]

i know something else which has bigger boot.

[@lffit]

Ford Focus wagon for me!

[@81giorikas]

She criticises irrelevant stuff quality wise and not the shitty plastics on the door panels, misalligned door panels with the dash, not so good fit in places and "soft" touch style plastics on only one part of the dashboard which isn't exactly soft. The previous astra was much better built. And there are better reviews out there.

[@mak450]

d'oh! gotcha

[@jaffacake1578]

Fair enough, but just because it's "German" doesn't automatically mean it's good in quality.

[@mustsilm]

Doesnt have 8 cup holders, not buying.

[@goatschessefan]

Boring exterior. Like the centre console. Love the reviewer but not her hands. According to my local garage there can be subtle differences in the mechanics between Opel and Vauxhall.

[@defconluke]

Coming soon to a taxi rank near you.

[@Serpicoitalia]

i want this woman :)

[@SuccubusLover69]

looks like a passat from behind..

[@Tiestofan22]

Where's the banana????

[@pmikey666]

Having rings and a net in the boot does not make it Clever!! The rear seats are awful, tell me what is the point of those rear head rests?? also manual rear windows!! is this 1990??, Dull Interior, Dull handling Dull Engine Dull car, Oh and yes there is a lot of Vauxhall Dealers, but don't expect any kind of customer care as they all know the product is rubbish. PS I would rather push a Volkswagon than drive a Vauxhall.

[@dazt103]

The key? ..Not as nice as a VW.. FFS

[@zify89]

Uhm, you mean Opel and Vauxhall are subsidiaries of GM? lol. No one is trying to sound like a smart arse in here, except for you. What this car is, is basically a rebadged version of the Opel Astra, since Opels are sold as Vauxhalls in the UK. No points for you, points for everyone else instead.