Is the Astra a good car?

The Vauxhall Astra is a great looking car that has a great style compared to other competing cars in its class like the Golf and Focus. For the Vauxhall model of cars, you have the option of selecting from the Sport Tourer ( midi estate version), a five-door hatch, the VXR, and the three-door expensive GTC coupe. The Astra is a well-engineered vehicle that has a great hatch, but when compared to Golf or Focus, it is not a match, for either the fun of driving or its quality. The exception to this statement is the GTC coupe which is a different model. Compared to its earlier Vauxhall models, it is by far the best when you look at its outstanding looks and its fine ride. For the VXR, it has the GTC as the base, but with a boost of 276bhp which are distributed to the front wheels by a limited slip differential.

In 2010, there were a few recalls of the Vauxhall Astra where the front seat passenger moved forward on its own accord. In 2011, there were some recalls that were done to counter the anti-trap malfunction issue that was on the windows. Later on, in 2015, there was also another recall that was done to prevent fire issues due to the cooling fan’s short circuit problem.

There have been some complaints about the interior rattling in the car. The problem is not necessarily on the rattling, but to the fact that it is even harder to identify the diagnosis because the rattling can stem from a simple issue as the wheel nut raffling in the glove compartment to something as hard as a loose trim or a broken clip.

There are other users who have identified a problem with the skirt under the front bumper not being aerodynamic. Although it is presently meant to reduce fuel consumption, it can cause problems where it gets caught on kerbs when you want to park the car with the bonnet first. This makes it hard for a user to park the car in some parking spaces with ease.

There is another problem that arises with Astra’s that runs on the diesel engine. For this models, the cars are fitted with the DPF (diesel particulate filter) which means that to make sure that the DPF can regenerate, then the vehicle has to be taken on frequent motorway trips. Now, if the DPF is shut off during the regeneration process, the oil system will be contaminated with fuel. This will lead to the rise of the oil levels and the engine will be damaged.

There have also been reports that the 1.7 EcoFLEX models with 09/59 plates have gearbox problems. The issue arises when a driver engages the first gear. Instead of the right gear being executed, the reverse gear is the one that is engaged.

For the models that have torque converter automatics, some vehicles experience a radiator tank failure on the heat exchanger, which often wrecks the transmission as a result of the injection of the coolant into the automatic transmission fluid. This is an expensive repair job.

There have been reports where the 2016 Vauxhall Astra H that is 1.6 automatic, catches fire on the front brakes due to the callipers sticking on the pins.

The 2007 Vauxhall Astra 1.6 has also been reported to have a problem with the inlet manifold swirl, where it is ingested, leading to engine failure.

There has also been a common problem in Astra vehicles where the horn fails to work due to the circuit board failing to function.