Faults:

So far few rattles, driver's seat belt housing, seat belt pre-tensioner, back seat and parcel shelf. Rear brake makes funny sounds (sort of like the sound the bicycles make when their braking pad are not aligned properly to the rim) when braking while reversing, or moving at a slow speed. Annoying, but not major, not sure if the brake pads are dragging, will have it checked by the dealer.

General Comments:

The suspension setting is a good compromise between comfort and handling, though I would have preferred it to be firmer to have more feedback from the road.

Long engaging clutch and notchy 1st & 2nd gear, not very suitable for sporty shifting.

Steering should be sharper.

Brake pedal could have better feedback.

The sport seats are not bad, but a little bit firm and lack support around the thigh (maybe I have long legs, the extended thigh support didn't really help)

The doors are quite heavy (but feel safe).

Getting around 9~10L/100km fuel consumption.

Big boot, lots of room for rear passenger apart from leg room. (generous for 2 door hatch, but only adequate for 4 people) Rear seats are more comfortable to sit in than front.

Apart from the minor comments mentioned above, generally I am quite happy with the car itself, it is well build, getting close to Japanese build quality. It is more suit to relaxed high way cruising and high speed corners than tight twisty left and right hand corners (in stock suspension form, though it is still pretty capable). It has enough torque to pull uphill in 5th gear, though I would have preferred more feedback from the car when driving.

Faults:

Rattle in the driver's door over harsh bumps. Fixed at 1500km service, but has since returned.

Underside of the rear bumper not painted properly, but the fault is only visible from under the car.

General Comments:

The Astra is without question the best car currently available in its category in Australia, no exceptions.

Performance is strong, but where it really shines is in handling.

Seats are fantastic for long distance and short distance driving. Other cars leave you with back trouble on long trips, but not these seats. Firm, the way a good car seat should be.

Plenty of space inside for me and my gadgets.

Love the look of the all-black interior.

Throttle response takes some getting used to, but within a few days I had it worked out and now I'm fine with it. Minor complaint that shouldn't really cause anybody any problems.

Steering feel is excellent, linear and responsive. Excellent directional stability.

Fuel economy better than expected from a car of this size with this size engine.

Put simply, I love this car the way it is and don't intend to ruin it by making any misguided "modifications".

Faults:

- So far nothing has gone wrong *touchwood* as I am still running the car in.

- Dark interior shows up small dirt easily.

- Brake dust is still a MAJOR issue even on the 2002 spec Astra despite is being revised. After 70 km driving after just cleaning it shows black dust on the alloys.

- Cornering isn't as good as the SRi.

- Alloy wheels design is ugly.

- Holden badge is ugly. Holden should at least have Opel and Vauxhall badges as an option (Holden are you listening? profits can be made here!)

- 15" wheels look small.

- Narrower track (for both SRi and CD) than the City version.

- No aftermarket alloys look good on an Astra.

General Comments:

- ABS doesn't harm the pedal feel. Feels like a car without ABS.

- Fuel economy is great despite the run in period.

- Great power and torque up hills.

- Auto can be made to engage into full drive mode by shifting to neutral and then drive just before you want to put the foot down. (It just prevents the half neutral that it automatically shifts to).

- Ride is comfortable for its function. (i.e small family car).

- Prewired fog lights at the factory.

- Seats feel comfortable. SRi seats have more lateral support.

- Electro steering is good, but detracts a bit of feel at speeds.