Faults:

Absolutely nothing (yet).

General Comments:

The new Opel Astra is a real step forward for Opel. I owned the previous model, also 1.4 litre engine, so my enthusiasm is "educated", so to speak. Opel managed to maintain the low fuel consumption and still develop a sufficiently powerful 1.4 90bhp engine. The main pro's of this new model are the comfort level, the detail of the interior finishing and the exterior design. I've only had this car for 13000 km so I really can't speak about it's reliability, but so far so good, absolutely nothing wrong with it despite me driving it over the declared maximum speed of 178 km per hour. Also good stability - I got it with 16 inch wheels and I think this counts. The previous Astra models were average at best, but this one is a keeper, and personally I think it's better than the rival Volkswagen Golf V.

Faults:

Today I will change the water pomp because it is licking for three days.

Driver seat is quite instabile, but this is the only wrong thing in the cabin.

Servodirection pomp go bad.

Rust in the rear wheel pasage.

Little noise from everywere!

General Comments:

Being a BMW 325'er ex-owner I couldn't say Astra is a fast car, but I think is nice, handling and reliable for the money.

The GLS version with ABS and electric gadgets (mirrors, windows, antenna) makes long distances and inner town roads easy to go.

Its cheap to fix the rust in the rear, but it's a must.

I also own a Manta from '79 which have the same problem with the rust so that means I'm used to 'engineer' around this problem.

For a 'cool' cockpit I think the Recaro seats is a good investment.

My Astra does not have this kind of seats, but the interior is still comfortable and a bit sportive.

Nice central console, which -by the way- took me a month to find how could I change the bulb lights from inside the heating unit.

The exterior look still remain attractive even the car have over ten years.

Mine have 14' alloy wheels and 28cm steering wheel, which makes it better looking and give driver a sportive feeling.

All in all I think Opel did make a good automobile for it's kind, better than the majority of the class.

Faults:

The engine support, on the right side broke up at 79,000 Km.

The outside temperature sensor did not shows exactly.

The driver seat make a funny noise. I think it's not too well fixed.

General Comments:

This is my third Opel. First Ascona C GT sport 2l engine (made in 1987), very powerful car with high acceleration. Than a Kadett 1.6 l (made in 1990) very economic fuel consumption.

The Astra is a comfortable caravan with a lot of room, and a powerful engine. The car run fast and it's easy to handle. My wife also loves to drive it.

I think I will stay with Opel. It's a car that never let me down.

Faults:

I had some minor suspension problems that were really cheap and easy to fix.

It wouldn't start in the morning for a couple of weeks and nobody, not even the official Opel dealer could tell what it was. Eventually it turned out to be just one little wire that was loose.

General Comments:

Very good car for first car.

Impressive acceleration for the small 1.4 engine.

Very stable on the road at higher speeds.