VAUXHALL ASTRA Hatchback 1998‑2004

Good size boot.

Good leg room.

Comfortable seats.

Child locks.

Arm rest in the middle of the back seats to stop the children from fighting!!

Good carpet and upholstery, so it is easy to keep clean, even when the children have had a picnic in it.

Good all round vision.

Big enough to tow a small caravan, light enough to be economical.

Comfortable on longish journeys, 250 miles with a stop for petrol, and you DON'T get out in the shape of a question mark. And your legs are still awake!

£60 to fill-up the tank - petrol.

Cheap tyres.

Good lock for parking, you can get in a space that is just bigger than the car :-)

Easy to fit a bike rack on the back.

Roof rack bars are easy to fit.

Can convert into a "boy racer" with a bit of a spoiler and a big exhaust.

Easy to service.

Parts and spares are easy to get hold of.

Vauxhall astra is a car very cheap to maintain cheap to drive is very comfortable easy to drive is a car for people who like to drive a cheap car with a lot of comfort and don't spend to much money to spend for petrol

My Astra is the 1.6 8v iClub,

It has never once failed on me and always gets me from a-b in good time! It really is nippy despite claims of it doing 85bhp? Sounds mad. There's more than enough space for just about anything to happen ;) And the boot is big enough to put your average 12 bedroom mansion inside.

The car is actually really cheap to run, regularly nailing good fuel return, not being mad on tax and being cheaper to insure than a 53plate Nissan Micra. The car is great, widely modifiable and I would recommend it as a first, second, third... Or last car for anybody.

I do a lot of motorway miles between Stockton - Lancaster and that involves negotiating the penines... No problem at all, hammers the hills better than some of the turbo diesel BMW's out there!

As mentioned. Very reliable and cheap to run, can be a real head turner with the odd styling tweaks if you're a bit of an enthusiast like myself and never ever runs warm, not even where you'd expect high temperatures e.g. High speed or stuck in traffic.

5/5 to be totally fair, it is great.

I bought my car just over 10 moths ago for £1100, it had 10 months M.O.T on it and was one service away from full service history, bargain of the year.

Since I bought it I have serviced it myself which is really easy and cheap as parts are widely available and I replaced the rigid brake lines and flushed out the old brake fluid as a precaution before the M.O.T for which it passed with no faults recorded.

Day to day living the car starts first time every time, I can get two adults in the back comfortably (although getting out can be a pain due to low seating and being a three door) the boot is spacious enough for the weekly shop and even when going away will fit quite a lot of luggage.

Fuel economy is quite good if driven smoothly and you don't have a lead right foot, but if you do it throws you back in your seat and acceleration in second gear is astonishing and will generally leave most other cars standing.

Only problem I have is faulty electric wing mirror switch (lets face it you move mirrors where you need them and don't think of moving them again so not really an issue) and sometimes when the lights are on I hit a bump and lose part of dash board lights and my back lights which has got my mechanic friend stumped thinking it may be a fault on the switch as when you turn the lights off and then back on everything goes back to normal.

Altogether it is a lovely car to drive and own and would definitely point my friends towards owning one only down side is the Tax price, could get a lot more engine for the price I pay for tax.

I really love this car, brilliant for the road and a lot more oomph with approx 140hp, than the average road car. So cheap for the price at what they sell for and pretty easy to convert to LPG which makes them all the cheaper to run. Only ever heard one person moan about theirs and I said mine was happy as long as well serviced.. apparently that was the problem, they never serviced it. So easy to get parts for as they are so common but they rarely need them. Mine is used to commute kids about, plenty space for 3 people in the back but a bit of a squash if 2 of them have booster seats. 3 boosters won't fit in the back from what I've found.

When kids are out of the car, boy does it shift! Such a pleasure to drive its unbelievable for a mainstream budget family car with a few added perks. Excellent acceleration, smooth drive. Overall look sleek on the G model for my tastes. Everyone says my near 10 year old car is a nice looking car and I more than agree. Pretty well built, some unkind uninsured ran into mine, we were safe and the car held up too apart from cosmetic damage. Massive good point is.. there are always spare parts to find. Excellent car for a very small comparative outlay. I'm not selling mine..

Although not a very spacious motor vehicle, the ECO 4 model, which is only available up to A 54 Reg, is absolutely great. Keep on top of the oil changes and this car will give you trouble free motoring. Coupled with the annual road tax of £30 along with the cheap tyres, approx £ 30 per corner for new mid range rubber, the vehicle, when driven in a sensible manner, will run on squirrels tears..this car will save you money ..fact!!..its good on the motorway, great though town, easy to park, and not an expensive do, to have worrying about on the drive or roadside...ensure you change the oil on a six monthly basis as a minimum, and the car will last.

The car is very practical. It is very roomy upfront and the boot is spacious enough for two large suitcases. It's easy to park, the visibility is very good out front and the rear windscreen isn't bad either. The only problem is that 3 door "coupe" body style, the larger doors have become annoying when it comes to car parks and the lack of the rear doors makes it hard for people to get into the back seats.

I bought the car private, from an older person who I happened to know for some time and therefore knew the cars entire history. It had only done 46000, had a full service at Vauxhall 2 weeks before I purchased it and a set of new tyres, on top of that, I paid a fraction of its market value. In the 12 months and many miles I have covered, the only thing that I inputted into the car is fuel and a new battery. The car flew through the MOT in August with no problems whatsoever. The materials inside are of decent quality. Nothing rattles and everything fits together quite snugly.

Its very economical, both around town and on the motorway which is always nice. Ive been up and down to Manchester a couple of times now and easily manage that on one tank of fuel. Road tax is £160 a year. The car doesn't get 5 stars running costs because of insurance. I'm 19 and after 2 years incident free driving its still £2000 a year. But I've got to live with that.

The engine and the performance is very satisfying. A 1.6 litre may not seem a lot, but compared to my friends Clios and Fiestas this is a rocket. The torque it has from 3rd and 4th gear is amazing and the power is still better than newer hatchbacks (Golf V/Astra H). Coupled with the fact that the SXI models had their suspension tuned by Lotus, the car is very responsive and direct in steering.

Nevertheless, after a year, I've decided to sell and upgrade to a more classy 06 Audi A3 so it looks better next to my dads A8 on the drive ;) . Quite sad to be selling, the Astra has served me very well. I bought it so that i could get some experience behind the wheel and not be too worried if a ever scratched it or had a knock, luckily i didn't and will only look back at my first car with good memories.

If your in the market for a cheap hatchback, this is the one to go for.

Bought car for my growing family and now they have left the nest. This means I now need to downsize. The 4 doors, with childlocks was very helpful for child safety seats and the boot accomadated a pram and other accessories with ease. Running costs are dependant on your NCB and how its driven. Its nippy, confortable and well appointed.

I owned a black Vauxhall Astra SRi for 2 years and it was the best car I've ever had. I reluctantly sold it because we were running 2 cars in the household. The Astra is beautiful to look at and has the speed, space, reliability and the comfort to back those good looks up. I would still have it to this day if I could and everything else I have driven since has been a let down in comparison. The only downside to the car were the running costs, high tax and insurance groups coupled with high petrol costs meant I was spending alot more on it than any other car I've had, although this was to be expected when I bought a 1.8SRi. I would recommend this car to anyone from new drivers (which I was at the time) to famillies or someone who doesnt mind mind spending that little bit extra in running what is a beautiful car

Very good runner... Reliable average size ok looking overall great car

I would like the new astra as im completely satisfied with my old 1