Long term review of Opel Astra
Vehicle Name : Opel Astra
Year of purchase : 1997
Color : Blue
We bought Opel Astra in 1997 as our family car. Color was chosen by myself (the dealer had only blue & maroon)
The delivery was taken from Mumbai, Shreyans motors if I remember correctly as there was no dealer in Pune at that time. Our company driver had gon to take delivery & while he kept keys at home there was no one at home so in the evening when we did pooja & all decided to go out for a ride & there was first surprise the big question ?How to put car in reverse?? as to put the car in reverse gear you need to pull a little knob on gear lever & push it all the way to left. (as this was first day no one bothered to read owners manual) so I called my uncle who had also bought Astra recently & he told me as what to do.
So we wnt out & the first thing that was noticed was its smoothness boy that car was real smooth (back then Pune roads were not that bad)
At this time my father was real worried as temprature gauge was above 90deg. C
but thats a normal working temprature! :O (my father was only using Maruti cars at that time)
Exteriors :
Now since the emergence of new cars the Astra looks a bit dated but I like the way its lines flow, look wise its a fairly simple looking sedan.
The front lamps are neat & flow with the shape of body.
The tail lamps are also good. Overall it looks good.
Astra has a gigantic boot. Never had any problem with luggage sotrage. Once I maanged to squeez in 6 mattresses.
Interiors :
Interiors are well designed with easy reach of driver as well as passanger. There is multi information display in the middle which shows time, date/radio station display and outside temprature. NICE
Also when you switch on the ignition whole instrument panel lights up with a pleasant orange light. Looks really good.
(Club model showed fuel consumpation and few other info.)
Steering is a bit on harder side but it gives you feel of road handling is not a problem. Understeer is not much of an issue.
When it comes to lights it is a bit different lights are on right side below ac vent.
& to switch on map reading light you have to pull the light knob. Confusing! Also the light comes up when you open the door & there is no way you can swtich it off. Hmmm sometimes on dates it really kills the mood.
Instrument panel is fairly basic showing speedometer, engine temprature and fuel level (it acts a bit crazy once you go below half tank mark) with other lights such as oil pressure, handbreak etc. There are lots of slots there but only few of them are active you can see diff lights when there is a direct light on it.
No RPM meter here, one thing that I miss the most
Car came with pre-loaded musci system (at that time this was also unique) music system is fairly basic but produces good quality sound. Also has an automatic antenna.
It has power windows with control of all four windows to drivers side with rear window locking switch (again very good) And also has power mirrors which let you adjust both side mirrors from inside. The quality of the switch is wonderfull. Light years ahead as compared to current accent, sonata, safari.
Has central locking with dead lock. Dead locking allows you to open doors only from drivers side door.
Getting in and out is real easy with no problem for tall ppl, older ppl. Leg room is great. Front side legroom is huge with sufficient rear legroom.
Seats are comfortable though lower back support is not great. Still overall seating is good. No problems with long runs. Both front & rear seat belts are height adjustable.
Air conditionar is very good car gets cooled immediately. Though AC makes too much noise at highest settings that should have been better.
Engine
Old Astra's came with single point fuel injection system. Engine is not the most powerful one but is surly toruey one. There is enough torque at low rpm & goes one increasing as revs go higher.
Fuel consumption is good. I get around 10km/lit in city with 95% AC
Once managed to get 16.5 km/lit during My place ? Gujrat ? Mumbai International Airport ? My place with full load and boot filled with bags.
Usually from my place to Mumabi International airport & back journey (around 350km) takes about 25lit with AC ON full time.
Worst got somewhere between 6 to 7 during drive to Nashik with pedal to the metal drive.
According to manual there is electric switch under hood which lets you specify Octane number (87 or 91) of your petrol & engine adjusts its characteristics accordingly. Never tried it though. Picture will be posted later.
Tyres:
As far as I remember it came with MRF ZigmaVT tyres which were replaced by 185/70 R14 Good Year GT770+ tubless tyres. Body roll is a bit on higher side but is alright.
About six months ago we bought Honda Accord 2003 model and I got Opel Astra. Couldn't be more happier
Problems:
Not many problems so far.
Battery died on somewhere around 70k kilometers
Front suspensions were changed around 85k+ they could have gon longer however this car was mostly used by my mother who is not good when it comes to speed brakers.
Also at last servicing (92k) changed clutch plate as clutch was getting harder. Now it is as soft as butter.
Thats about all I can remember. No major incidents till now (touchwood)
As it comes to modern cars Astra might not be good looking, might not be powerful but with cars for me its not about figures its all about how your car makes you feel
& my car makes me feel like King!
Thank you
Aditya
P.S. : I do not take it to Opel service center for a quite a while as there is a garage near my house whoes owner used to work in Devdatta motors on Karve road. He is a very relible person & won't drill a hole in your pocket. If anyone want more information please PM will give you his address and contact no.
Pictures will follow soon