Astra vs Golf

[digifish]

This thread has turned into a Astra vs Golf marathon :)

http://blogs.drive.com.au/2006/11/dcoty_best_small_car_over_20k.html

[SSS_Hoon]

gee and i have nothing to do with it either hehehehe


SSS_Hoon

[Wraith]

It's a 'no win' situation as each will pull the argument to their personal reasoning....

Each to their own - if you like the Golf, get the golf and be happy.
if you like the Astra, get the Astra and be happy.

There will always be the pros and cons, good and bad points for each and any comparison ;)

[DirtyHarry]

i beg to differ. although i love my astra to death, i find that the golf is built of much better refiment and quality.
im sorry but i think it shows.
you could say astra is like the "poverty" version of the golf.

[dustbug]

One of my mates bought the new 1.9TDi golf and has had numerous problems with it, one of them to do with faulty airbags. This has actually happened twice and the car is only a year old. He always bagged me for buying the astra and said i'll just get problems and looked what happened to him.

Mwahahaha

Karma comes back at people

[digifish]

In my experience the Golf is better 'finished' than the Astra and by that by that I mean the way things are folded, painted, tucked away. However the (except for the paint, where the Golf is superior) the quality of materials used is about the same. The switchgear in the Astra is about the same as the Golf too. The AH Astra really is excellent value for money in comparison.

Look at the US reliability surveys and you will see VW is often at the bottom of the heap.

Where the Mk5 Golf is really let down is ride quality/comfort. The MkV Gold really is quite a harsh and unsettled ride. Here the Standard Astra has it all over the Golf. The sports tuned suspension in the CDTi and SRI is a little harsher but still superior to the Golf. Now note I am not talking about pushing the limits, I am talking about 99.8% commuting.

Moving subjectivity up a level, we come to design...the interior of the Golf is a very drab and boring place to be and the exterior looks a lot like a Corolla.

BTW: I extensively compared the Golf TDI 2.0 to the Astra CDTi. Both my wife (who is a die-hard VW fan and wanted me to get the Golf) ) and I agreed the Astra was a 'nicer' car, but I suppose that's why I am on this forum and not www.vwvortex.com (http://www.vwvortex.com).

digifish

[mintaka]

digifish

I did much the same, but started out from the idea that I was going to get a Golf TDI. I have always wanted one, going back to when I drove them in Scotland.

I only got a Pug 307 because VW were not selling the TDI in Oz and I needed a new car. 3 months later, the TDI was released.

So when it came time to move from the Pug, I thought that I would get the car that I should have got in the first place.

But just before I was to buy, the CDTi was released, so I thought I would check it out, just for comparison. But I was still thinking a TDI, either the manual or the DSG.

Well, bl**dy glad I did. There was a difference of $7000 between the change over price between the Golf and the Astra. I couldn't work out were the Golf was $7K more expensive. The Astra either bettered it some areas, or if it lost out in others, it wasn't by much. It the end, I can only conclude that the price difference is more for the badge, and I had already gone through the "Pleasure" of owning a premium Euro nameplate with Peugeot, which didn't help the Golf's case at all. Add to that, Golf made in South Africa, Astra, made in Europe. My Holden had more "Euro Cred" than any Golf TDI sold in Oz. That and the insurance is cheaper (because it's a Holden and not a Premium brand.).

Don't get me wrong, the TDI is a great car, but it's no greater than the Astra, and the Astra is cheaper, to both buy and insure. Unless you're a died-in-wool VW fan, why pay more?

Mintaka

[180HOA]

Neither of them are bad cars. But you get what you pay for. They're both pretty close in terms of finish quality, but the Astra is a bit behid the Golf in terms of engineering - we get the 'slow' 1.8l petrol and the auto diesel seems a bit behind the 8-ball, too. The only Astra and Golf models that are really comparable are CDTi manual, and the 2.0 TDi Golf. Their prices aren't that far apart - about $2-3k I think. by the time you factor in features the VW has like rain-sensing wipers, auto headlights, etc, they're probably pretty comparable. The Golf models that cost substantially more than the Astra do so for a reason - you generally get newer engineering like DSG's and less rattly TDi's. Plus I think VW still beats Opel in attention to detail and 'Surprise and Delight' features. You also need to consider the fact that Astra's are a case of "that's how it comes, take it or leave it", while VW's offer more colour, trim, and accessory options. Having more combinations means more complexity in supply, which is another factor which pushes the price up a bit.

I'm not arguing against either car here, I'm just saying that the price of the Golf is justified by generally newer technology, more features and greater ability to order exactly the vehicle you want. But, all of the Astras are still very good vehicles.