Hey guys,
At the moment I drive a 03 TS 2.2 SRI.
Its just gone through its 90,000km service and I want to upgrade in to the hot hatch sector. I will be selling the car shortly.
So when my car was in for its service I took an AH SRI-T out for an hour.....but I fear I am being a bit harsh in my judgement of the car because after I took the car back I promptly went to the Ford place next door and took an XR5 out for an hour....
A few questions and observations on the Astra..
Interior fit / finish seems to be massively improved...what will it be like in 50,000KM though?
Is the central screen, control centre easy to get used to?
The engine felt very sluggish and unwilling to rev so it barely felt any quicker than my 2.2....however the car has less than 100KM on it and the salesman filled the tank with 91? It also sounded very thrashy?
The gear shift quality is vastly improved...until I went for 5th and it kept baulking. I guess it could be me not being used to the new shift pattern or it could be normal?
Tyre noise was horrendous...not sure on the tyres fitted but I assume they were the OE, anybody else suffer with the noise?
I'm not sure about the front seats...they felt very hard and not very generous in their support. They also felt like the lumbar support was pushing in my back even though it was wound right out. I didnt discover the seat tilt handle until I returned the car though.
The salesman said they can get a brand new car in my chosen spec in 3-4 weeks or they can get an ex-demo from anywhere in the country in 1-2weeks.....is this true?
Other than that I did like the car....its refinement and build quality seems to be leaps and bounds ahead of the TS and believe it or not it is slightly better equipped than the Focus (leather, climate control, cruise control) and has a favourable price tag....but then the Focus....My god its a stunning car!!!
It felt like an $80K Audi inside and the engine, transmission and brakes are stunning....but I still wonder if I am being to harsh on the Astra
Oh another question...anybody ever take their Astra out on track? I would be aiming to do maybe half a dozen trackdays a year. I used to have an MR2 for that but just purchased a house so can only afford one car now!
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