Why so many people hate the astra h 1.3?
Discussion
Hi. So basically Ive been test driving a lot of cars lately as Im looking for a first car. Obviously I test drove astras as well, but I want a car that has power and I can insure without a blackbox. Looked at the astra h 1.3, mate has one so I drove it quiet a bit.
Downs:
-Lacks power under 2k
-Needs to be warmed before drive (like any other diesel) to have power
-Noisy on the outside (its a diesel no surprise)
Ups:
-Good power for price/insurance
-Big lads fit in nice
-Very good on fuel
-Reliable (mates car at 220k, and so far so good.)
So why do people hate on this car again? I feel like its just hate because its a fiat engine, not because its unreliable or something...
Downs:
-Lacks power under 2k
-Needs to be warmed before drive (like any other diesel) to have power
-Noisy on the outside (its a diesel no surprise)
Ups:
-Good power for price/insurance
-Big lads fit in nice
-Very good on fuel
-Reliable (mates car at 220k, and so far so good.)
So why do people hate on this car again? I feel like its just hate because its a fiat engine, not because its unreliable or something...
WaifuRacer said:
Hi. So basically Ive been test driving a lot of cars lately as Im looking for a first car. Obviously I test drove astras as well, but I want a car that has power and I can insure without a blackbox. Looked at the astra h 1.3, mate has one so I drove it quiet a bit.
Downs:
-Lacks power under 2k
-Needs to be warmed before drive (like any other diesel) to have power
-Noisy on the outside (its a diesel no surprise)
Ups:
-Good power for price/insurance
-Big lads fit in nice
-Very good on fuel
-Reliable (mates car at 220k, and so far so good.)
So why do people hate on this car again? I feel like its just hate because its a fiat engine, not because its unreliable or something...
That generation of astra from the ones ive seen fall to bits like you wouldent believe, think your mate was lucky.Downs:
-Lacks power under 2k
-Needs to be warmed before drive (like any other diesel) to have power
-Noisy on the outside (its a diesel no surprise)
Ups:
-Good power for price/insurance
-Big lads fit in nice
-Very good on fuel
-Reliable (mates car at 220k, and so far so good.)
So why do people hate on this car again? I feel like its just hate because its a fiat engine, not because its unreliable or something...
I don't think the Astra is hated as such, just... ignored. There's nothing wrong with it but it doesn't do anything particularly well either; the contemporary Focus, Golf, etc. arguably do nothing worse and a number of things considerably better.
So to answer your question, if you like it there's no particular reason not to buy it.
So to answer your question, if you like it there's no particular reason not to buy it.
Nothing wrong with the Astra H. A very good if not dull car.
My Astra H 1,7cdti estate is a fabulous everyday work horse. It has 135k on the clock, is a 2005 model and most certainly is not failing a part. In fact it is still a very tight drive. I can't believe how it is resisting corrosion, the arches, sills and underbelly all in very good order, and they were on all of the H's I viewed.
I believe the 1.3cdti engine can sometimes slip a tooth on the cambelt which can destroy the engine, don't know how common this is, but I wouldn't worry about it.
The 1.7cdti is an Isuzi engine and is apparently much more durable than either the 1.3 or 1.9cdi engines.
From what I've heard the 1.3cdti needs thrashing for any decent progress which can blunt economy.
My 1.7 does 50mpg with easy with a mix of driving.
My Astra H 1,7cdti estate is a fabulous everyday work horse. It has 135k on the clock, is a 2005 model and most certainly is not failing a part. In fact it is still a very tight drive. I can't believe how it is resisting corrosion, the arches, sills and underbelly all in very good order, and they were on all of the H's I viewed.
I believe the 1.3cdti engine can sometimes slip a tooth on the cambelt which can destroy the engine, don't know how common this is, but I wouldn't worry about it.
The 1.7cdti is an Isuzi engine and is apparently much more durable than either the 1.3 or 1.9cdi engines.
From what I've heard the 1.3cdti needs thrashing for any decent progress which can blunt economy.
My 1.7 does 50mpg with easy with a mix of driving.
Unfortunately I had one of these in estate poverty spec as a company car for four years/100k. The non-existent low rev power was my main gripe. It especially liked to stall when pulling away with the AC on. The other thing was it took an age for the heater to blow warm in winter. It could've been the thermostat but you couldn't tell because of the lack of a gauge.
To be fair it was ok when up to speed on the motorway. It was surprisingly tough, too, despite my best efforts to destroy the engine with a money shift in to 2nd at 70mph - it was an accident/mis-shift; I was going up a hill on the motorway and needed to accelerate to pull out in to lane 3 and changed down to 2nd instead of 4th. It went on for another 50k and is still on the road now according to an mot history check.
To be fair it was ok when up to speed on the motorway. It was surprisingly tough, too, despite my best efforts to destroy the engine with a money shift in to 2nd at 70mph - it was an accident/mis-shift; I was going up a hill on the motorway and needed to accelerate to pull out in to lane 3 and changed down to 2nd instead of 4th. It went on for another 50k and is still on the road now according to an mot history check.
People hate on the Astra H for the usual badge snobbery issues. Its a Vauxhall and in status crazy Britain that counts for a lot. Its not a VW or Audi, so ergo, it must be bad.
Also mis-informed comments like the one from the poster on here who claims the Astra falls to pieces, which frankly is rubbish, dont help either!
If you look at the earlier Astra G, there are still plenty of these going, 20 years old now, some of them and they don't seem to rust! Bearing in mind that Astras go from being company car fodder to cheap family transport, where they are usually unloved, that shows how tough they must be!!
Ignore the snobs and buy what you want!!
Also mis-informed comments like the one from the poster on here who claims the Astra falls to pieces, which frankly is rubbish, dont help either!
If you look at the earlier Astra G, there are still plenty of these going, 20 years old now, some of them and they don't seem to rust! Bearing in mind that Astras go from being company car fodder to cheap family transport, where they are usually unloved, that shows how tough they must be!!
Ignore the snobs and buy what you want!!
greenarrow said:
People hate on the Astra H for the usual badge snobbery issues. Its a Vauxhall and in status crazy Britain that counts for a lot. Its not a VW or Audi, so ergo, it must be bad.
Also mis-informed comments like the one from the poster on here who claims the Astra falls to pieces, which frankly is rubbish, dont help either!
If you look at the earlier Astra G, there are still plenty of these going, 20 years old now, some of them and they don't seem to rust! Bearing in mind that Astras go from being company car fodder to cheap family transport, where they are usually unloved, that shows how tough they must be!!
Ignore the snobs and buy what you want!!
The Astra G was fully galvanised wasn't it? I remember that being a marketing point when it launched. I've certainly never spotted a rusty one, unlike the Focus Mk1.Also mis-informed comments like the one from the poster on here who claims the Astra falls to pieces, which frankly is rubbish, dont help either!
If you look at the earlier Astra G, there are still plenty of these going, 20 years old now, some of them and they don't seem to rust! Bearing in mind that Astras go from being company car fodder to cheap family transport, where they are usually unloved, that shows how tough they must be!!
Ignore the snobs and buy what you want!!
I don't think anyone *hates* the Astra H 1.3,but it's not a car anyone is going to love either. Small NASP petrol engines seem to be really crap now, possibly for emissions reasons, so even a 1.6 Mk3 Focus is an absolute slug to drive.
WaifuRacer said:
Hi. So basically Ive been test driving a lot of cars lately as Im looking for a first car. Obviously I test drove astras as well, but I want a car that has power and I can insure without a blackbox. Looked at the astra h 1.3, mate has one so I drove it quiet a bit.
Downs:
-Lacks power under 2k
-Needs to be warmed before drive (like any other diesel) to have power
-Noisy on the outside (its a diesel no surprise)
Ups:
-Good power for price/insurance
-Big lads fit in nice
-Very good on fuel
-Reliable (mates car at 220k, and so far so good.)
So why do people hate on this car again? I feel like its just hate because its a fiat engine, not because its unreliable or something...
Not trying to hate on your parade. I neither hate nor like the Astra. It’s just rather uninteresting and 100% white goods. Downs:
-Lacks power under 2k
-Needs to be warmed before drive (like any other diesel) to have power
-Noisy on the outside (its a diesel no surprise)
Ups:
-Good power for price/insurance
-Big lads fit in nice
-Very good on fuel
-Reliable (mates car at 220k, and so far so good.)
So why do people hate on this car again? I feel like its just hate because its a fiat engine, not because its unreliable or something...
I understand as a first car you might have limited choice. But a car such as this or the equivalent VW, is somewhat dull. And there are more interesting choices if you are prepared to “think” outside the box a bit.
The Astra H 1.3 CDTi was a dreadful car, at least by the standards of it's class and period.
My experience of it was formed by driving both those and the 1.7CDTi Isuzu engined cars at work, both hatch and estate. I recall that the estate of this generation had stiffer rear springs for load bearing and so the handling was slightly better than the hatchback. Since then, we swapped to 1.6 'Whisper' diesel and 1.7 CDTi Astra J estates and hatches. I had noticed on the J model that the hatch was a much better steer than the estate.
So, what I didn't like about the Astra H 1.3:
1) Absolutely gutless engine coupled with awful gear ratios. A very short first gear and long second gear meant power could feel like it took weeks to arrive. It wasn't always an annoyance but there were yawning gaps to fill and it generally needed to be worked quite hard, chasing a very small powerband. The 1.7 was night and day different. Fuel economy was middling because they were worked so hard.
The handling was middling but the body control was appalling. The car felt really tall despite allowing for a decent seating position, and tended to roll around when cornering.
2) General lack of comfort and class. I have long maintained that Vauxhall made a masterstroke replacing the H with the J and the Vectra C with the Insignia, going from a cheap and chatty product to something fit to compete with the rest of the sector. The J suffers from a car interior layout, which is functional but utterly dull, but had a few weak spots. The plastic casing on the steering wheel could split and expose the foam core. The little rubber one-touch indicators were just a pain. The seats were uncomfortable.
3) Reliability was hopeless. The alternator tended to fail after 100,000 miles when the cars were three or four years old (if that). Sod's Law that this always happened at night when the lights were in use and usually necessitated a last ditch effort to drive to our workshop as the electrical systems dyed off.
The gearboxes all suffered from rattles. We never kept the cars long enough to see if it resulted in failure, but there was typically a rattle at idle and then a different pitched rattle under drive.
Sensors were an issue too, with many cars going into limp mode for reasons we never really understood. They were really the only cars we had at work that ever failed to get us to where we needed to be on account of being broken.
By comparison, the Astra H was a massive improvement, so much so that I now own an Astra GTC 2.0 CDTi. I know the old Astra sport hatch was supposed to be a better drive than the hatchback and estate. My brother learned to drive in a 1.7 CDTi sport hatch and quite liked it.
My experience of it was formed by driving both those and the 1.7CDTi Isuzu engined cars at work, both hatch and estate. I recall that the estate of this generation had stiffer rear springs for load bearing and so the handling was slightly better than the hatchback. Since then, we swapped to 1.6 'Whisper' diesel and 1.7 CDTi Astra J estates and hatches. I had noticed on the J model that the hatch was a much better steer than the estate.
So, what I didn't like about the Astra H 1.3:
1) Absolutely gutless engine coupled with awful gear ratios. A very short first gear and long second gear meant power could feel like it took weeks to arrive. It wasn't always an annoyance but there were yawning gaps to fill and it generally needed to be worked quite hard, chasing a very small powerband. The 1.7 was night and day different. Fuel economy was middling because they were worked so hard.
The handling was middling but the body control was appalling. The car felt really tall despite allowing for a decent seating position, and tended to roll around when cornering.
2) General lack of comfort and class. I have long maintained that Vauxhall made a masterstroke replacing the H with the J and the Vectra C with the Insignia, going from a cheap and chatty product to something fit to compete with the rest of the sector. The J suffers from a car interior layout, which is functional but utterly dull, but had a few weak spots. The plastic casing on the steering wheel could split and expose the foam core. The little rubber one-touch indicators were just a pain. The seats were uncomfortable.
3) Reliability was hopeless. The alternator tended to fail after 100,000 miles when the cars were three or four years old (if that). Sod's Law that this always happened at night when the lights were in use and usually necessitated a last ditch effort to drive to our workshop as the electrical systems dyed off.
The gearboxes all suffered from rattles. We never kept the cars long enough to see if it resulted in failure, but there was typically a rattle at idle and then a different pitched rattle under drive.
Sensors were an issue too, with many cars going into limp mode for reasons we never really understood. They were really the only cars we had at work that ever failed to get us to where we needed to be on account of being broken.
By comparison, the Astra H was a massive improvement, so much so that I now own an Astra GTC 2.0 CDTi. I know the old Astra sport hatch was supposed to be a better drive than the hatchback and estate. My brother learned to drive in a 1.7 CDTi sport hatch and quite liked it.
Gassing Station | VX | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff