Vauxhall Astra (2004-) Review

Comfort and Equipment

• Previous: Running Costs
• Next: Used Value

Comfort's pretty good. The body's torsional rigidity has been improved by 15 percent, which ought to result in fewer vibrations getting into the cabin, as well as a more refined ride comfort. The seats are large and widely adjustable, though the backrest's a bit flat. The steering wheel adjusts for reach and rake, and there are steering wheel-mounted stereo controls on most variants. Some model's ride on quite large, low-profile tyres as standard, and this can harden the low speed rolling comfort a little, but the ride's quite good on most variants. There is noticeable wind-noise from the A-pillars though, and the diesel engines are a bit intrusive at higher revs. So are the petrol engines, but they sound sporty - the diesels don't.

Vauxhall is really going for it in terms of value, and there's no arguing with the new Astra's showroom appeal. Prices start at around eleven grand, for which the base model doesn't get air conditioning, disappointingly. But all other models do, and all have ABS, four airbags, electric front windows, remote central locking, CD player and, importantly, a digital radio. Moving up the range to the top-spec £17,195 SRi, curtain airbags, alloy wheels and an MP3-compatible CD player become available.