Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £15,405 to £22,000
Room, ride, handling and decent engines, making it good to drive and ride in. It's cheap to run, and provides good crash protection.
Dull interiors are a major flaw, it lacks individuality and looks boring besides more modern, striking rivals. A little pricey, considering some stingy standard specs.
Sensible, yet enjoyable to drive. If only it looked less dull, inside and out.
With plenty of used examples to choose from, a dealer in every town and affordable prices because of plentiful supply, finding a decent used Astra should be no bother. Depreciation ensures they'll be extremely competitively-priced too, given the excellence of the chassis. Vauxhall's own Network Q used car scheme gives a generous warranty, and is generally well thought-of.
Astra prices aren't particularly keen, and some rivals are notably better equipped. The Peugeot 306 and the Renault Megane, for instance, come with anti-lock brakes as standard, plus more airbags, while the Golf has anti-lock brakes and sidebags as standard - items that are extra on most versions of the Vauxhall. Option prices are not too high though.
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