2009 Vauxhall Astra SXi 1.4 Twinport: Impressions
I had this as a loan car for a couple of days while my wife's Toyota Auris was in for a service and MoT. Interesting to make the comparison between the two as similar size family hatchbacks of the same era....
I thought it went well, initially I wondered if it was a 1.6 until I looked on DVLA. The 1.4 felt quite torquey lowdown, more so than the Auris, but still revved well if not quite so freely. Didn't have it long enough to check economy.
I was surprised by the low gearing, little more than 20mph per 1,000 rpm meant the engine was spinning at nearly 3,000 at 60mph, which was what I'd expect from 4th let alone 5th. No 6-speed gearbox here, which would have nicely dropped the rev's at higher speed (the Auris does have one).
Steering, handling, ride and brakes all seemed decent on the local country roads, the latter were particularly strong.
So far, so good. However, inside I felt it didn't work anywhere near so well and there were things that were either poorly designed or that I would struggle to live with on a daily basis.
The gearlever seemed a couple of inches too short to fall easily to hand and who decided that burying the HVAC controls so low down was the best place for them? Difficult to reach or see, but at least they were rotary dials - those in the Auris are fiddly push buttons, but placed higher up. When the key was in the ignition it poked out like another column stalk, it had the indicator controls that flick rather than move and there was no temperature gauge.
I didn't feel like I would want to take a long drive in it, even after my short journeys I was starting get the odd twinge, but perhaps I hadn't spent long setting up the seat to suit me.
Legroom in the rear was minimal behind me as a relatively tall driver, I struggled to drop my bags in the footwell there. The Auris definitely has more room for rear seat occupants, with the bonus of a flat floor - why does a FWD car like the Astra need a central tunnel?
The reverse slope on the rear door was annoying, it felt like something that would get in the way and it nearly caught my shoulder a couple of times when gettings stuff in and out of the back.
My conclusion was that dynamically it worked well, and I can see why they perform so well on the banger track, but as an overall package the softer, smoother feel of the Auris is preferable to me.
2009 Vauxhall Astra SXi 1.4 Twinport: Impressions
I had this as a loan car for a couple of days while my wife's Toyota Auris was in for a service and MoT. Interesting to make the comparison between the two as similar size family hatchbacks of the same era....
I thought it went well, initially I wondered if it was a 1.6 until I looked on DVLA. The 1.4 felt quite torquey lowdown, more so than the Auris, but still revved well if not quite so freely. Didn't have it long enough to check economy.
I was surprised by the low gearing, little more than 20mph per 1,000 rpm meant the engine was spinning at nearly 3,000 at 60mph, which was what I'd expect from 4th let alone 5th. No 6-speed gearbox here, which would have nicely dropped the rev's at higher speed (the Auris does have one).
Steering, handling, ride and brakes all seemed decent on the local country roads, the latter were particularly strong.
So far, so good. However, inside I felt it didn't work anywhere near so well and there were things that were either poorly designed or that I would struggle to live with on a daily basis.
The gearlever seemed a couple of inches too short to fall easily to hand and who decided that burying the HVAC controls so low down was the best place for them? Difficult to reach or see, but at least they were rotary dials - those in the Auris are fiddly push buttons, but placed higher up. When the key was in the ignition it poked out like another column stalk, it had the indicator controls that flick rather than move and there was no temperature gauge.
I didn't feel like I would want to take a long drive in it, even after my short journeys I was starting get the odd twinge, but perhaps I hadn't spent long setting up the seat to suit me.
Legroom in the rear was minimal behind me as a relatively tall driver, I struggled to drop my bags in the footwell there. The Auris definitely has more room for rear seat occupants, with the bonus of a flat floor - why does a FWD car like the Astra need a central tunnel?
The reverse slope on the rear door was annoying, it felt like something that would get in the way and it nearly caught my shoulder a couple of times when gettings stuff in and out of the back.
My conclusion was that dynamically it worked well, and I can see why they perform so well on the banger track, but as an overall package the softer, smoother feel of the Auris is preferable to me.