New Astra Start/Stop ... Any good?

[Trembler49]

I currently drive a 2002 plate 2 litre turbo diesel Mondeo 130ps - it has plenty of grunt and will readily go like the clappers, but it is a filthy dirty old thing which is becoming increasingly inefficient compared to modern diesels - it will do about 50 miles to the gallon, which was pretty good back in 2002, but not any more. Also, it will easily do well over 100mph and will get there quickly (tested on a private road, of course!

), but seeing as I am happy to pootle along at 70, I don't need a car that will go that fast!

I was browsing Parker's and happened upon the new Vauxhall Astra Start/Stop diesel - apparently it will do 0-60 in 10 seconds (only a second slower than the mondeo) and is geared for torque at the lower end - so it will be nice and punchy into heavy roundabout traffic, etc (top speed I don't care about), and apparently it does 80mpg!!!! Yes, 80. It also is a zero-VED car. Also, while it is roomy, it is a lot shorter than the mondeo so it wouldn't be a complete pain the arse to park.

All in all it seems like an all-round winner. Does anyone here have one? What's it like to service? Would I end up losing the fuel and VED savings in expensive service and parts charges, especially if the start/stop starts breaking down? Can the start/stop be switched off? How does that effect the economy?

The Astra is a deeply dull car to drive.

Please ignore all the sensible arguments and drive what you will enjoy.

Wouldn't you apply the same criteria for a bike?

 

[smokeysmoo]

new parts on a six year old out of warranty car.

I don't generally entertain aftermarket lights as they are crap IME, but for a Panda I expected to be able to get a genuine light for about £15-£20 at trade cost, but they don't even do an aftermarket version for that car. A used one would no doubt be easy to source via something like Parts Finder, but I haven't bothered to scrounge around for one as the price will most likely reflect the fact you can't get aftermarket ones, and leaky headlights seem to be a Fiat problem, the Panda has issues with it, and the Punto apparently does too, (just two I know of as fact).


They are even silly money on ebay. If I could find an aftermarket one I would make an exception in this case, but as I can't that's why it's been sealed up. If myself or my Sister had, 'more money than sense' the car would now have a new genuine headlight, but we don't so it hasn't, and if when the temporary fix fails I will be advising her it's change your car time.

 

[al78]

I'm expressing surprise, rather than questioning. A 3-mile commute through the town centre is a short 15-minute pootle. No need for any change of clothes or shower at the end, a chance to unwind at the end of the day, and a perfect excuse for n+1.

I can think of reasons why someone wouldn't cycle a short distance like that. Maybe he needs the car for work duties. Maybe he regularly has loads to carry which would be impractical on a bike. Maybe the three miles is on a horrendous road which nobody in their right mind would dream of cycling on.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I'm expressing surprise, rather than questioning. A 3-mile commute through the town centre is a short 15-minute pootle. No need for any change of clothes or shower at the end, a chance to unwind at the end of the day, and a perfect excuse for n+1.

I have been commuting recently, and have done on regular occasions, however, I have to wear a suit in my work as well, so I would never contemplate riding in my work clothes, and changing facilities are extremely poor. Glad you don't see the need for a shower, as I don't have access to one anyway All in all commuting by bike in my current circumstances just seems more hassle than it's worth. I said to Mrs S earlier today, if my commute was longer I'd see a real benefit in it, but at 3 miles, it just doesn't feel worthy of getting my boots on for.

Finally, my commuting days are over for the time being anyway, as I am having to sell my commuter for financial reasons

So if anyone is in the market for a recently built fully restored 62cm Peugeot framed road bike with a brand new Campag groupset, PM me for details, PLEASE

 

[Piemaster]

when the temporary fix fails I will be advising her it's change your car time.

Change car because of a broken headlight?

'more money than sense'

 

[smokeysmoo]

Change car because of a broken headlight?

Don't be daft, it's the straw that broke the Panda's back

 

[Glover Fan]

Just to put it out there, I worked for a well known car rental company about 14 months ago for a year and all Vauxhalls are rubbish and unreliable. I'm not exaggerating, but 70% of Vehicle warranty issues we had were with Vauxhalls. It's a shame as the new Astra and moreso the Insignia are excellent cars.

As for MPG, I have a 4 year old VW Golf 1.9TDI with 132,000 miles on the clock and I get about 54MPG on average which isn't too bad as the claimed MPG is 56.

I've got a brand new VW Golf 1.6TDI Match with Bluemotion technology on order which I should receive on the 1st December and it has a quoted combined MPG of 68MPG, will be interesting to see if that happens! Pretty good as it puts out the same power as my ancient 1.9 which sounds like a tractor.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Change car because of a broken headlight?

I once scrapped a Capri because of a faulty spark plug.
































































A piston hit it

 

[Piemaster]

Don't be daft, it's the straw that broke the Panda's back

But seriously who would buy a car with a broken headlight? It would certainly be a bargining point for any potential buyer. Personally I'd be wary of buying it like that, if the seller can't be bothered to keep the car road legal what other maintenance couldn't they be bothered to do or bodge?

 

[smokeysmoo]

But seriously who would buy a car with a broken headlight? It would certainly be a bargining point for any potential buyer. Personally I'd be wary of buying it like that, if the seller can't be bothered to keep the car road legal what other maintenance couldn't they be bothered to do or bodge?

Whoa there pie man, the car is 100% road legal and has just passed it's MOT to prove the fact, so chill out.

Why does anyone change their car?, there has to be a reason. At the end of the day the seal is holding up, and if she does decides to get shut then caveat emptor.

Apologies to the OP for the diversion, hopefully that's an end to it.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Don't be daft, it's the straw that broke the Panda's back

 

[Piemaster]

Apologies to the OP for the diversion, hopefully that's an end to it.

Indeed. I've just had to stop myself from replying to rest of your post.

 

[User482]

The Astra won't do 80mpg in the real world, and there's no way that the relatively small reduction in emissions will offset the impact of producing a whole new car, unless you're doing galactic mileages for many years.

I'd say that 50 mpg isn't bad at all, so stick with your Mondeo, and maybe focus on economical driving/ driving less if you have environmental concerns.