Opel Astra

I just change my 8 years old Honda Civic 1.8A for a 2 year old Opel Astra J (MY11) 1.4 Ecotec T.

In terms of power, the Honda is more power as the power comes on immediately as it is NA, but the Astra also have enough power (not too much though). The Astra is more stable in cornering and less body roll experienced. That should be also partly due to the more snug sport seats. The steering is a bit light, but overall driving experience is good.

The interior finishing is good while not the most luxurious, it is adequate to make you feel at home. The front seat are comfortable and snug. Rear seats can take 3 adults with a slight squeezed. The centre seating in the rear is small especially since the centre floor is elevated.

Interior control panels take some getting used to and it is cluttered with buttons. Need some time for familiarisation. But the look of the panel is good.

Boot space is adequate with the floor board able to hide things underneath with some adjustment.

I do not use the car to carry Bicycles but I did check the bicycle rack in the rear of the car. The build is solid and should be able to take 2 bicycles easily. Cycling lover would love this rack.

I like hatchbacks more than any other kinds of car and I really like the external styling for this car. The previous versions of this car looks horrible, but this current version looks great with the curves at the right places.

Test driven this facelift earlier and notice that the 1.4L is pretty power, compare to its rivals like Golf Sport

It comes with the interior similar to Insignia and has the addition of 7 inch color LCD where you can do your settings with without straining your eyes.

On the road, cruising is a breeze and overtaking is pretty much similar to Golf Sport which I tested recently, only lagging is the gear change not as swift as DSG.

Overall, its a pretty much ok car to get but doesnt seems to see many on the road, probably its still new to the market.