Vauxhall ASTRA CONVERTIBLE 1.6 16v
If Youre A Budding Schumacher, The
Vauxhall Astra Convertible Wont Be At The Top Of Your Wish List. The Base 1.6-litre Version Looks Like Giving The Biggest Blow Dry For Your Buck. Andy Enright Checks It Out
Having exhausted the patience of the Vauxhall press office with endless hairdresser gibes, its perhaps time for a less flip appraisal of the Astra Convertible. The car examined here, the entry level 1.6-litre version, looks set to be the pick of the range, offering all of the open top benefits and sleek styling at a price that will have many roadster owners crying into their bank statements.
| Build |
 |
| Comfort |
 |
| Depreciation |
|
| Economy |
|
| Equipment |
 |
| Handling |
|
| Insurance |
 |
| Performance |
|
| Styling |
|
| Value |
|
Granted, the 1.6-litre engine isnt the most charismatic unit in Vauxhalls range, but at £500 less than the 1.8-litre version, it could well establish itself as the most poular way to get your name on the V5 of an Astra convertible. After all, convertible sales are still on the up and although its tempting to look through the rain-spattered window and question why, its still a fact that we buy more open top cars here than the Spanish and the Italians combined.
Call it the stiff upper lip, the saturated leather upper or the hypothermic upper cortex, but us Brits do like to be jolly cold and wet. The Astra Convertible allows us to suffer exposure whilst retaining a healthy dose of urban chic.
"Its practical enough to be more than just something for the weekend."
As plumbed into the slightly portly Astra Convertible, this engine is good for 11.5 seconds to 60mph on its way to a top speed of 125mph. Buyers of this sort of car are rarely looking for absolute performance which is just as well, as in this department the Astra is absolutely competent and nothing more. With an average fuel consumption of around 38mpg, the Astra is far kinder on your pocket than the 1.
8 and 2.2-litre versions, and the engine note is inoffensive, if a little bland. One of the abiding joys of owning a convertible is the sound of your engine fruitily drowning out the sounds of the countryside, and an aftermarket exhaust pipe may be the first indulgence for many Astra 1.6 Convertible owners looking for more aural pleasure.
As for those questions of chassis flex and scuttle shake, theyre both very well suppressed until that moment that you have a VX220 delusion and give the Astra a sound thrashing down a poorly surfaced road. Then the view in the rear-view mirror will grow blurred, the dash will give the odd chirrup and creak as the body does minor parallelograms. Despite these niggles, in terms of total body control its an impressive job and a world away from most rivals. As a result,
Vauxhall have managed to engineer in a quality that hasnt traditionally been mentioned in word association games when Astra is mentioned fun.
Still, the basic architecture is sound. The Astra hatch has gained a reputation for being something of an entertainer on the quiet, a talented performer that hides its light under a big old bushel. The styling has benefited from the involvement of Italian styling house Bertone who have worked with Vauxhall to create something altogether more sophisticated. Few would mistake it for Bertones vintage work, but given the constraints of the design its a tidy job, if a little heavy at the rear.
Its still an Astra, but any colour bar yellow banishes any residual skip imagery. In developing a new kind of up-market-feeling affordable convertible, the Bertone people clearly used upmarket BMWs and Mercs as benchmarks. The Astra cabin in this guise feels sharp and classy, particularly with the optional leather trim in place. More importantly, from the outside, the car looks even better.
Unlike the old Astra Convertible, theres no ugly rollover bar to spoil the pretty lines, nor does the hood rest bulkily at the back as in the
Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet. Instead, the hood is properly concealed beneath a metal cover behind the rear bulkhead. This hydraulically opens and closes to swallow both the roof and the glass rear window plus the whole process is completely automated with no clips, catches or poppers to worry about. Just as youd find in only of those prestigiously badged soft-tops.
In fact, Vauxhall has even stolen a march on some of those rivals by offering the owner the option of raising and lowering the roof without being in the car at all. Picture it. Youre seated beneath a canopy at your favourite roadside café and it begins to rain. But theres no need to get up and leave your coffee. You simply press one of the two central locking buttons on your remote control keyfob for more than two seconds and the roof will close automatically in just 30 seconds. The same time it will take to open if youve parked in the rain only to find that the sun has now come out.
In addition, you can lower all four windows electrically using the same remote control unit and of course, there are also switches in the car itself to perform the same functions. Judged on pure competence, youd always go for the 1.8-litre car, but if the real world intervenes, most budgets will happily stretch to the 1.6-litre Astra Convertible and no further.
Its true that making do has rarely been such an open and shut case and that the 1.6 Convertible is far too nice to waste on the British summer. Going anywhere nice on holiday this year?
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Vauxhall Astra Convertible1.6 16v
PRICE: £18,395 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 10E
CO2 EMISSIONS: 175g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 11.5s / Max Speed 125mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 38mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin Front airbags / ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4267/1709/1390mm
<< Back to Vauxhall car reviews
<< Back to car reviews homepage
Find New & Used Cars in the UK |
New & Used Vauxhall Cars For Sale UK
