New OPEL Astra H

[Lawrenceloy]

Hi members,

 

Really keen on this machine and have test drove it. The automatic transmission cannot make it though. It's really jerky when it shifts, especially if you keep your feet on the accelerator . But the Easytronic is really cool and fun. Features are indeed comprehensive as well.

 

My concerns:

1) Price - SGD 83K (Too high)

2) Maintenance - with digital equipment all over the car, quite worry about the servicing or replacement. Their wiper blades are proprietary as well.

3) Resale value? Will there be any?

4) Reliability

 

Has anyone bought this car yet? Comments please.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Porker]

Abit expensive

Maintenance is a problem as commented by many

No resale value

Not that reliable compared to the likes of BMW and Mercedes

 

Sounds pretty bad huh? But the design is very nice though

[Porker]

btw those are just the talk about from many people.. not my experience.. I do not want to offend any Opel lovers out there

[Acemundo]

Not that reliable compared to the likes of BMW and Mercedes

 

i am not sure how correct it is to say BMW is more reliable.

[Mojoe]

if you can wait awhile, the price is bound to drop... in car show they were selling at $85k right? last week's pricing dropped to $83k already

 

Megane also dropped price last week right?

 

so the astra should go down

[Lawrenceloy]

Hey, i believe the price will drop too but I certainly hope it's sooner.

 

About the reliability, I agree it's all hearsay. So far, have not gotten any feedback from Opel owners though.

 

Here's my dilemma, insurance and road tax due in Jan. Itching to change car. Shall I wait?

[Acemundo]

aiyoh how much can u save from road tax?

 

if u wait for the car price to drop u can save more.

 

car price drops exponentially during its initial months, i still think its worth the wait.

[Mojoe]

oh... in jan ah? then a bit difficult..

 

within a few weeks, they already drop $2k... and if the new focus comes in at under $80k (rumours rumours), they might be forced to drop as well.. but god knows when the new focus is coming though.. feb?

[Lawrenceloy]

Yah.. I also keen to look at the new Focus pricing. Hopefully, the rumours are true. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

It's going to be a long wait..

[Magfocus]

Oh how much is the Megane now?

[King]

the easytronic is the same as selespeed

[Felipe]

is the easytronic same as selespeed? i thought the easytronic is torque converter type of gearbox whereas selespeed is purely manual with clutch, but without the left foot. to put it simply, if you engage 1st gear, selespeed car won't move w/out stepping accelerator, unlike torque converter types. here's a brief explanation of the system from carsfromitaly.com-

 

The Selespeed version, available only with the 2.0 litre twin spark engine, uses a five speed manual gearbox operated electro-hydraulically and controlled by buttons on the steering wheel - technology directly transfered from Ferrari in Formula One. A 'city' mode can also be selected, giving a fully automatic shift.

[Mojoe]

i think i saw $78-79k.. they stated limited units...

 

should be the basic manual sedan.. if i remember correctly, it used to be about $82k for the basic sedan

[Mojoe]

yup, the similar concept as selespeed.. manual gearbox

[Kafer2]

Same concept. Selespeed uses hydraulic actuators to move clutch & shift gears. The easytronic uses electric motors to do that. But easytronic maciam very slow & jerky, like the first 2 generations of selespeed.

[Lawrenceloy]

"But easytronic maciam very slow & jerky, like the first 2 generations of selespeed. "

 

Yup, I agree. Test drove it and feel the same way. Response not very good. Additional thing is that the engine sound can be quite loud but the SE says that for "sporty cars", it's like that one. With the sport mode turned on, the sound is even louder.

[King]

i canthelp but see the centre console same as selespeed as it give out info like how many Litre per km is being use

under th same Ecu , i think

[Felipe]

actually i think the new VW Golf may be a better choice. In a recent Top Gear show, the astra was actually described as bland and boring while the Golf is the more complete car. I noe it may be more ex but the extra dollar may be worth it. perhaps u can give the Golf a test drive.