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Vauxhall Astra G Coupe/Convertible (2000 - 2004)

What's Good

Debut car for Vauxhall's new family of chain cam ECOTEC petrol engines (has 2.2 litre 147 bhp version). Decent performance. Three year warranty from October 2000. 190bhp Turbo version launched November 2000 at £18,995 will clock up 151mph. Convertible from Spring 2001 is much prettier than the coupe. Turbo Convertible from March 2002 offers same performance as turbo coupe but with soft top at £19,995. It's the quickest four seater convertible for the money.

Vauxhalls generally had below average warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 84.4 v/s lowest 31.93). Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk

What's Bad

Ordinary coupe dull to look at and very disappointing to drive. Rattly, crashy, felt unfinished. Turbo is much better to drive, but all are utterly shamed by the Toyota Celica.

What to Watch Out For

See Astra 1998-2004. Exhaust manifold of 1.8s prone to cracking and Vauxhall quote £700 because it contains the car converter.

Turbo has belt cam 2.0 litre engine. Timing belt and tensioner changes re-scheduled from 80,000 miles to 40,000 miles on engines which have them.

Ignition control unit of 2.2 petrol engine is prone to burning out.

Vauxhall Z22SE 2.2 litre engine was modified from March 2002, engine number 11065400, to overcome the timing chain lubrication problem. The problem was caused by an undersized oil spray nozzle which got blocked, starving the timing chain of oil. If the timing chain problem has been subsequently rectified, a modified `bolt' is fitted, with `nicks' on the corners of the hexagon.

Recalls

2001: TSB about voltage spikes from the alternator damaging the camshaft sensor. This is prevented by unpicking the wiring loom and re-routing the cam and crankshaft sensor cables together around the front of the airbox, keeping them away from the alternator.