Firstly, I would like to say a huge thanks to HJ for putting my name forward to Candice of Ghost London.
Wow! What can I say? What an experience. It was an excellent day. Weather stayed dry throughout. Great facilities (apart from the light refreshments) and well supervised. I didn’t see J500ANT or Candice however. Too many people there for you to get lost in the crowd.
After looking around a couple of the cars, a short movie, followed by a safety talk, it was time to go and play in the New Astra.
We had access to the Hill Route / Alpine Circuit (one lap) and then onto the high speed circuit (two laps, although I did three in both cars because I missed the exit – that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it ;o) ).
It was a free for all once leaving the Concept Centre out into the car park. Basically if you saw an empty car, you jumped in it before someone else did. I got to drive the 2.0 diesel Elite auto and then a 1.6 SE petrol manual.
The 2.0 diesel auto was smooth and pokey. Around the Hill route it stuck to the road like it was on rails. We were told at the briefing not to exceed 55 mph, but I took it up to 70 mph on a couple of parts of the circuit and not once did the car feel unstable. I deliberately planted my foot to the floor exiting some of the bends and the ESP took care of everything. Hardly any understeer, great feedback though the steering wheel too. My passenger got a bit nervous a couple of times, but he had no need to worry as this new Astra has truly remarkable handing. It was really comfortable to drive, and the small rumble strips placed in the road at one point on the track were hardly noticeable. A couple of times I had to back off from the cars in front of me (no overtaking on the hill route) so I could then push the car once more to really put it through its paces.
Moving on from the Hill route, it was now time to go around the high speed circuit. We were told not to exceed 100 mph, but the 2.0 diesel managed that with little effort and felt like it had bags of energy left under the bonnet. Briefly I took it up to 115 mph, with the rev counter only showing 2,500 rpm. I still had power left in reserve but thought I’d better not go any faster for fear of the marshals ticking me off. At high speeds the car was whisper quiet with very little wind noise, and even at lower speeds you’d be hard pressed to notice you were driving a diesel as it was so quiet inside. Definitely a licence loser if you’re not careful.
The 2.0 diesel and autobox are a good match. Smooth gear changes, always seemed to be in the right gear, and like my Vectra-C auto it had the tiptronic function where you could use it like a manual gearbox.
Now onto the 1.6 petrol manual Astra. Oh dear! This was quite gutless. It felt more underpowered than my Dad’s 51 reg 1.6 16V auto. I had to rev the engine quite hard on the hill sections, dropping down to 2nd gear for some of the really steep hills, and at one point thought I would have to drop down into 1st gear. Anything above 5,000 rpm, and the engine sounded very noisy, harsh and unrefined. The diesel engine felt and sounded much more refined than the 1.6 petrol. I could only squeeze 110mph (eventually) around the high speed track and the rev counter was reading more than 5,000 rpm.
The Elite was much more comfortable than the SE model. Not sure if it had the adaptive suspension, but it was also less jittery on the road than the 1.6 SE at high speeds. There was more wind noise with the SE than there was with the Elite for some reason at high speeds too.
Finally, I was taken round the handling circuit by one of the professional drivers in a 1.7 diesel powered Astra. 1st lap with the ESP turned off, the 2nd lap with it turned on. Side ways, understeer, oversteer, lift off oversteer, we did the lot. A good practical demonstration of how good the ESP system really is. Let's just say that it beats going to Alton Towers any day of the week.
There were also some other cars there to play in (the market competitors cars I think they called them). There were some Golfs, Focus's (Foci?), Honda Civics, Audi A3's, and some Peugeot's of some description. I didn't note the models of the pugs. I have access to a Focus at work, so gave that a miss - don't like it, too hard a ride. Comparing the interior to the new Astra, the Focus is smaller. Don't like Golf's - too overrated. The Audi A3's were all out being driven, and I also don't like Pugs (French carp). I fancied a go in the Civic however, so waited for one of them to become available. I wish I hadn't bothered. At first I liked the digital dash, but within ½ mile it became annoying. It became a big distraction with all that information in front of you. The ride was very uncomfortable, harsh, and I could feel every bump. Taking it around the hill route section, it was all over the place, despite driving it with a bit more care than I did with the Astra. It just didn’t feel connected to the road. Unfortunately I missed the exit and had to go around the Hill route a 2nd time. It was even worse than the 1st time. In short it was a huge disappointment. Not what I was expecting from a Honda at all. Ok, granted the Civic had done 55,000 miles and it wasn’t new like the Astra is, but even so I would have expected better quality from the Honda.
Let’s get back to talking about the new Astra. To sum up, it is really well screwed together. It feels much bigger inside than the previous H model. It has loads of head room (or as HJ calls it, hat room). It has superb handling, great styling, really comfortable, along with being practical as well. It has loads of storage cubby holes to store your CDs, phone, sweets, etc. There are USB and MP3 sockets to connect your memory sticks and I-Pods to the stereo.
My only negative comments are:- I didn’t care much for the electronic handbrake. Somehow it didn’t feel natural pressing a button. I would much rather pull on a lever. The lid on the drinking cup in the centre console of one of the display models was already broken off at the hinges. Obviously this escaped being well screwed together. The climate control temperature settings looked fiddly. I’m not sure if the values are displayed on the large LCD satnav/radio display as they are in my Vectra-C. The car I drove constantly displayed a disclaimer warning notice which obscured everything else on the display. The temperature settings were written around the small control knobs and to me were only really visible when stationary. I wouldn’t want to be adjusting them while driving unless you had a secondary value in the large LCD display to look at. Front indicators are built into the fog light units which I think are too low down to be noticed. Lastly, I found there was a terrible blind spot at the base of the windscreen A pillar. Apart from that though, I would still possibly contemplate buying one instead of the Insignia in the future.
Thanks again HJ.
More information about the new Astra can be found over on www.torqueastra.com , along with a discussion area where you can give your views of this new car – as well as discussing them here.
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(What i've just written for another forum)
We met up with Candice, but only as she called me and volunteered me to do an HJ and be filmed..... I hope I dont sound too Bristolian when its shown, Gert Lush.
Dave, you should have found Candice, she was the key to getting extra drives! I didnt take a lot of notice of the interior bits like you did, other than I found it easy to get a comfortable driving position. Oh and that the sat nav is nowhere near as easy to use as a Garmin. You didn't miss a lot with the Audi's - my overriding memory was the bar on the centre console hitting my newly operated on knee, putting me off it. I didn't see why its a premium car, its no more premium than the Astra.
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Last year Andrew & I spent a day at Millbrook, the "top secret" Vauxhall test facility (just off the M1 J13, head on the A421 towards Bedford, turn right at Marston Moretaine.)
On another forum they had a competition to do the same, but with the All New Vauxhall Astra, in association with www.torqueastra.com
To make the day extra special I had managed to blag places for Barrie and Amanda too, as Amanda was very envious of our previous trip to Millbrook
We arrived at midday, headed over to the central area and waited for Barrie & Amanda to arrive in Keith (the Subaru Impreza). While we waited we were admiring a mk1 Astra Celebrity - I haven't seen a mk1 Astra for a long time, i'd forgotten how small they now are, i'm sure the forfour is bigger.
Once Barrie & Amanda arrived we booked in and availed ourselves of the hot chocolate, mini pasties and choc brownies
Once again we had to sit through the speil from the big wigs at Vauxhall, both in a cinema area then in a smaller group (complete with ice cream) telling us about the unique features etc.
Then it was outside and time to play There was a choice of New Astra, the 1.7 CDTI SRI (in Red), 1.6 SE (in Blue), 1.6 Turbo SRI (in Blue/Grey), 2.0 CDTI Elite (in Grey) - there was also Silver but i've no idea what model they were, and i'm sure I drove a 1.4 Turbo but I cant remember what colour they were. They have them all in the same colours so they can tell you which is the best to sprint towards
Also outside was the Audi A3, Honda Civic, Peugeot 308, Ford Focus, VW Golf - all there for us to compare with the Astra. As we were towards the back of the crowd all the Astras had gone out, and so both Barrie & I went for an Audi A3 2.0 TDI to start off with. Once again we did a lap of the Hill Route, as seen here www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2wo5Q3B_YQ but competitor cars weren't allowed in the highspeed bowl for some reason.
Anyway I went back and managed to get into a Turbo SE (1.4 i think). Really nice car, nice ride, very good handling and good power too for its size. At no point over the Hill Route was I wishing for more power, and when I went around the bowl it settled into a 100mph+ cruise with little noise, despite the concrete surface. Once back in I swapped for the 1.6SE - it's going to be the generic hire car. But compared to the SE turbo it was a bit slow, needing second gear around the steepest parts of the hill route. On the bowl it gained speed rather than accelerated, but still not bad.
Once again I swapped cars, this time for a 2.0 TDI Auto Elite. In theory this car should be a stonker, a big slug of diesel torque, but its hampered by its conventional auto gearbox. When left in D it was almost like a smart gearbox on the hillroute, up gear down gear, it didn't know what to do. But using the manual override (no paddles) to hold the gears it was ok. Not brilliant but ok. It was better in normal driving, not as good as a VAG DSG though.
I then got volunteered to drive the 1.6 Turbo SRI on camera for the TorqueAstra site. Now thats a beast of a car. I wouldn't say it was outright as quick as the forfour BRABUS we arrived in, but its a lot more refined, with a better ride which then didn't upset the handling, with it in Sport mode. I'd done a few laps of the hillroute and so knew where I was going, so this time we were going a lot faster. The Astra really just did what I wanted it to do, and with no trouble putting down its power in the damp surface.
Back in again to talk with the PR lady who organised our visit. Most visitors get about 4 drives in total, plus the option of a highspeed "loony" drive by professionals, showing off what ESP can do for you in the new Astra. I gave that a miss. Once our little group had been filmed with our Astra comments (I escaped, due to my earlier film session) we were allowed back out, this time it was chucking down. All 4 of us in different cars, Andrew went in a 1.7 CDTI, Barrie in a 1.4 Turbo (I think). I managed to get a 1,7 CDTI and Amanda was in a 1.6 Turbo, following me.
I was really surprised by the 1.7 CDTI, so much torque that the traction control was cutting in all the time around the hillroute. Much pokier than I was expecting, though the engine itself is a bit gruff. Amanda was impressed with the 1.6 Turbo.
And that was it over, the light had gone and it was time to head home. The All New Astra really is a very good car, its a nice size, it drives really well and is roomy in the front and back (the Audi A3 was very enclosed by comparison), good quality interior with nice touches like red mood lighting on all but the base model. Just a shame that despite the prices starting at over £15,000 the rear windows on most of the cars I drove were manual (aka handraulic).
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Dave you should have found Candice she was the key to getting extra drives!
I did try finding her, but as said, too many people and no idea what she looked like. Like you, I managed to blag a ticket for a mate. We arrived at 11:45 and looked and poked around the 2 (and the cut away one) cars in the Concept centre. I ventured back out into the reception area at around 12:20 but there were quite a few people there booking themselves in. I hung around for 5 minutes or so though and looked around to see if I could see Candice's name on a badge pinned to her clothing. Time was pressing on and I knew that we were shortly due to go into the theatre so headed back in and met up with my friend again. After the presentation and brief talk in our little groups, we were one of the first lot out into the car park. My mate didn't want a drive, he was happy just being a passenger, albeit somewhat nervous with my driving for some strange reason.
Still, I had a good time there, and put in a couple more laps of the tracks than I should have done. No one seemed to be checking, and what with that many Astra's there, it would have been hard to keep count anyway.
Upon leaving the complex at 15:15, I noticed I had a missed call from Candice (my phone was still on silent from being in the theatre). I returned her call, but like her call to me, mine went to her answerphone.
I didnt take a lot of notice of the interior bits like you did other than I found it easy to get a comfortable driving position. Oh and that the sat nav is nowhere near as easy to use as a Garmin.
Yes, I also found the seats really comfortable, much more so than the Focus. I didn't play with the sat nav, but from the brief demo I saw, it looks very much on par with the system I have in my Vectra, so I would have probably found it easy to use.
You didn't miss a lot with the Audi's - my overriding memory was the bar on the centre console hitting my newly operated on knee putting me off it.
I find this with the Focus. The hard plastic centre console plays havoc with my left knee when I drive the pool cars at work. Much more leg room in the Astra. Nearly as much as my Vectra, and certainly more than the Astra-H.
While we waited we were admiring a mk1 Astra Celebrity
I saw that as I was leaving. It looks so dated now. I used to own the earlier two tone Astra Mk1, the EXP model.
Differing views about the 2.0 diesel auto. Maybe it's because I'm used to my Vectra auto and didn't notice. Looks like we're both in agreement about the 1.6SE though. It didn't like those hills and took forever to wind up the speed on the high speed circuit.
Sounds like you had better refreshments than my friend and I had. Luke warm tea upon arrival, followed by clammy mini pasties and some soup of unknown flavour after the drives. Didn't see the hot chocolate, nor the choc brownies. I had the ice cream though - just the sort of thing you really want prior to venturing outside in the cold!
Looks like I didn't confirm my email address for the mini movie I had my photos taken for. I notice it's missing from the card that was printed out. My friend mispelt his email address, so he's not got one either.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 06/12/2009 at 00:19
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>> Dave you should have found Candice she was the key to getting extra drives! I did try finding her
She didn't have a badge on, I only found her as she had called me. Hindsight says you and I should have swapped numbers before arriving, hey ho.
Differing views about the 2.0 diesel auto. Maybe it's because I'm used to my Vectra auto and didn't notice. Looks like we're both in agreement about the 1.6SE though. It didn't like those hills and took forever to wind up the speed on the high speed circuit.
On the "normal" roads the diesel auto was fine, and a good cruiser around the bowl. But on the hill route, like the 1.6, it was out of its depth.
Sounds like you had better refreshments than my friend and I had. Luke warm tea upon arrival followed by clammy mini pasties and some soup of unknown flavour after the drives. Didn't see the hot chocolate nor the choc brownies. I had the ice cream though - just the sort of thing you really want prior to venturing outside in the cold!
We went into the cafe on the right, the soup was butternut squash gloop, it had been sat all day and congealed nicely.
I'll forward over my email from the Astra movie thing.
Tony :)
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On the "normal" roads the diesel auto was fine and a good cruiser around the bowl. But on the hill route like the 1.6 it was out of its depth.
I remember now having one issue with the auto on part of the hill route. It seemed to stick in one gear and I was thinking to myself "come on, change up one before you blow a gasket". It was only just prior to the summit that it finally decided to change up a gear.
We went into the cafe on the right
If looking towards the front of the bldg, was that on the left? That's where I went. There were only three mini pasties left on the tray and my mate picked up two of them. Shortly afterwards they brought some fresh ones out. They weren't any better than the ones they replaced.
the soup was butternut squash gloop it had been sat all day and congealed nicely.
It reminded me of waxoyl.
I'll forward over my email from the Astra movie thing.
Yes, got it, and both my friend and I got ours as well. Wish I hadn't bothered sitting in that photo booth now.
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Not sure about the proposed advert campaign for the new astra. Didn't seem to fit at all. It's an Astra. I would have preferred something in keeping with the fun of the hide and seek ad. Eg how the features of the astra prevent disaster in fun ways like runaway trolleys (sprung bumper) , strange things seen at the side of the road (adaptable headlights for pavement lighting). Ambient light was also tacky as the default colour was red. Unless you want to advertise yourself as a mobile brothel, red is not a good colour.
I couldn't find Candice either. I managed to get a ticket for me and a friend too. I had 3 drives and my guest had 2.
First car - honda civic diesel. I really liked this car. I don't usually like front wheel drive cars as the front and rear don't feel attached to each other! It went up hills ok and felt under control at the pace I was driving it. ABS kicked in as I did an emergency stop for a suicidal squirrel! It was sitting in the middle of the marked 20 mph section. Somehow me and the civic new what was going on. Didn't get that feeling with any other car. Ride felt ok. I'm used to rock hard rides so most cars feel soft to me.... Nice and quiet inside too. Road noise wasn't too bad although I did arrive in a GT6 and may still have been a bit mutton...
Second car - Focus TDCi. Appalling. I nearly drove it into a barrier on purpose I hated it that much! Hateful steering, wallowy bouncy ride, nasty noisy engine. Loads of road noise. Gutless up hills. Handbrake in the most completely stupid, idiotic place right next to the passenger seat. There were cupholders my side of the car but some clown puts the handbrake the other side. Felt like a van to sit in too. It was the only car I honestly thought I would end up crashing as it felt so out of control on every corner even at my low dawdling speeds.
Third car - 1.6 astra. No idea what spec. Handbrake trapped my friend's fingers when he drove it so instant fail on ergonomics. Rear pillars are massive and coupe style means you can see naff all behind you. Steering felt smooth but slightly vague. Ride was ok. Bit soft. Slightly leaning in corners but nothing like the focus. Didn't try any of the other suspension modes so I am assuming that was in normal so I'd hope sport mode would tighten that up. Gutless, even more than the focus. Dangerously gutless. I tried going up a hill at 40mph in 3rd gear. It wouldn't do it. Civic breezed up easily. Focus again just about got up there but made some horrible noises.
Astra 2.dti auto. Loads better than the 1.6. Immensely chuckable (my friend drove, and he did chuck it about!)
We had some guy called Justin Middleton for the ESP demonstration. Even without ESP on I can honestly say the car didn't feel that out of control. I was in the front and I was amazed how much provocation it took and seemed under some control. Was less mad with the ESP :-)
Refreshments were ok. No real food if you were properly hungry but a full english before we set off made sure the munchies weren't a problem.
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Focus TDCi. Appalling
Oh dear a rebel - I never liked any of the Focus that I had on hire either......that seems to make me a bad person on here.
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Not a "bad" person PU. Don't beat yourself up about it ! Wrong maybe, misguided perhaps but not "bad" ....dear me no.....
;-)
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...Focus - appalling...
The Vauxhall techs must have loosened the wheelnuts on the Focus in an effort to bring it down to the handling level of the Astra. :)
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The Vauxhall techs must have loosened the wheelnuts on the Focus in an effort to bring it down to the handling level of the Astra. :)
You may mock, but once you've driven the new Astra, you'll see what people mean about the Focus. It (the new Astra that is) puts its rivals back into the 20th century.
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...Focus...Hateful steering, wallowy bouncy ride...
Wallowy ride? Not on any Focus I know of. Harsh, jittery, yes, but wallowy, never.
And the steering of the Focus is one of its strongest points, so I genuinely wonder if there was something wrong with that particular car.
...the new Astra puts its rivals back to the 20th century....
Good.
The only reason the Focus is as good as it is is because the Escort had fallen so far behind the competition, so a standard-setting Astra suits both the Ford and Vauxhall-buying public.
And if the Astra is that good, us Focus buyers can always buy one of those instead.
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The police use marked Astras around us. You don't often see them really going fast, just a couple of times a week, but they look and sound very handy.
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I once had a lift in a Met police V6 Vectra which was in a hurry. Quite exciting getting through central London with a determined police driver at the wheel.
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I've never liked the look of a Focus, and have only driven a rented 1.6 tdci "Sport". Sport in name only, with no power at all and very uncomfortable seats, very short in the base length. I didn't drive one yesterday, but for all cars (inc the Astra) they're not always going to be at their best around that hill route.
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But Focus handling is generally rated top of the class. It does however have three power steering assistance levels which you set using the menus and the left column stalk. If it was set to sloppy that's what you would get.
And what do you think Vauxhall would set it to ;-)
I am always sceptical about a manufacturer laying on competitor cars, easy to make them seem odd, tyre pressures, front toe in etc.
The 1.8 TDCi, albeit a CR version of the old 8v Di, compares pretty favourably with the 1.6 Ford/Peugeot engine and is much more refined than the 1.7 GM unit and any PD VAG engine IME.
Good reports otherwise !!
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I am always sceptical about a manufacturer laying on competitor cars
Yes, to be fair about the competitor cars, some were 6 months to a year old and the Civic I drove had 55,000 miles under its belt. Some were probably no longer in their prime, and even less so after 2 weeks of abuse by the visiting public to Millbrook. The Astra's seemed to be standing up to the punishment though, although the ESP button on the car I was in on the handling circuit looked as if it was slowly sinking into the facia with all the use it had over the 2 weeks.
One of the cars I took out, (I think it was the 2.0 diesel auto) only had something like 55 miles on the clock. I imagine all the other new Astra's had similar mileages, possibly a few more on the manual box models? Still, they'd all been thrashed from day one and 2 weeks later were still taking a pounding from the rumble strips, dips and bends on the Alpine route, not to mention being ragged around the high speed circuit. They seemed to be coping quite well with it. Let's hope Vauxhall doesn't pass them onto dealerships as ex-demos in a few weeks time ;o)
Understandable why they didn't want the public to rag the competitors cars round the fast track.
easy to make them seem odd tyre pressures front toe in etc.
I don't think the organisers dare tinker with any of the competitor cars in case anyone were to have an accident from an under or overinflated tyre for example.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 06/12/2009 at 20:38
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And when do all these Astras work their way through to the Network Q forecourts as "ex-manager's cars"???
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Teabelly if it was the Focus 1.8TDCI then yes that is a nasty old engine. But Focus handling is generally rated top of the class. It does however have three power steering assistance levels which you set using the menus and the left column stalk. If it was set to sloppy that's what you would get. HJ
I have no idea what setting it was on. It didn't occur to me that anyone would want a steering setting that would make the car feel vague and sloppy and Ford thinks that is a good thing! The civic was a dream in comparison and I genuinely felt the focus was out of my control.
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The civic was a dream..
You must have had a different one to the one I drove - see my earlier comments. I also hated the interior. Cheap feeling plastic gear knob, the steering wheel felt all wrong - it was an oval shaped metal bar bent into a circle rather than a round metal bar bent into a circle. And don't get me started about the dashboard and mickey mouse metal pedals, not to mention how up close and personal that handbrake lever was to my left leg. Still, at least they managed to put the lever on the correct side of the car, unlike the Focus where I'm constantly bashing my knuckles on the cupholders when using the pool cars at work.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 07/12/2009 at 00:26
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Or we just look for different things in a car. The focus interior was far worse. The seating position just made me think van not car. I could find the lights on the civic straight away. A lot of the cars had them in strange places and with so many features all over the stalks it was just plain confusing to someone who expects headlights, indicators and variable speed wipers and nothing else!!
The gear stick in the civic is a gimic but the actual gear change feel was good. Not like stirring porridge like a lot of cars. The one I used was silver, 58 reg, with about 37 or 57 thousand on the clock. Don't know what diesel engine it had but it seemed to be quite perky.
Did really want to give the audi a whirl but they were never there and another person actually ran toward it when it arrived one time and it would have been rude as he was clearly more desperate than we were!
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I could find the lights on the civic straight away.
Nor me. Each time I went out (in any of the cars) I got stopped by the marshal and asked to put the lights on. Thankfully he knew where they were on the Civic as the dashboard and switches were like something out of the Starship Enterprise and no thought to where they were put by Honda.
The one I used was silver 58 reg with about 37 or 57 thousand on the clock. Don't know what diesel engine it had but it seemed to be quite perky.
That does sound like the one I had. Yes, the engine was perky, but the handling and ride was carp.
I'm now waiting for my local dealer to give me an invite to a test drive of the new Astra to see what it feels like on normal roads rather than Millbrook that only simulate them. They usually have an open evening for the launch of a new car.
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the dashboard and switches were like something out of the Starship Enterprise and no thought to where they were put by Honda.
Are you really suggesting that the people who designed the Civic put no thought into the design of the switchgear?
Doesn't seem like something that a car manufacturer would do, I reckon they probably spent quite a few man-hours on it.
The end result, of course, is somewhat subjective. What one person will find a triumph of design and usability someone else will find a complete nightmare.
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Switches are pretty ad-hoc in the CRV if I was picky - but all Hondas I've driven have stalk mounted light switches. Not hard to find at all.
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...all Hondas I've driven have stalk mounted light switches. Not hard to find at all...
Think it's a Japanese/Honda trait dating back many years.
The Honda-influenced Triumph Acclaim had a light stalk.
A third lighting stalk appeared on Cortinas in the 1970s, but most Fords now have a twist knob on the dash below the right air vent.
As do a lot of VAG cars, Vauxhalls and others.
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I rather preferred the Euro solution - easy to see where you're at light wise. I remember the third stalk on the Ford - typical Ford functional and ergonomic - probably migrated to the dash for safety and cost.
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Now you come to mention it, I remember those too. I like the rotary switch on my Mondeo, you can feel easily where it is. Twelve O'clock is off, one click clockwise is sides and two clicks is headlights. The thing on the Qashqai annoys me a bit. Stuck on the end of the indicator stalk. Too many settings for my failing synapses. Off, Auto, Side or On. Still have to look at it to remember where it's set. S'pose I'll get used to it.
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Not hard to find at all.
It is if you're used to the switch being on the dashboard and the stalk only being used for the indicators, cruise control and high beam. Also the steering wheel hid the symbols on the stalk that told you what functions it operated.
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...Focus...Hateful steering wallowy bouncy ride... Wallowy ride? Not on any Focus I know of. Harsh jittery yes but wallowy never. And the steering of the Focus is one of its strongest points so I genuinely wonder if there was something wrong with that particular car.
It rolled like anything in corners. Wallowy may not be the right word but compared to the civic which was tight and tidy this focus was plain sloppy with a hard, noisy ride but still managed to roll and pitch around like it was going to fly into the barriers at any moment. It just felt like it couldn't cope with camber changes to save its life.
I'm used to old rwd and 4wd cars so fwds generally feel untrustworthy to me so I was amazed that I liked the civic, especially as it was a diesel and I hate diesels!
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As HJ says Focus handling is generally rated top of the class so I think we have to assume that there was something wrong with the Focus teabelly drove.
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I've never driven any other focus. Saturday was the first day I had driven a vauxhall and a honda! I've driven a fiesta diesel previously but that was when I was learning to drive. I can only compare it to the civic that was there and the astra 1.6. Both were much quieter. The road noise in the focus was significantly worse than either the civic or the astras.
Wish I'd realised how much you could take the p in the astra as after the ESP demo I realised how cautious I had been with it!!
People that drive new cars all the time get a different idea of comparatives to those of us that rarely do. I'm comparing how they feel against an old skyline and an old integrale too so it is probably why I'm having completely different impressions to everyone else :-) I should have got my friend to drive that focus too as his friend has one and he'd know whether there was anything wrong with the one there.
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Both the A3's were 08 reg, and the one I drove had done just over 2000 miles. I did think that they might have chosen "subprime" spec competitor cars, but actually the A3's were 2.0TDI and should have been ok. I'd have liked to see a Hyundai i30 there too, I could have loaned them mine. I didn't drive any other competitor product, I wanted a go in a Golf but they were always out. Still the Astra 1.6 Turbo made up for it :)
I'd love to love a Honda Civic, but i'm the wrong shape and cant get comfortable in it whilst being able to see what speed i'm doing. I can have speedo and uncomfortable, or comfortable and no speedo. Shame.
One thing that they should do with those Vauxhall events is actually say on the car (inside or in vinyl on it somewhere) just what engine/trim spec the car is. Its a good idea that they seperate them out by colour, but nowhere did it say which colour was what.
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They were hard to tell apart. I don't think they did separate them by colour as I think the 1.6 petrols and the 2.0 diesel were the same grey colour. Think the 1.7 cdtis were mostly red though. No idea what the turbo was I never got my hands on one... I'm green with envy that you got a drive in one :-)
Trim spec and car spec info on a sticker is an excellent idea. Would also be useful for the competitor cars as I didn't realise the civic had a 2.2 diesel. I assumed it would be a 1.7. Explains why it did go well. Shame about the dash looking like something out of a teenage boy's bedroom tho.
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Trim spec and car spec info on a sticker is an excellent idea.
Totally agree as well.
I think I got the 2.0 diesel auto by accident as it was one of the few cars left after the mass bundle to pick your steed and start your engines. I didn't mind it being an auto though as I drive one on a daily basis. When I brought it back there were a few more to chose from. I ignored the ones with no trim badges on the side (a usual indication of low spec and engine) and went for a manual SE model, which is the middle of the range of trim levels by all accounts.
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I've done about 15000 miles (including Millbrook hill route) in Focus IIs and Focus IIIs and never found anything to criticise in the ride roadholding and handling. >>
Not Focus III eh HJ ;-)
(It's a Focus III to me and as far as this website is concerned because it's as much a change from the Focus II as the Mondeo II was from the Mondeo I. Though it might have to become a Focus IIb or Focus II f/l if Ford calls the next Focus the Focus III. HJ.)
Edited by Honestjohn on 08/12/2009 at 16:07
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But not a single shot of 500ANT on his doorhandles slipping past an out-of-shape DD into the chicane... I'm disappointed.
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In his dreams Lud ;o)
You can just about make out my car on the left hand side of pic 3 is the far far distance.
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www.youtube.com/VauxhallVideo#p/u has some vids from the day, including me driving the Astra SRi Turbo, i'm the one that sounds like a Wurzel.
Once again, i've gotta thank www.torqueastra.com for a great day out.
Edited by J500ANT on 15/12/2009 at 13:03
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I was working last night and was dealing with something next to a Vx showroom. Inside was a new Astra Sri. I thought it looked very nice and went for a closer look. Mmmm, thought I, that could be a contender as a replacement family car. Then I saw the price on the top.....£22500. That's more than an Audi A3 2.0d S-Line I've looked at.
I know you don't pay list, but I doubt Vx will be offering discounts to a level that make it a viable purchase.
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I posted elsewhere here about the new Evo Punto at £11k+, a Focus econetic is £19,995. New car list prices are shooting skywards and it's only going to get worse.
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I just priced up a basic new Astra 1.6 S with autobox, mp3 player input and ergonomic seats. Just shy of £20k!
This is a base model 1.6 auto with just a couple of options mind... Even without the options it was still £19k.
Only last year you could pick up a brand new Vectra 1.8 Exclusiv for £11k...
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