Test drive Opel Astra Sedan 1998 - 2008 Sedan

Opel Astra (1998-2003)

Astra is a beautiful, unpretentious and very common flower in our country. Like a German car with the same floral name.
The second generation of Opel Astra debuting in 1998 is the further development of the most popular and most popular Kadette model. Astra has every chance to repeat the success of his predecessor and even surpass him. In any case, she has now become the best -selling Opel model in our country. According to the official statistics of the Moscow representative office of General Motors, according to the results of the first 6 months of this year, Astra accounts for more than half of all cars sold - 54%.
Frost resistance. Opel has been prepared thoroughly for sales in our market - all asters supplied to Russia are equipped with two special packages at once: for bad roads and for dusty roads. The first includes the protection of the engine of the engine and fuel tank with fuel pipelines, mudguards, reinforced springs and shock absorbers with elongated stems, which provide larger road lumen and large suspension passages. The changes even touched the wheels: on Astra, discs with an increased thickness of the rim are placed on the high -profile tires with a dimension of 185/70 R14, while in Europe the car is equipped with wheels with dimensions from 195/60 R15. And the anti -polling bag includes all kinds of additional seals and plugs designed to fight our ubiquitous dust. Teached by their own bitter experience, the Germans prepared a car for our frosty winters. Under the hood settled a battery of high capacity (66 ah vs 55 ah for European versions), which is covered with a cover, and the hood itself is covered with a layer of heat -insulating material from the inside. Moreover, the changes affected even the mechanical part of the car: cars for Russia are equipped with a transmission with more short gear rates.
Roots. All these changes went to Astra only to the benefit. There are no complaints about the transmission, nor to the elements of the chassis of the services that specialize in the OPEL maintenance. The suspension on our roads is greatly helped out that Astra is a rather light car. And the owner’s wallet is satisfied with its simplicity and maintainability. For example, the design of the front suspension allows you to replace only ball supports separately, and not buy levers assembled, as in many other modern foreign cars. Yes, and the cost of parts is not ruined - a set of ball supports costs $ 88. The supports of the front racks (they will have to be changed during a run approaching 100 thousand km) will cost $ 48 each. The steering tips, which even on our roads manage to serve about 60 thousand km, cost only $ 35. By the way, absolutely all versions of Astra are equipped with an amplifier of steering. Moreover, its pump is paired with an electric motor, and the node itself is placed directly on the steering mechanism.
INFLORESCENCE. Opel Astra is produced in several variants of the bodies: three- and five-door hatchbacks, sedan, station wagon and even a compartment, which was developed together with the Italian body atelier Bertone and is produced in Italy. Opel designers took into account the sad experience of the old models of the company, which were famous for very low corrosion resistance of the bodies. Compared to the first generation, the modern Astra has all the body panels galvanized, and the company provides a guarantee from through corrosion for as many as 12 years. Astra operating experience in our conditions shows that this is not an advertising trick: even cars from the very first parties to this day do not even have hints of corrosion. Astra’s only weak point can be considered a windshield. When starting in winter, it is recommended to turn on the stove fan immediately. If you give the engine first to warm up and let the flow of hot air on the windshield, then it can crack. A similar situation and in the summer - the flow of ice air directed to the windshield (especially if the car stood in the sun for a long time) will lead to the same result. And the new lobbye will cost $ 270 plus $ 170 for work.
Tops. For Opel Astra (except for the coupe), a very large selection of engines is offered: from a 1.2-liter capacity of 65 hp. Up to 136-horsepower 2 liters. But the most popular is a 1.6-liter 16-valve engine-in Europe it is equipped with 70% of the sold cars. And for machines supplied to our market, it is basic. Unfortunately, this motor is the most unsuccessful among all power units. Moreover, you may be lucky with the motor, or maybe not. And if you are unlucky with a 1.6-liter motor of asters, this is what this one is waiting.
Somewhere closer to 100 thousand km of run (this may be earlier-should not be believed by the verbal of the odometer, almost all cars driven from Europe, they are twisted) will increase oil consumption. This is also 200 grams, and in individual specimens, the consumption can also exceed a liter per thousand kilometers of mileage. The reason is simultaneously simple and amazing for a modern power unit - wear of the walls of the cylinders. Then follows the overhaul of the motor, and this is a complete disassembly of the engine, the bore of the cylinders and their subsequent gining. This procedure will cost somewhere in $ 3 thousand, depending on what else will come out. If we take into account that the 3-year-old Astra costs somewhere from $ 8 thousand to $ 13 thousand, then the amount looks rather impressive. The nature of this phenomenon is absolutely incomprehensible. First, motorists nodded to lovers to drive the autobahns. Then - to attempts at the jerky Germans to fill in semi -synthetic motor oil, and not more expensive synthetics. Later it turned out that no dependence was traced - with an equal frequency, the hining came to naught both in the cylinders of cars for a week from Germany, and in those that ran along Russian roads from birth. Agree that for a modern engine, overhaul with a run of less than 100 thousand km is not only a very strange thing, but also outrageously unacceptable. So this can be considered a large fat minus that crosses out other advantages of this machine. Moreover, this defect is inherent only to 1.6-liter engines. If you certainly want to buy Opel Astra, it is better to look for an instance with a 1.8 liter engine. Such cars are less common and cost somewhere for $ 1 thousand more. No matter how outraged by people who sell and serve Opel cars, a saying that any car sooner or later becomes opel, the plant still has something to work on.
Such Opel Astra once visited a long -term test in our magazine. Recall that for six months of active operation with serious problems, we did not encounter, except for small flavoring flaws. And with a run of 8 thousand. The engine began to work unstable at idle. But we never learned about the reason for this phenomenon - the car returned to the dealer.
Text Alexei Khresin, drawing Alexander Krasnov
Opel Astra Sedan 1.6 1.8
Length/width/height 4110/1710/1420 4110/1710/1420
Working volume (cubic meter) 1598 1796
Power (L.S.) 101 125
Equipped mass (kg) 1090 1140
Maximum speed (km/h) 188 200
Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (sec.) 11.5 10
Fuel consumption (city/highway, l/100 km) 10/5.9 10.8/5.9
The cost is for Opel Astra 1.6
Mileage (km) cost
every 15 thousand $ 270
every 60 thousand (or every 4 years) $ 560
Norma at a branded sta $ 35-40

 

A source: "Autopilot"