Vauxhall Astra SRI 1.6

On this particular occasion I had a rather long drive ahead. Though I longed for an A3, on receipt of the Astra I was neither pleased nor displeased. The Astra is a perfectly capable middle-ground car which you can drive for days, weeks or months but it’ll not leave a lasting impression.

Astra in its natural habitat

 As with my previous Astra, this too was an SRi. And again, it also lacked any real sporting presence to justify the badge. The wheels were different and so was the badge on the boot. Equipped with these pieces of evidence I have just spent a lengthy amount time on the Vauxhall website and have established the difference between the models. The car in question here is equipped with the 1.6i VVT rated at 115ps. The previous Astra was the 1.4i 16VVT Turbo rated at 140ps. Despite being so similar, there were some rather apparent differences between the models below the surface.

Inside, it was all familiar Astra surroundings. Again, the wheel hints at Bluetooth connectivity but I couldn’t find any way of activating it. I am curious though as the Vauxhall website does state it is equipped with it? The biggest difference however was the inclusion of a conventional lever operated handbrake. I don’t know why Vauxhall would go to the trouble of having the “same” cars with different handbrakes but it was strange how something which you would consider so insignificant could make a big difference to the feel of the car. Although I have argued the case of the electric handbrake in the past, I would choose the conventional set up as seen here for my own car. The boot swallowed my two bags, several milk crates and weekly shopping without much fuss but I did note the opening was quite small and the boot lip high.

Busy dashboard can be confusing to use

The interior in the latest Astra is modern. You sit far back from the windscreen and I found that in order to get comfortable I was quite low in the car resulting in an odd sensation of peering over the dashboard. Furthermore the arm rest on the door was too far forward and the centre arm rest too far back to be of any use. Why they haven’t made the central arm rest adjustable I don’t know. Perhaps they might like to add some softer materials and padding to the construction whilst they’re at it - my elbow was soon suffering when I did contort my arm into such a position that I was able to use them. Otherwise the Astra made for a good motorway cruiser with acceptable levels of wind noise, easy to use cruise control and an impressive sound system.

Once off the motorway and onto rural roads the inherent differences between the two SRI’s became apparent. Where the 1.4 soon felt stressed and skittish through the bends the 1.6 was a more flowing and coherent package. Feedback from the wheel was still limited but grip was impressive and not once did the chassis feel out of depth as it did in the 1.4. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the engine. Progress was limited unless you were prepared to utilise every one of the 6,500RPMs available – and that soon got tiring, particularly as your efforts weren’t rewarded with any form of pleasing engine note.

Its an SRI - but can you tell?

As a practical car the Astra makes a sound case for itself. Despite lacking in outright charisma it performs all routine tasks with diligence, although many may find the petrol engines rather alcoholic – over a distance of roughly 280 miles I used almost a full tank of fuel! The use of the SRI badge remains slightly fraudulent but if Vauxhall were able to mate the 1.4 turbo engine to the 1.6 chassis, throw in some spoilers and bits of carbon, then they may well have something close to what an SRI should be.

Audi A3 Sportback

There is no other way or putting it, the A3 is a good looking car. I prefer the looks of the three doors but the majority of A3’s I see about are in this Sportback configuration which adds five doors and an estate-like profile. Whatever the format, it is a lovely design, best described as “classy”. Take a look at the centre caps for an example of how well thought out the design of this car really is. Although the colour was plain, this actually complimented the understated quality feel of the car. I was looking forward to the prospect of driving this one!

Conventional bulbs instead of LED DRLs differentiate this low spec A3

Whereas VW, Skoda & Seat all share the same door handles the Audi is given top hinged items. Like the centre caps, these insignificant differences add to the overall premium feeling of the Audi. Inside is dark, but I like that, and much was similar to other VAG products. Despite being front wheel drive the car had a huge transmission tunnel which resulted in you feeling cocooned behind the wheel – much like I imagine a fighter jet pilot feels. However, the centre console between the seats could be improved. There was a lack of storage space, my phone had to sit on top of the ash tray meaning it bashed off the side of the dash every time you went round a corner; seriously infuriating! The arm rest looked very cheap and didn’t offer as much flexibility as I would have liked. Drinks holder? Well there is one in the centre console but if you use it then you won’t be able to change gear; so you’ll have to lie it down in your door pocket. Skoda know how to sculpt a drinks holder in to door pockets, surely Audi could learn a lesson from their budget cousin? Everything else had a nice feel to it but the heater controls were stupid - overly complicated for no apparent reason. The radio was a bit basic but I think that was due to this being a base spec vehicle. Importantly though, my two favourite aspects of the car were the dials with crisp digits and displays, and the steering wheel. By far the best wheel I’ve ever used. The lovely thick rim was covered in high quality leather. It really was a joy to behold.

What a place to be

Nice though the wheel was to hold, don’t be anticipating frenzied grappling with as you struggle to hold the beast down and your heart races with adrenalin. True to form the handling is rather safe and numb. Don’t get me wrong, it did hold the road well, but it didn’t reward you for trying.  Just as well, since the engine isn’t going to get you anywhere in a hurry. I appreciate the 1.6 TDi engines are cheap to run, just £20 to get me to Cardiff, but surely they could give them a bit more go. What was especially noticeable was how the gearing was aimed very precisely at motorway work. At every other speed, no matter what the gear / engine speed combination, the car felt sluggish, but at 70mph all of the engines 250nm of torque were instantly available. It goes without saying this is a car that was designed for working on motorways. Thankfully, they’ve got that right. It was a particularly relaxing environment, so much so that I almost missed my exit as I didn’t think I could possibly be there already.

Sportback provides additional practicality

The petrol head in me would love to try an S3 with a fire-breathing engine, reworked suspension and, of course the infamous Quatrro transmission, but this is actually the sort of A3 most would buy. If you want an easy going companion that’ll say all the right things about you, then this is the car for you. The Sportback affords you a good sized boot, the engine gives good MPG, and the cabin is near silent at all speeds. There is a definite improvement in build quality over the already impressive lower VAG stablemates.

You spot most A3s on the motorway

So good was the A3 that I began trawling Auto Trader when I handed the keys back. I wanted one for myself. And herein lays the inherent problem with Audi ownership. Yes they’re nice places to spend your time behind the wheel, and yes it’ll look good on your drive, can you really justify £10,000 on a 4 year old car with 80,000 miles on the clock? Before you say yes, have a look at what that £10,000 will buy you from other VAG manufacturers.