1990 Vauxhall Astra GTE 16V "Red Top" Review - The Forgotten King of the Hot Hatches
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- Back in 1990, if you wanted the best, most exciting hot hatch out there you didn't buy a Golf GTI, a Maestro Turbo or a 205 - you bought a Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v. Armed with the mighty "red top" engine, the Astra 16V was a gun brought to the hot hatch knife fight. But, thirty years on how does it fare?
#Vauxhall #AstraGTE
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Comments on 1980s bedroom interior whilst wearing a 1970s indian restaurant :)
I live in the south west of England and our Indian restaurants are a bit behind the times- genuinely one of my local ones has just redecorated with wallpaper that looks near enough exactly like James's shirt.
🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂
Classic 😂
💀💀💀🤣🤣🤣
These cars where EVERYWHERE in my youth. Never see any at all now so its great to see this unmodified minter.
It is modified, suspension for a start.
The reason you don't see them, is because they all fell apart and rusted away. Great engine, utter shyte car.
Rusted away or crashed sadly
@@DjNikGnashers So did Fords of this era.
@@TheSimonhammond Yes, agreed.
I never really liked the Mk3/Mk4/Mk5/Mk6 Escort's they were shyte lol.
I stock with my Mk2 for many years, and owned about a dozen of them.
@@DjNikGnashers Vauxhall did solve their rust problem though; something that VW and Ford STILL haven't done.
I'm still driving its big brother, a Carlton gsi 24v, 1990 reg :)
here in Brazil we had Chevrolet Omega 4.1
basically an Opel Omega with an old American in-line-6 Chevrolet 12V engine modernized with fuel injection by British Lotus.
EE middle finger with a bearded guy and a olive on its head?
That picture comes with more species?
I had an 88 one, drove all the competitors and chose the 16v. So much quicker than the 205, Escort RS, golf etc. That engine felt in a different league, pulled from 2K to 7K like a train. Had a lovely induction noise too. Felt cool at the time knowing nothing else was close in performance. Handling felt good to me, never a problem, never got into any problems with it. Trim felt fine in the 80s, great seats. Sold it when the kids came along as I wanted a 4 door. Always had nice cars and the 16v was one of the most fun.
Life storytelling
The 90’s is when you had to be able to drive or you would be going off road or into a tree. The new cars are made so your gran could drive them fast
Spot on👍
Or any old automatic
So true.. youngsters nowadays have no idea what driving is.. they get behind the wheel of a golf R and think they’re Stirling moss.. be a different story trying to hang on to a 205 gti with a mi16 swap on a country road
Vauxhall cavalier?
@@assettojoyriderok enjoy a narrow goliwog
I remember racing one years ago coming onto a motorway on a sweeping bend, it didn't enjoy the corner very much and the driver nearly left the road. Seem to remember they were notorious for understeer. Still they are very good looking cars, all the GTE versions from the Nova to the GSI Carlton looked fantastic.
With the tyre pressures adjusted slightly, I could drift mine 😂. In South Africa, they routinely beet even the 325i BMW…
I think these last few videos have proven a point I’ve always tried to make. Most people these days are just obsessed over brand names and prices to the point where they miss out on genuinely amazing cars just because the may have come from a “lesser” brand. It’s utterly ridiculous
I do believe its sometimes tribal loyalty to a brand.
....
Think thats bad try Ford pick up v Chevy /GM pick - in the US.
People will argue till cows come home which truck is more powerful/better - never ends.
God isn’t that the truth
Your Right One Of The Best Sayings In The World Ever Best Health.
I think that's starting to change, people wouldn't take a second glance at a mk2 Renaultsport Clio 5 years ago, but now they're all the rage it seems.
I had one of these, bought it in 1993, what an awesome machine with an unbelievable engine 🥰 I loved it! So true they they just wanted to go, go, go!
17 years ago one of these well and truely smoked me in my 205 1.9 gti.i drove home sickened.i still have my 205 gti.the owner of the astra is no longer with us but his friend now has it stored.cool that these 2 cars are still knocking about local almost 20 years on.
The astra gte 16v will never be forgotten by me, it's an amazing car, they just don't make them like that anymore, I'm glad I was about to witness these cars, ive got some great memories of them
Digital dash / 150 MPH 😊
In Sourh Africa, that car was the SHIT!! Was called the Opel Kadett Suoer Boss. Very sought after here. My aunt had one in yellow when it was new. I remember being blown away by the dash and how fast it was.
The South African version was even quicker than our version (I think it got hot cams, exhaust etc) with at least 10-15 extra bhp. South Africa also got an insane version of the next gen Astra with a 2.0 16v turbo Calibra engine (200bhp compared to our versions 150bhp) South Africa has had a bunch of crazy quick versions of normal European cars (like the Sierra XR8, a XR6 with a V8 under the bonnet!) I'd love to see tests of insane South African cars!
Dave Kennedy yeah dude. We had minters! The XR8’s were very rare though. More of those in Australia at the time
Close but not the same, the super boss was 170bhp and held the world record for torque/litre for a naturally aspirated car until 2009! Only 500 were built. www.speedhunters.com/2019/12/the-opel-kadett-superboss-legend-lives-on/
mips thanks for the clarification. That yellow SB of my aunt’s … phwoar
@@artpereira I nearly purchased a used one around '95 as my first car, luckily a few older/wiser work colleagues brought me to my senses.
My fave car I lusted for as a child, finally owned the 8v at age 20 for £150 and 16v a little later for £1200. But was a rust bucket. They have a light back end which was a bit scary but good for a little power slide around the odd bend though😳 Good memories
Me an a mate went half's on a clean H Reg Black 5 door 8v aged 19/20 for a £100. Good Memory's
10 minutes of watching a bloke having great time in an old car, and I loved it
Whey
I used to work for an independent dealership that specialised in the Cavalier. One day this guy turned up in that specification of Astra - he told me "I need to grow up....."
Long story short, he ended up with a 2.0GLi Cavalier but I had the total pleasure (unofficially) of giving that little beauty a bit of a work out (the boss DIDN'T find out rofl). Definitely a forgotten gem and I had no issues with the steering etc. Admittedly the car was less than 5 years old when I drove it though. Big smiles 👍👍.
Great review that brings back some crazy memories. I LOVED my time with my GTE 16v! That engine was far and away the greatest 16 valve of the era. There wasn't much that would give me much of a fight back in the 90s. I drove a Golf GTI 16v when I owned my GTE and the Golf felt so slow in comparison. Cosworth helped Vauxhall on the engines design (and the car I owned was the most coveted Coscast head, no cat or ABS) and it was an amazing engine with an amazing (for the time) 156bhp and 144lbft and delivered it's torque across a very wide spread of the rev range (and I believe the highest torque per litre until it got beaten by a Ferrari!) Thank you for the trip down memory lane!
Engine help came from Lotus, they designed the head to sit on the 8v block.
My 16V Golf was very nearly as quick,you had to rev it past 5000 up to 7000 with no variable valve timing then,still way quicker than today's eco diesels
@@adams7405 the Golf was heavier and 20-30bhp down on power and only a 1.8 compared to a 2.0. I thrashed my mates mk 2 Golf 16v and it honestly felt miles behind performance wise. The mk 3 Golf was even heavier and needed a 2.8 V6 to match the acceleration (but it did whip it on top end as the VR6 did over 140mph compared to the GTE 16v 136mph) But the Golfs were better built and haven't rusted away like the Astras.
@@bespincustompropsbombarta8300 I think you're talking about the engine in the Chevette HSR. Another great engine but the predecessor to the 20xe.
@@davekennedy6315 your right but, it was the successor, Lotus designed the head on the Ecotec.
I owned one of these in the 90s and absolutely loved it! Thanks for bringing back some old memories. I agree with most of what you said, except for the looks, I think it looked great in the 90s and I think it still does but I'm probably biased!
Nice car you got now too 😏
Thanks, looks like you do too!
1.8, 8 valve fast 130mph, 2.0 8v slower 128mph, better mid range, 16v animal 140mph. They had great seats, ( not being rude but they were not designed for someone of your size ) they were unbadged Recaro the only ones that were better back then was the RS turbo Recaro.
Those cars are legends for those who owned them. The GTE won car of the year too.
The prices on all of them are on the up, seriously hard to find now as most were rallied or rotted away.
Yep the 1.8 engine was as hard as nails!
Have driven a lot of these and Cavalier SRI's and can confirm the steering was a mix of Torque steer and following the camber of the road.
Was this stay Pontiac LeMans for the us because I don't know if we had the equivalent car here in the US I know Vauxhall is a UK brand name however was this under the Pontiac label
Had an 8 valve and a 16v never had any issue with torque steer once, chronic under steer yes lol until I dumped them 60mm and put on front and rear strut braces which transformed them.
But confused when he said great chassis because compared to the RS, GTI and the mk1 GTE the mk2 was not good.
Someone say torque steer? SAAB 900 Turbo enters the chat.
Ferocious Mullet
Mazda 3 Mps
It would change lanes all by its self
Don't forget the highly predictable lift off oversteer
Wow That brings back so many great memory's. Had one back in the day and absolutely loved it. It was just epic fun and silly quick.
Same here mate! I initially had an early 1.8 GTE and then got a F reg red GTE 16v (the first Coscast head version with no cat) I used to do 130+mph daily down the A120 for the 4 or 5 years that I owned it. The Red Top was the best 16 valve engine for years. I drove a mates Golf GTi 16v and it was nowhere near as quick and had nowhere near the torque (had the edge on build quality and possibly cornering though) The Golf felt more like my 1.8 GTE performance wise! Plus as id had GTEs for so long I learnt a bunch of tricks to get the car cornering faster than most would trust (the car often felt like it wouldn't make a fast corner, but as long as you were committed it'd fly round no problems. I miss it just as I do the 90s when I had it, the best decade and best car Ive had!
@@davekennedy6315 I had a white F Reg one with Vauxhall racing stripes down the rear wings. Used to rag the crap out of going down the A127 to Southend on a Friday and Saturday night. Used to get a ton of torque steer and understeer out the corners but not much could stick with it in a straight line. Ended up trading it in for a new 306GTi-6, now that thing could corner !
@@w1ldwesty nice, I probably saw you there no doubt haha! Yeah the torque steer was sometimes worrying, it often used to spin up (in numerous gears!) in the wet and then suddenly grip (with the dash showing about double the speed you were actually doing!) and throw you towards the other side of the road! Entertaining for me, worrying for nervous passengers haha! It used to love high speeds and at 130 or so the revs would be around 6000+, so they were hardly relaxing at speed (you certainly knew that if you crashed that'd be the end for you!) That GTI6 was a fine follow on as they were great cars, the press used to rave about them. You've got good taste!
Bought a J reg Astra GTE when I was 18 years old, it's the only car I keep thinking about.
The rev happy raucous 20XE "Red Top" was replaced by the Ecotec engine, which was down on power and prone to cambelt failures. Opel (Vauxhall) went downhill from then on...
Agreed the Astra GTE was top of its game back in the day. Not the joke Vauxhall is today.
right, from the virtually bullet proof Mk3 Cavalier SRi to the piece of junk self destructing Vectras.
If I recall it was newer emissions regs that killed the Red Top which is a shame, as it was one of the best 4-cyl engines ever made.
90s Vauxhalls are pants, the Corsa B, Astra F & G (mk3 & 4) and the Vectra A, all poor cars, however the VXR Range did bring something back before they lost their way Again!
Spot on,I had the ecotec version and it was worse and the cam belt went!
Icon of its time... Never a car I got excited about but I know a lot of people who did. Great review as always!
True, and yet there's that feeling that it could still have been so much better, if only Opel/Vauxhall had put a little more effort into making the interior look juat that little bit more luxurious. That engine was pure gold and the chassis was way better than it had a right to be. I've owned two of it's very underpowered kid brothers: the (in)famous Opel Kadett 1,6 Diesel and later the Kadett 1,6 GT and though severely lacking in power, there was not much wrong with the handling.
The fun thing about that diesel was that when it needed new shocks, my local shop advised Kayaba's. Those were much stiffer than the original shocks and they transformed even that humble diesel, showing how well designed that chassis was. It became a sport to me to overtake sporty BMW's and it's likes on the inside lane in the tight corners that are so popular in European cloverleaf traffic points, effortlessly holding the inside lane while laughing at the disbelieving faces of the drivers who were struggling to hold their BMW and other more "sporty" cars in the outside lane. Mind you, as soon as the road straightened out all I saw was their taillights disappearing in the distance, but those short moments in those corners were priceless. My later Kadett 1,6 GT had much of that same vibe: still lacking power but equipped with a close-ratio 5 speed it would accelerate quite nicely and touch 200kph on the speedometer, almost keeping up with the BMW 318's and 320's of it's day in both rolling acceleration and top speed.
In my opinion Opel/Vauxhall never did get interiors and suspension setup right, probably due to money saving issues, and that detracted a lot of potential buyers. The comparable VW Golf had an interior that looked and felt so much nicer and a suspension that was just more sorted out.
Look back at the brilliant Calibra, a car só advanced in exterior styling that many people are still convinced Opel/Vauxhall could reintroduce that car today without any problems.
I'm 17 and I would love to own one of these. Quite advanced for its time and this as the era when vauxhall really shined especially with the carlton.
you're a bit late.
They have all rusted through or been preserved
Shone. Dont forget the Senator for the more discerning speed freak.
@@Random-nf7qb I'm not too late. I'm now in the chance of saving up for one I have a well paid job. Currently doing up a 1996 Corsa B GSI Rep build with a SAAB B204 Motor
When Renault and VW were struggling with their torque less 16v engines - the red top blew them all out of the water. The first proper, modern 16v na engine that had GO
Spot on
The most other 16valve Engines From this Time had only 1.8Liter but Yeah the C20XE is a real legendary Engine 😍powerful, high torque and Good Fuel consumption
@@ddkadettturbo shame vauxhall cheaped out on the heads after 90/91?
Was the 150 bhp in the clio williams torqueless. Was supposed to be another ok engine?
@@bensmithkent22
The 2.0 16v Williams F7R engine wasn't torque less at all. It had 136lb from 2500rpm all the way to 6800rpm with 1000kg it could pull really well. Not sure it was better than the red top as the F7r wasn't really an engine you could get much more than 200bhp tops without big money being spent. Where some Cams in a red top would get you nearly at 200bhp.
I had one of these, such an amazing car. Had no problems beating RS Turbos, Golfs, R5 GT Turbos, 205 GTI's off the line, only Cosworths, Integrale's and Nissan Sunny GTiR's would beat it. 12" sub in the boot, bombing down the M1 5 up on a Saturday night heading to the rave. Such fun/amazing times.
Happy days mate 😊 I had the 8v gte then the cavalier Gsi 2000 16v then the mk 3 astra Gsi 16v….my favourite was the cavalier Gsi ….what a car, wish I could turn back time 😢
Wow, some proper " real life " cars on review, used to really hate the GTE, no chance of staying with them in my mk2 XR2. Really took me back. Great job.
Loved my XR2 was a buzzy little car great fun.
Had to wind it up to get the most out of it.
Metallic blue.
Also remember one could visit a vehicle scrap yard to get bits if anything needed replacing.
This engine was legendary. I have a Caterham with this engine, it is brilliant. 20 years ago I had a 3.0 V6 Alfa 75 and my friends Astra GTe 16v simply wiped the floor with it.
Vauxhall’s used to be the ‘in’ car in the 80’s. The accepted climb up the hot hatch latter was Nova SR, Nova GTE, Astra GTE.
Astra GTE and then Astra GTE 16v, there was quite a noticeable a difference
All shite
Yep and it normally went hedge , garden wall and then house lol
I love the look of the 16v GTE! And always wanted one back in the day :).
I'm with you, the looks put me off these when they were new and looking back nostalgically hasn't changed my mind.
I loved my Astra, it was the Gunmetal Grey. Those were the good days.
Your buddy Darren is spot on, beautiful car, up there with the nova gte in my opinion 👌🏻☺️
I went from a black Capri 2.8i to one of these white 16Vs as Jay mentioned in the commentary and the difference was amazing too
and moved onto a Wliiiams Clio as Jay also mentions
If you keep on this like you'll have 500,000 subscribers in 12 month's time. Top work. Entertaining as it was informative. Loving the hot hatch series. More unknown gems like the GTE, please!
Had one in 92, best one by far at the time knocked the rs turbo into a cocked hat. The golf was an over hyped sluggish heap in comparison.
I don't know why people bang on about the golf so much. They've never impressed me.
Still got mine in the garage,bought it new in 1989.It's mint.
@notformebeaky I'll give you a race, then you'll eat your negative words.
@notformebeaky who said the road,you probably can't drive!
My dad had one of these back in the day! And still talks about it to this day.
It's a legendary engine looking for a half decent chassis and interior. I can see why people wanted the Golf or the Escort RS
Digital dash before the were fashionable. All the trend now...!! 🤪
Drove one of these as a hire car on holiday in Scotland. Covered some great roads and hit over 130 on the A9 for a few miles. This was before speed cameras and you could see for miles. Cornered on rails around the highlands. Loved it
I'm 6'7" and I fitted in my gte just nice
I had a Cavalier GSI with this engine about 20yrs ago and loved it, after 2 x 205gti's which I also have great memories of. Back in the day I tried the Astra GTE 16v and completely agree that the chassis let it down. In my opinion the Cavalier GSI, with independent rear suspension, handled a lot better. Not in the same league as my 205gti but much much better than the Astra. Happy memories 😊
I had the Cav GSI too, it was a stripped out BTCC theme with Safety Devices cage, went to SBD to get throttle bodies, cams and group A touring car bits from Mallock engineering who did Clelands car. The car handled great, stiffer and better than the Sapphire Cosworth imho, the XE engine is brilliant for N/A tuning
I had a Gsi - loved it. Wish I'd kept it. My mate had the 16v Astra at the same time. Preferred my Gsi
This car featured on one of the first team tests I paid close attention to! I think it was compared with a Golf and an Fiat Strada Abarth. It really stood out, at the time it looked like the instrument panel was out of Knight Rider!
You must be all legs mate 😂
Drove mine over 1200miles and (accidentally) ended up on Las Ramblas in Barcelona , attracted a big crowd of admirers. The road trip was over 3000 faultless miles. Great memories.
A lot of these engines turned up in Novas and Cavaliers.....not necessarily legitimately
Richie Btime the cavalier made sense the nova and Astra were so easy to pinch, my mum had a 1.4 Astra starmist which was a special ed which had the GTE SEATS and nice alloys and it got stolen twice! With a screw driver
Indeed.
In the 90s *Courtney turbos* would to a turbo kit for the 2ltr and some (2ltr) Novas had 260hp - spin the wheels in 1st 2nd 3rd sometimes 4th gear absolutely mental !
Courtney also did a 300hp turbo conversation for the astra.
Quite a few went in mk1 and 2 escorts. Kit cars etc for rwd fun.
I am -SO- happy that you get to do this.
You seem to genuinely feel lucky for having a chance to earn your living creating spectacular content, and reminding the world AND introducing newer generations to so many underappreciated gems of our time.
In a time of bleakness, darkness and no light at the end of the tunnel, seeing you succeeding doing something you love and being very much aware of it makes my days a lil' bit brighter.
Please keep being yourself - we love you for it.
Wow. Went from Hertfordshire to Scotland and back in one. Great memes and good times. Amazing car with great company, never forget it.
You can't compere a Capri to an Astra GTE.. its like comparing apple to Bananas lol.. great vid tho.!!
Except you can.
Back in the mid 90's quicker rwd stuff (including V6 engined Capris) were always seen as alternatives to hot hatches by the younger generations of petrolhead
Was 3 camps at college in the late 80s early 90s.....mk 2 escorts and capris.....hot hatch fiesta supersports xr2 golf's......Italian stuff alfasuds 33s.
Even when hot hatches were at their height folks still chose rear drive instead of wrong wheel drive.
@@leegoodwin9233 you're forgetting the 2 other groups that use to laugh at these groups in their mirrors, the Quattro, integrale rich boys and the cya mate bikers.
Astra GTE 16v was a good car. Fantastic in a straight line, not great in corners.
My friend had one in early 90's and only top spec German Marques or Cosworths could beat it.
That was before Subaru and others came along, so it was seen as a icon back in those days - hard for anyone under 40 to understand I guess.
Vauxhall you made good cars then!
I cant see anyone having the same love for the Astra VXR in 30 years time.
Would love you to review the MG Maestro Turbo and the Peugeot 405 Mi16 (1.9, 2WD)
Indeed, the Mi16 lump was more powerful and yet a smaller engine.
I always wanted a Montego Turbo. My mates dad had one as a kid in the early 80's. Felt to me like a rocket ship. I went on holidays with them to Italy one summer in it. The entire thing stunk fish due to the glue they were using at the time not taking well to the heat on the mainland of Europe. Good times. The dash to 12-13 year old me was the best thing ever.
@@ferociousmullet9287 My dad had a black D reg one. I was 10 years old at the time. I remember loving it when he floored it, and vividly remember him battling with the massive torque steer they suffered from.
@@ferociousmullet9287 Montego Turbos were not fast really. I had a Pug 405 1.9 GRi around that time. 120Bhp i think. I could beat my mate in his Montego Turbo much to his annoyance....
@@dj_paultuk7052
I had an 1.9Sri Peugeot which had 128bhp, basically the 205 engine with more torque. Quite the Q car. Lovely broad spread of power, nice and revvy, fantastic chassis. I remember seeing off Jaguar leaving him a flail, trying to stop his car going into a ditch. Good days!!
Had one of these back in the day brought it from Letchworth car auctions a H plate one, wish i still had it, keep the videos coming, love the old school stuff.
Always loved these although I was a Ford guy !
When I worked for Avis in the early 90,s this was the car I took home at the weekends loved it..
a friend of mine had one of these, it went like stink (for the time)
I started as a YTS mechanic, "youth training scheme" for you young one's, at a Vauxhall dealers in 1986 when i was a wet behind the ears 16year old. I remember these with a fond loving memory. Can you imagine being a stary eyed 20 year old when these came came out. I took many for a good thrash when the service manager wasn't about. The dash was out if this world at the time. My favorite to drive at the time was the service managers metallic blue Astra Belmont LXi estate. He used to say to me "i have a car and it goes ok, i give it to you and it comes back and goes like stink". Yes it always had a good thrashing but i also used to turn the octane rating plug around from unleaded to leaded. It used to advance the ignition timing a bit lol. I can't believe they are 30 years old now, where does the time go.
CRX and Civic VT ran rings around these. Handling was “dubious” to say the least. They are forgotten for good reason.
DJ DJ yeah that piss poor 1.6 made 158bhp in the 91 onwards model in a car that actually handled. Other variations of that piss poor engine made 167 and 182 BHP in Japan. How’s your porous head looking?
My first hot hatch was a ‘92 VTi in Milano Red. Amazing car and drivetrain. Very interesting lift off oversteer that made the 205 look tame but I still miss it!
I'll always remember doing *4*mph in my GTE 16v side by side with a Civic down the A414 to Hertford (England). We just about had enough time to give the thumbs up to each other
These were epic I had one in South Africa - it was an Opel Kadett GSI and they were referred to as “the superboss”. The SA ones had fantastic trim and leather Recaro seats, much nicer paint - these U.K Astras don’t really compare. Miss it still...
Got to say no matter the power, even in the 90’s this car just didn’t look the part for me.
Review of the VW Corrado vr6?
Made me chuckle watching this...as back in the day, I also went from a long ownership of a 2.8i Capri to a 16v Astra GTE for 5 years. Both superb cars for different reasons. Have owned many hot-hatches since.
I had 2, 8 valves back in the day then I brought a brand new 16v gte in 1991 and that was a completely different animal. I liked it so much I still have it today and it's only done 52,000 miles from new and I have kept it completely standard and it has never failed an Mot or even had so much as an advisory!!!
Ahh this takes me back! Reminds me of when I was in my early teens and you still used to see Nova's which had had the "red top" transplanted into them. This generation of Astra also makes me smile because it reminds me of my Dad.
A never liked it back in the day and still don't. Yes it's a great engine but it's best bolted into a Sports 2000 race car or a Caterham!
Did you ever get to drive one? There were ugly, but a riot to drive. Highly recommend. also had a Peaguoet 205 1.9Gti, also fantastic, but in a different way (and a couple of Golf GTis, but everyone had those).
@@neilhutton2868 no, my brother in law had one, a Mk1 GTE and a 90s GSi. He still reckons the GSi is one of the best cars he ever owned!
I preferred the light and flimsy French stuff. Although given current values I regret selling some of them!
Always loved the mk2 GTE. My dads mate had a red one it felt like a spaceship when he took us out in it. I loved it then and I love them now
A 1988 renault r21 turbo would left this for dead. And yes it looks terrible.
In the 80's owning the MK 1 car guaranteed you instant cred and a beautiful travelling companion.
Didn't come out till the 90s
Dan Jackson I was referring to the MK 1.
As a young 21 year old in the early 90s I was in the very fortunate position of driving a huge range of company cars whilst working for a marketing company that only had sports cars. These included a Toyota Celica, Mk 2 Golf GTI, E36 BMW 325i, 205gti, Fiesta XR2i, Rover 220 coupe, Audi 80. My absolute favourite of the lot was a silver Astra GTE. It was bl00dy quick, handled well (esp in the dry, although slightly sketchy in the wet due to its light weight) and I loved that dash that had come straight out of Knight Rider. To be fair the interiors looked a lot better when new as seat covers have definitely stretched and become distorted in the test car. It felt noticeably quicker than the big bumper my 2 Golf GTI even though that car felt heavier and handled better in the wet.
The ultimate Essex boy car. And before anyone starts shouting, I was born and grew up in Essex. A very Good friend had one exactly like that and it was fun, until it fell apart. But then, so did most other cars in that era. Good to see that there are some survivors though.
My wife’s dad had one in the late 90’s when we started dating. He used to own a load of different cars because he used to trade them but I will say from all the the cars he had this Astra and the Saab 93 turbo were the fastest cars I had been in and really enjoyed being a passenger
I use to work on all of these cars as a vauxhall car technician in the 80s all the chevettes vx490 Bedford cf mantas monza cavaliers carltons astras. They 16v astra was shocking fast 😳 I only just passed my driving test and road testing them.
I owned the same gte 16v twice it was so good!
Rare aubergine mica colour with throttle bodies, the sound on its own would make me buy it again, if it wasn't rotted away years ago, like most are now
I remember well when my parents had gone out to buy a sofa.... and my mum returned in one of these! We kept the sofa we had for another few years!
Lovely car - right until someone pulled out of a T-junction on my mum. Totalled the car, and ended my mum's career.
The only other 90's car I had that came close was a R5 Gt Turbo - which was also a lot of fun!
Not everyone will agree but I think 80s Vauxhalls were great looking cars. I always liked the frontal styling in particular and the way that look continued throughout the range. Owned so many over the years!
Best car vauxhall ever made & best engine vauxhall ever made.
Fast, lightweight, reliable, easy to work on, easy to fix & no concentric slave cylinder to worry about.
Yes the steering is vague, but all vauxhalls have been like that from the mk1 to the mk4.
My rare 1999 red 3 door astra 2.0 16v sri mk4 has the same engine and has done 140,000 miles now and uses very little oil, half a litre every 6,000 miles and still is in perfect condition.
I had a mk2 1990 bordeaux red 3 door 1.8 sri 8v back in the mid 90's which was great and did 192,000 miles with it and when i sold it the engine was perfect on that also.
It was still on the original gearbox & clutch too when i sold it and both were still in perfect order.
What a car that was i wish i did not sell it.
Could not afford a mk2 2.0 16v back in the day and got the 1.8 sri 8v instead,but the 1.8 was still the best car i ever owned.
G304 EAJ.
I love the styling mk 2 Astra was very modern for the mid 80s when they we're introduced and the late 80s when the 16v introduced it easily one of the fastest
I had one in the 90's, scary quick car. We went from Belgium to Italy full chat trough France and Switzerland in the days. I had mine upgraded with Bilstein inverted struts, some bracing on the front axle and an Irmscher exhaust. Beast of a car.... topped 246 km/u on the autobahn.....
`The vague steering you talk about is because of the inferior axle design, there were several goo braces available and you had to take preferably one without power steering.
Had one and a mk2 golf gti 16v. The Astra was much the better car, loved it
JONNY VT So did I. The GTE was supreme on motorways, didn’t go wrong, ever, and was comfortable. Golf kept breaking, dealers were shite but was possibly better on the road in the video.
I had a mk 1 gte and then the 16v back in the 80s. I loved both of them. The mk 1 actually had the better handling, in my opinion, but the 16v engine was great. They were both totally reliable and i had them over a period of about 5 years.
Nice to see one again. Rare car now. Rust, i would think.
Back in the day for me it was the one everyone wanted, I had the SR,which looked the part but the GTE was the one, I love it
I had a G plate in metallic burgundy, lovely car, fastest I ever owned, only downside was steering in the wet, a few years later I bought a Rover 220Gti in Brg, loved that car.
Review a Suzuki Ignis Sport! Proper hidden gem and was the first car that taught me to respect the tail end, genuinely gripped and entered bends like a RWD! 900kg and 115bhp, took it to 60 in 7.5 sec, much quicker than the brochure of 8.9 used to promote sales on the then new Swift Sport. Magnesium Enkei wheels, recaro buckets and a lovely gearbox, get on it James!
Trust me I was heavily into tech, worked as a coder in that era, bought the lastest Psion organisers, PCs, games consoles. In 1990 that dash felt state of the art! The rest of the interior did not matter - it had that dash. Seats are ok, look like out of a 90s bus though haha.
Dash was out of the Corvette Zr1 of the same era. Also fitted to the Opel Monza GSE.
@@dj_paultuk7052 nice!
Fantastic content with all these classic hatchbacks that I hankered for in the 90s, but I went safe and got myself a Mk2 Golf GTI 16v.
I worked on those at the Jim Russell School.
The engine was part designed by Cosworth. Good bhp low down, but the brakes were the weak part of the package ( we use to use BMW M3 pads with a little mods to the backing plate ). Vauxhall / Opal seamed to be asleep when it can to race parts. No LSD, so when a mate raced one in the Group N championship he had the diff welded up which worked at Silverstone, on class pole, and up with a couple of E30 BMW M3s.
These cars are stamped firmly into British people’s brains. Along with cav turbos, calibra turbos, rover tomcats, pulsars. And the most famous the Sierra COSWORTH. Everyone used the Cosworth as a yardstick to everything and rightly so. Great channel 👊🏻
I don't know if anybody has made reference to the engine being designed by Cosworth in a previous post. It came on the back of the 2.4L engine designed by Cosworth for the Opel Ascona/Manta 400's from the early 80's. Cosworth even mass produced the early production units - hell of an engine.
The B reg 16V GTE's were particularly quick. All you would see around Luton back in the day was these bad boys. They were everywhere due to the staff discounts available. Proved very popular with the very prolific TWOC gangs that operated around the town at the time. SRi Astra's were also in abundance. Crazy days.
January 1993 bought a 1990 16v GTE, G400 VCU in glacier white, fantastic motor car 🚗, in its day a very very fast lively car, I loved mine as a 22 year old. Better than the Ford or VW equivalent. Happy days
Always wanted one of these
I desperately wanted one of these back in the 80s. At the time it was like being in Knight Riders car.
Takes me back to my boy racer days in the mid 90s 😊
A Fabulous Performing Car Total Tops 110℅.
160 bhp in those days was a lot.
Lightweight body aswell.
Epic car in the E 90s
My sister’s first car was a Pontiac lemans, looks to have been built on the same chassis except without any of the good bits. Very cool to see this video, haven’t seen one of these cars in over a decade!
I still drive one and it still kicks ass. Here in South Africa we had a version with schrick cams. Cosworth head. Upgraded ECU limited slip differential. We called it a Superboss and it is a beast. It still keeps up with some of the new turbo cars
I had the 8v gte and one day I had my brother in and a shed load of builders tools in the boot.
I was at some traffic lights in Leigh and a Renault 16v ( polished to within an inch of its life) beside me .
Well the lights changed to green and the middle aged guy driving the Renault floored it !
Well I wasn't expecting that , my brother egged me on and so the race was on. The LCD blocks rose and slowly I reeled the chamade back in and overtook it - whilst the driver looked at me - he was gutted.
I had this car back in the 90ies, to be correct an Opel GSI 16V in Germany, and it was the Bomb, that engine!!
GSI Owners used to say "Everything up to 200hp....no problem at all"....and it was true.
What a car I'm an ex red top owner my brother is also an ex GTE owner in the late 80s and 90s this was the best hot hatch around , admittedly I've not owned a 1.9 205 , 5 GT Turbo mk 2 16v GTi Golfs , friends of mine who did said my car was the better car, followed it up with a J reg Cavalier Gsi 2000. I thought I was the bollox buying a 2 years 16v Gte at 21 . Off all the cars I've owned both the GTE and GSi are both cars when I sold them genuinely upset me.
Had one of these H244 UGT and a 16V Golf G556 UJD the Astra had a half leather interior and a questionable mauve exterior. You definitely want that GTE engine with the build quality and interior of the Golf.Liked the wacky digital dash as well.Swapped the GTE after 120,000 or so as the interior was getting rattly for a E30 325i, the Golf appears to be still on the road.....
You're buddy Darren is right, very underrated car, that engine 😍😍
This Mk 2 Astra GTE 2.0i 16V is what the EP3 Civic Type R to Honda.. It's a total classic and always will be.
I love your videos Jay as you’re totally unbiased and just speak as you find. So refreshing. I love these cars - my abiding memory is hitting 112 mph at Keevil airfield in my cousins early mk2 8 valve back in 1990. This video and the Alfasud one (I owned one of those) have been two of my favourite car features on any you tube channel in recent years.
I had this engine in a Corsa GSI the engine came from a Calibra , it was a really fun car. Always loved the Astra GTE particularly the Mk1. Cracking video as always 👌