I own an immaculate 95 Astra, never had a problem with it, starts and runs perfectly, its still worth more than I paid for it and increasing..no range anxiety, just fill her up and drive..perfect...❤
I’ve had a Mokka e for 2 months now and have to say it’s a brilliant car. I’m happy with the range and the drive is perfect for me. I’m averaging 4.0 miles per kWh so to me that’s pretty good. Pheasants are just stupid!
Nice, car but why the huge wheels and Ultra low tyres on a low powered family hatch. Smaller wheels and more sensible profile tyres should improve range and ride quality, lower road noise and reduce punctures and wheel damage.
Vauxhall have upped the game in the aesthetic department, it’s a good looking car, (I think the tourer is actually slightly better). The Cobalt blue / black combo looks great, I agree. Refreshing to get some real world range figures out of the manufacturers, which can only give confidence to the customer base. Looks to be a good honest option at a more realistic price.
Very nice EV Hatch. I am an ECO driver in my Volvo Crossover C40 here in Australia, we have distances to travel here. I am a impressed with the Astra.Glad you mentioned the Motor has appeal and I agree it would suit well as a small family car.
Nice to see an "average car" reviewed, where I live, Sedbergh Kendal area, traffic rarely seems to get above 40mph, so quick cars are a little pointless. I have an Astra 1.4 sri, ok at most things without being great.
Exactly the same here in central Scotland. I hardly ever use the available power of my Fiat 500e which is classified as slow, despite having a real-life 0-60 that matches a Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9.
@@johnnyalanbailey The Fiat 500e official 0-62 time is 9 seconds, but most TH-cam channels record 8 seconds dead which is a shade quicker than the Peugeot. (knock about half a second off this for 0-60, as you will know)
It wouldn't be my first choice, but at least they've had the courage to make a modern EV estate version of the Astra. It's definitely refreshing change from all the SUVs coming to market.
I think the current Vauxhall styling is the best it has been in at least 20 years. I like it - it's distinctive and differentiation is going to be a big issue for all manufacturers going forwards when there's no engine involved, just software and styling.
That's nice, I've got an Ampera, which is off the road at the moment due to a dodgy steering lock module, which they are struggling to get, and it drives very similar.
Interesting video. The point has been made before, quite rightly I think, that only professional car testers will ever notice or care that the fittings are the same across group brands.
When I worked for Vauxhall Fleet, the Astra was always my favourite to drive - it had the best range of adjustments to seat and steering wheel of any car in their range; and handled better than anything but the 2.5L S2 Vectra V6 manual - a pretty rare car. The biggest issue with Vauxhall has always been build quality and finish; the number of cars I rejected, coming out of PDI; and the wear/failures on some long term demonstrators I was tasked with collecting........ Windows falling out, brake pedal switch failures in the first 10 miles (common on the Vectra), drive shaft failures, aircon failures; perhaps the newer cars are better made that they were 15-20 years ago, but my experiences put me off ever buying a Vauxhall NEW.
Oh Pete, Oh Pete ...... !! Not sure if I should cry or clap. Good effort and a cunning plan to keep the car off the road for a few weeks. As a big and loyal fan and supporter of the channel, I must admit, it was like watching Joe Marler trying to sidestep the entire French pack and getting ...... !!!! Onwards and Upwards PP
I have never lost so many tyres as in the past 18 months (I live in Cambridgeshire). The lack of road maintenance is appalling; a recent road trip to the Lake District found some sections of the M6 pretty poor, but not tyre shredding; Lake District roads were way better than our home roads.
Cambridgeshire here too - I thought our roads were bad but a recent trip down to Wallingford I was shocked how bad they were around there - moon craters would not be pushing the description to the extreme...
Can anyone remember when new cars always came with a spare wheel/tyre? This would be really handy with our pothole ridden roads - unless you are unlucky enough to destroy two tyres at once. I don't imagine your "mobility kit" (a bottle of glue and an electric pump) will be much use on the kind of damage potholes cause.
Lease deals for Astra Ultimate EV currently start at around £150 per month. This currently makes it the most affordable Astra model available for lease. Clearly Vauxhall are gunning for a lead position in the EV market.
Love this ped I’ve got a 71 plate corsa e think re gen just right when you get used to it and love the Astra e and the bigger battery definitely on my radar for one if my budget will streatch that far if not be another corsa e as love it great video yet again ped loving it
I had a Vauxhall Vectra mark 1 that did over 500k miles on the original clutch engine and gearbox still driving nice it only needed a set of injector seals and that was it no rattle from the timing chains absolutely blinding cars😊😊❤ wish I never sold it ❤
I left Vauxhall after some 27 years to go to Kia. Main reasons, Peague took over and discontinued the Astra GTC Limited edition. I'm glad I Left for the reason you point out Pete, saminess of the Stellantis group and their group models.
I've just returned my Peugeot e2008, which I loved - until the ABS loom broke one month before the end of the lease. Stellantis were an absolute nightmare and it was finally fixed just before I ran out of lease having been in the dealership for a month. This experience totally ruined the good feelings that I had about the car. I'd never, ever get a car from a Stellantis group company again. Now in a Kia Niro EV and loving it.
Good review Pete, the Uk is looking more like the surface of the moon each and every day with these craters! We've had our Mokka-e a year now and its been faultless and perfect for the round town driving it does, good to see the new power trains Stellantis use do give the claimed range. The one downside is the depreciation, we got ours on a 22 plate / year old for £17k off list and I'd hazard a guess we've lost another £5-7k in depreciation but then looking at ICE prices, they're not that far behind presently!
Glad I emigrated to Australia 🇦🇺 20 years ago from east Sussex sounds like all the roads are rooted 😮 Holden has pulled out of Australia can’t get the Astra anymore shame it’s a nice looking car but I do miss the white GTE 16v I owned when I was younger with it’s digital dash 😂👍👍
I live in Seaford off the Afriston Road. Now, if you look at google maps street view for the bottom of my road, which was done in May last year, there are no potholes. In the last few months, two large potholes have emerged at the bottom of the road. Now works have been done supposedly to the trees in the area, which closed the Alfriston Road off in sections. But there seems to be no work being done by East Sussex Highways on the Alfriston Road. You even have councillors in Crawley, complaining about two very large potholes in their road and again I don't think much is being done by West Sussex Highways to fix those. Even though the situation has made it to the local press.
I think you’re being a bit unfair on Vauxhall for using the same switchgear as other Stellantis cars. VW group have been doing it for years in Audis, Skodas and Seats and no one has complained. Unfortunately , commonality of components is a fact of life for modern manufacturers, to help with cost of manufacture. Other than that Pete, really good vlog. 👍👍
I wouldn't go by what the guessometer tells you at full charge as some makes suddenly drop the range when you get nearer to empty. I know Stellantis have improved efficiency since their appalling early efforts but I'd still be careful and check the range prediction regularly.
Hey Ped. It does look a good car, but like you say, the mass production of these are all mostly the same. If there is no brand badge you wouldn't know what you were driving. It's a real shame you've lost time with it due to our horrendous roads that have just been neglected. Gone are the days of a quick wheel/tyre change. We had a Citroen C5X hire car last week in Poland and I love it. French cars always get a bad wrap from years ago, but the C5X really impressed me. Big, safe car with a massive boot, solid build quality and overall amazing car. ICE for me is the only way at the moment until we are forced away from them.
Great video as always but at over £43k that’s more than a new Tesla RWD Model 3. I don’t think they’re sell many at £43k. Probably £33k is nearer where it should be for this car. Also whilst you said the car was showing a range of circa 250 miles, it’s a shame you weren’t able to test that due to the punctures. Looking forward to seeing what the next long termer is. New Range Rover!??🙂
A quick scan of the website showing PCP deals @4.50% which is probably the way I will go if/when I pull the trigger on an EV. I also see the Frontera is making a comeback…
I'll take the second hand ford KA and buy a decent ICE for fun in the weekends lol 43k for an Astra wtf!!! You could get sooooo much used ICE car for that money wowsers!!! 43k on HP for your average Joe, by the time you pay for it the batteries will be cooked and the car worthless!!
I m glad that Opel (Vauxhall) went for the new (retro) design, esp at the front, in terms of proportions - at the wheel arches- it doesn t seem quite right but it s a massive improvement, one that puts them back on the map for me at least. I happened to get a few Opels as rental cars over the past years and the one thing that actually really strikes me no matter what model I got: every time I think, "oh I really like those seats" and I love that they didn t go all out on the touchscreen mania. Meanwhile, when I get asked if I wanted a Golf 8 vs "whatever other car model", you can be sure I pick the other one except if it s a Tesla...that s the one that s even more horrific in terms of usability...let alone its atrocious build quality/ materials.
Great video Pete. The problem I see at the moment with buying electric cars is the infrastructure to charge the vehicles. It is not always possible to construct charging facilities at home, so you are then needing to be charging your car elsewhere for it to be fully charged. This is the situation a neigbour found a few years ago when leasing a Tesla. The tesla was suppose to be leased for 18 months to 2 years, but the leasing contract got ended after 6 months as my neighbour had no space for charging equipment to be placed at home and was having to charge the car as best as possible while travelling. This meant that my neighbour was having to travel for more hours that he would need to with either a petrol, diesel or hybrid car. The fact that you have been having issues with punctured Tyres, does make me think that car manufacturers as roads get worse in the UK really need to go back to having the spare wheel in the car, under the boot. Rather than just providing puncture repair kits.
But you have to go elsewhere to fill a petrol car, as you can't fill it at home...... Charging infrastructure is still in it's relatively early stages. Around 16'000 new public charging connections were installed during 2023, with an even higher number due to go in during 2024. To be fair, the petrol station network probably wasn't brilliant just 10 to 12 years after the motor car first appeared. Everything new has to start somewhere..... I don't know where your neighbour travelled to while he had the Tesla, but if he used the UK motorway network, he'd have found around 40 rapid chargers on Hilton Park services on the M6, as an example.... And even Tebay M6 services not too far from me, now has 9 rapid chargers.....
Unless you and your neighbour are in the sticks, charging infrastructure is a lot better than it used to be, both availability and speeds. I don't have the ability to install a home charger but I'm 2 years and 22k miles into EV ownership and have had only one time where I've had the overhyped combination of range anxiety caused by not being able to find an operational charger. Agree with you on the subject of a spare wheel though, tyre foam from experience is not the best solution.
So more the owner's fault than the car. Infrastructure has expanded greatly in the last 24 months; every public car park in my small, country, town, now has multiple 7-22KW chargers, as does the local Aldi; and although we only have 1 ancient Rapid charger, 4 new ones are supposed to be on their way. I take my 100 mile range, 7 old EV from the Midlands, to North Wales, Manchester and London with little or no worries about charging infrastructure. All the main routes have so many charger locations, I am spoilt for choice, and even places like the middle of the Cotswolds now have multiple locations. Sunday, I have a 300+ mile round trip to Gatwick airport this weekend; taking the scenic route as; unaccountably, there are no suitable chargers for my old Kia, along the M25; the last being at Reading Services - unless someone wants to gift me a CCS2 to CHAdeMo adapter. But by heading towards Southampton, I have a choice from dozens....
Roads are in a terrible state around the UK because local authorities are not spending to repair them its that simple. The reason this car had such bad issues with the tyres and pot holes is not just because the wheels are so big it's also because the car weighs 1.8 ton!!! Lol
Doesn't seem to have been picked up on, but Vauxhall/Opel have quietly "70's retro'd" the latest models... go and have a look at the bonnet/front view of things like the Victor FD and the Opel Commodore C and you'll see what I mean...
Interesting in the cost to charge v a petrol or diesel equivalent vehicle to cover the same distance. I understand the cost to charge is now the same as filling up with the same fuel volume for an ICE vehicle?
Nice one. Totally agree with your comment regarding the instant performance of EV's rather than range comfort and general average driving. Encouraging range security for the longer travelling is of higher priority. Thank you sir.
Hi Pete, great video as always! Just one thing, could you for the EV reviews give your average mi/kwh. Then, that allows us to extrapolate with the usable battery capacity to get a true range figure. The old guess-o-meters aren't exactly trustworthy...
In my 30yrs of driving Punctures seem to happen close together so I got 3 in my 2nd year then nothing 6-7years 2-3 so on. My worst one was a work car on way to a task and both near side wheels went busy road just where 2 lanes became one after lights, luckly lights changed so was able to pull into side road crossing traffic on way both tyres right offs boss not happy.
Our experience of a Vauxhall is not good. We bought an Ampera in 2015. Rock solid car. Range at best 45 to 50 miles in the summer. Great colour and interior. Electrics and tyre’s appalling. It kept advising us the steering column was missing… When we picked the car up me mentioned to the dealer at 0 miles the tyres were cracked. After three years and loads of excuses later. We had enough and part exchanged for an M4. Ahh much better.
I"m wondering if motorists need to simply suck up pothole damage as 'bad luck', as opposed to, say, suing the responsible authorities for negligence. A few expensive law suits might help concentrate their efforts to getting stuff actually fit for purpose.
That is a good point and I've done it once, but far harder than you imagine. They aren't liable for craters in the road, you have to prove that the hole you hit had been reported to them and then they failed to make it safe within the timescales they set themselves! Of course, unless you reported it yourself, how do you prove they knew? If you reported it, you knew about it and don't hit it...so it gets into FOI requests for submitted road reports, council inspections, etc.
That thing about the centre console controls being the same in a Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen is only a "problem" for you because you sit in a lot of cars. We have the Citroen e-C4 and yes those controls in the Astra are very familiar but I don't care because it's the only car we have. Also, Renault isn't part of a massive multiple-brand group like Stellantis so isn't a fair comparison.
That's a fair point if you go to multiple Stellantis brands. We chose the e-C4 having also seen the e-2008 and Kona. I couldn't have told you the visual similarities between the e-2008 and e-C4 because they are quite different overall. Personally speaking, I understood the platform (battery, motors) were basically identical but I wonder how many other buyers would@@PetrolPed
I think these Astras look fabulous. Shame they aren't giving the Insignia this treatment and have binned the car in the range as it sits. We have the 2014 VXLine 2.0d like the one you reviewed, had for nearly 10 years now, as well as the 2018 VXLine 2.0d which is simply brilliant. VX really do have great cars.... not sure what to get in place of the Grandsport now.... maybe the Genesis G70.....
It’s a nice-looking car, Pete, far nicer than previous models. Hatchbacks are great cars, even though most people choose SUVs these days. Agree that it is a shame too many parts are shared within the group. However, as I’ve mentioned before, it seems hybrids make the most sense when you cannot charge at home. Love your videos, but you know that. 😊 Cheers, Tom
I expect the tpms is not individual wheel sensors but the far cheaper method of rotational speed changes sensed by the wheel speed sensors it's very simple and effective but only when driving at speed so can't tell immediately from a stand still.
How thin are those tyres ! Would be interesting to do a comparison brake test with a conventional petrol Astra. I think you will know the result already.
Automotive greyness at its best. I bet your Defender would have got through the potholes! I think Karma was just trying to keep you out of such an average car - clearly by hard you were trying to say good things about about it - never heard you say “nice” so much 😀. It’s a very good colour combo, but shows the cheap cost cutting build when I see exterior colour around the interior door frames - really in this day and age! Send it back and tell Hendy to give you something decent!
One of my favourite cars ever was the three door Astra that I had when my other half wrote off my Renault Estate about fifteen years ago but sadly it had to go back as it was a rental replacement car and for some reason I never got another but did have a Corsa VXR for a while until it started blowing radiators and turbo's weekly. I recently had a slow puncture that after investigation was found to be a buckle on the inside rim of the alloy on the Jag a bill in excess of £100 to rectify that particular issue. I think your new long termer might be an Alfa.
A very good review and a good looking car. I've only seen about three of the most most recent Astra incarnation on the roads though. Why aren't they not selling like the previous model?
Did you notice road noise - seemed a little noisy on the drive. In general quite a nice little car - and you are right most people don't want Taycan like performance or costs (although second hand ones are getting surprisingly cheap). How does this compare with things like the e208 and the new Renault 5?
Do manufacturers design their every single model having 'sportiness' in mind? Do consumers make their choice of a car with 'sportiness' being the only feature worth going for?
For info:- You can easily report potholes online to the Road Authority. There is a simple process to give position and details, etc. So far three of the reports I have filed have been repaired. AS for the car, its the size that most people drive in real life, and has the range to do it. It would have been nice to see the rear seat access, I bet it is far easier than the silly electric seats in the defender that you had.
Driven numerous Vauxhalls over the past 30yrs, all been fairly reliable and affordable but was honestly shocked when I looked to see the list price, £43k for an Astra! I know car prices have gone up but it’s an Astra, aren’t they meant to be reasonably priced cars? Update, the petrol 1.2 auto is £34.5k which I guess is better but still a lot. Also, for the money there seemed to be a lot of average looking black plastic on the interior, maybe it’s the camera not doing it justice? I can honestly say with a typical budget of £30k when I buy a car (I don’t like the idea of a lease), I will stick with buying an 18month old petrol car with an list of less than £40k to avoid the higher road tax, I realise a time will come when that may not be an option 😞
A 3 year old model will sell for less than £20K with about 20K miles, much more affordable for the masses. I bought a 3 year old corsa e a year ago with 16K miles for less than £15K and it is a brilliant small car which is roomy and has decent boot space. 200 miles range and is great to drive.
Feel your pain Pete. Did both nearside tyres and wheels in the Mini. Ended up with two new wheels and four new tyres (two fronts were knackered anyway). Fitted 2 weeks ago and yup, did OSF tyre last week with a mark on my new alloy… Far less stressful just driving the Defender instead!
Love West Wittering Beach with our dogs. Not sure about this car, colour wise I agree with you Pete. Growing up it boiled down to either being a Ford or Vauxhall fan .... I wasn't in the Vauxhall camp. It seems tyres for EV's aren't easy to come by.
I note that other motoring journalists with the Astra are also suffering punctures. Nice car and the 0-60 seems to be relevant to journalists only and the Tesla driver at the traffic lights😂
I’ve got an e2008 and never use the s mode, may be that’s because I’m coming up to 72! Never found it lacking in power. Do find the Astra a bit of a low runner though and prefer a small SUV again that’s and age thing!
I understand Stellantis using parts across brands.... However, they always overcharge on their RRP. Meaning that they are really not competitive unless they discount them. I have a Citroën E-C4 and as a daily drive, it is really good. Fortunately, with the Citroën.... it can easily handle pot-holes...
Astra- Vauxhall are just dull! Style and passion are missing, it’s perfect for an individual that wears beige corduroy jeans and a jumper with elbow patches that talks in a nasal tone about trains,but you held it together very well in fairness because it’s hard to be passionate about something that is just a little lacking in personality, love your channel keep it coming and hopefully you’ll be reviewing something special soon 👌
The Road outside my house has been closed for 4 weeks due to main sewer repairs and it’s not due to reopen for another 2 weeks. I’ve lost access to my drive and quite honestly don’t know what I would do if I had an EV, however ‘nice’ it was.
The problem Vauxhall are going to have with this EV version of the Astra, is the competition at lower initial cost. There's the MG4, the new Renault R5, and others on the way at around £25 to £30k. The list price in the killer with this car, although I'm aware that discounts will be there for the taking.....
I think you’ve held yourself back quite a bit in this episode.Your flattest review I’ve ever listened too.I personally think think Joe Public would enjoy the car,you maybe don’t appreciate it as you get to drive such fantastic machinery.
But quite inconvenient that a replacement tyre cannot be sourced for approximately a week. 😳 That is not ideal considering we usually buy a car for daily duties. How many people can do without their car for over a week when they have a daily job to go to or take the kids 1/2 a mile down the road to school for example? 😂 Not a good situation to be in.
Totally agree,iam disappointed in Ped he should know better than to trust the guess o meter ,just tell us what mi/KwH you were getting over your usage then you can work out the real range.
Sounds like you've had your quota of punctures for this year and next.. Hopefully... I'm not a vauxhall fan but you've given a very balanced view of this car. It does look like an attractive proposition. Are Ford going to do the same with the Focus?
Specific spec tyres that are not on the shelf. Is this another EV issue? Given it’s a really popular mainstream car and brand. That’s not acceptable. Ive had 2 Astra’s. When it needed new tyres. I had the choice of many brands and a drive in and fit availability at several local tyre depots.
I drove one of the 1st of these Astra's in the UK dealers when I worked at a dealer in Bolton, you should ask them to lend you the new "GS" Hybrid one with 200+ BHP (225 I think) I think that will be a better "drivers" car, or as near to one as Vauxhall will create these days...
I wonder if the extra weight of EVs make the situation worse with regards to punctures. I totally agree about the common platform situation it’s almost got to the stage you just change the badge as a lot of the stellantis group cars look exterior and interior wise exactly the same. There are exceptions like Alfa Romeo, Ram etc. Nice looking car and colour
I own an immaculate 95 Astra, never had a problem with it, starts and runs perfectly, its still worth more than I paid for it and increasing..no range anxiety, just fill her up and drive..perfect...❤
🤮
I’ve had a Mokka e for 2 months now and have to say it’s a brilliant car. I’m happy with the range and the drive is perfect for me. I’m averaging 4.0 miles per kWh so to me that’s pretty good. Pheasants are just stupid!
Nice, car but why the huge wheels and Ultra low tyres on a low powered family hatch. Smaller wheels and more sensible profile tyres should improve range and ride quality, lower road noise and reduce punctures and wheel damage.
Because it looks good 🤔😜
60 profile on my car and shit roads in Essex low profile waste of time and money
Vauxhall have upped the game in the aesthetic department, it’s a good looking car, (I think the tourer is actually slightly better).
The Cobalt blue / black combo looks great, I agree.
Refreshing to get some real world range figures out of the manufacturers, which can only give confidence to the customer base.
Looks to be a good honest option at a more realistic price.
Very nice EV Hatch. I am an ECO driver in my Volvo Crossover C40 here in Australia, we have distances to travel here. I am a impressed with the Astra.Glad you mentioned the Motor has appeal and I agree it would suit well as a small family car.
Nice to see an "average car" reviewed, where I live, Sedbergh Kendal area, traffic rarely seems to get above 40mph, so quick cars are a little pointless. I have an Astra 1.4 sri, ok at most things without being great.
Exactly the same here in central Scotland. I hardly ever use the available power of my Fiat 500e which is classified as slow, despite having a real-life 0-60 that matches a Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9.
Cool, thanks!
@@briangriffiths114 7.9 vs 8.5? Not quite the same
@@johnnyalanbailey The Fiat 500e official 0-62 time is 9 seconds, but most TH-cam channels record 8 seconds dead which is a shade quicker than the Peugeot. (knock about half a second off this for 0-60, as you will know)
@@briangriffiths114do the same for the purgeot and then it cancels each other out sadly
Been looking forward to this review and it didn't disappoint.
Thanks 🙏🏻
It wouldn't be my first choice, but at least they've had the courage to make a modern EV estate version of the Astra. It's definitely refreshing change from all the SUVs coming to market.
Great video as always Pete. Hopefully, your bad luck with the punctures is behind you. Take care
Fingers crossed!
Like the level boot as well.
I had a mk2 Astra GTE, which was great. You have my sympathy with that one
I think the current Vauxhall styling is the best it has been in at least 20 years. I like it - it's distinctive and differentiation is going to be a big issue for all manufacturers going forwards when there's no engine involved, just software and styling.
I agree 👍
That's nice, I've got an Ampera, which is off the road at the moment due to a dodgy steering lock module, which they are struggling to get, and it drives very similar.
Sorry to hear that
Interesting video. The point has been made before, quite rightly I think, that only professional car testers will ever notice or care that the fittings are the same across group brands.
Maybe 🤔
When I worked for Vauxhall Fleet, the Astra was always my favourite to drive - it had the best range of adjustments to seat and steering wheel of any car in their range; and handled better than anything but the 2.5L S2 Vectra V6 manual - a pretty rare car.
The biggest issue with Vauxhall has always been build quality and finish; the number of cars I rejected, coming out of PDI; and the wear/failures on some long term demonstrators I was tasked with collecting........
Windows falling out, brake pedal switch failures in the first 10 miles (common on the Vectra), drive shaft failures, aircon failures; perhaps the newer cars are better made that they were 15-20 years ago, but my experiences put me off ever buying a Vauxhall NEW.
Oh Pete, Oh Pete ...... !! Not sure if I should cry or clap. Good effort and a cunning plan to keep the car off the road for a few weeks. As a big and loyal fan and supporter of the channel, I must admit, it was like watching Joe Marler trying to sidestep the entire French pack and getting ...... !!!! Onwards and Upwards PP
Tune in on Friday 😜👍
I have never lost so many tyres as in the past 18 months (I live in Cambridgeshire). The lack of road maintenance is appalling; a recent road trip to the Lake District found some sections of the M6 pretty poor, but not tyre shredding; Lake District roads were way better than our home roads.
Cambridgeshire here too - I thought our roads were bad but a recent trip down to Wallingford I was shocked how bad they were around there - moon craters would not be pushing the description to the extreme...
Can anyone remember when new cars always came with a spare wheel/tyre? This would be really handy with our pothole ridden roads - unless you are unlucky enough to destroy two tyres at once. I don't imagine your "mobility kit" (a bottle of glue and an electric pump) will be much use on the kind of damage potholes cause.
I agree 👍
Lease deals for Astra Ultimate EV currently start at around £150 per month. This currently makes it the most affordable Astra model available for lease. Clearly Vauxhall are gunning for a lead position in the EV market.
Love this ped I’ve got a 71 plate corsa e think re gen just right when you get used to it and love the Astra e and the bigger battery definitely on my radar for one if my budget will streatch that far if not be another corsa e as love it great video yet again ped loving it
Good to hear!
I like the latest crop of Vauxhalls and Peugeo
ts, nice stonewalliimg too BTW!
Just a thought: does the extra weight of the Li-on battery in an EV mean the car hits potholes that much harder, causing a proclivity for punctures?
I had a Vauxhall Vectra mark 1 that did over 500k miles on the original clutch engine and gearbox still driving nice it only needed a set of injector seals and that was it no rattle from the timing chains absolutely blinding cars😊😊❤ wish I never sold it ❤
Very nice!
I left Vauxhall after some 27 years to go to Kia. Main reasons, Peague took over and discontinued the Astra GTC Limited edition. I'm glad I Left for the reason you point out Pete, saminess of the Stellantis group and their group models.
It’s a ‘car to take you from A to B’ I think that’s all i can say about it.
I've just returned my Peugeot e2008, which I loved - until the ABS loom broke one month before the end of the lease. Stellantis were an absolute nightmare and it was finally fixed just before I ran out of lease having been in the dealership for a month. This experience totally ruined the good feelings that I had about the car. I'd never, ever get a car from a Stellantis group company again. Now in a Kia Niro EV and loving it.
Sorry to hear that 😢
Good review Pete, the Uk is looking more like the surface of the moon each and every day with these craters!
We've had our Mokka-e a year now and its been faultless and perfect for the round town driving it does, good to see the new power trains Stellantis use do give the claimed range. The one downside is the depreciation, we got ours on a 22 plate / year old for £17k off list and I'd hazard a guess we've lost another £5-7k in depreciation but then looking at ICE prices, they're not that far behind presently!
Glad I emigrated to Australia 🇦🇺 20 years ago from east Sussex sounds like all the roads are rooted 😮 Holden has pulled out of Australia can’t get the Astra anymore shame it’s a nice looking car but I do miss the white GTE 16v I owned when I was younger with it’s digital dash 😂👍👍
I live in Seaford off the Afriston Road. Now, if you look at google maps street view for the bottom of my road, which was done in May last year, there are no potholes. In the last few months, two large potholes have emerged at the bottom of the road. Now works have been done supposedly to the trees in the area, which closed the Alfriston Road off in sections. But there seems to be no work being done by East Sussex Highways on the Alfriston Road. You even have councillors in Crawley, complaining about two very large potholes in their road and again I don't think much is being done by West Sussex Highways to fix those. Even though the situation has made it to the local press.
I think you’re being a bit unfair on Vauxhall for using the same switchgear as other Stellantis cars. VW group have been doing it for years in Audis, Skodas and Seats and no one has complained. Unfortunately , commonality of components is a fact of life for modern manufacturers, to help with cost of manufacture. Other than that Pete, really good vlog. 👍👍
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Good work - it would be good to see the range put on test.....
I wouldn't go by what the guessometer tells you at full charge as some makes suddenly drop the range when you get nearer to empty.
I know Stellantis have improved efficiency since their appalling early efforts but I'd still be careful and check the range prediction regularly.
Hey Ped. It does look a good car, but like you say, the mass production of these are all mostly the same. If there is no brand badge you wouldn't know what you were driving. It's a real shame you've lost time with it due to our horrendous roads that have just been neglected. Gone are the days of a quick wheel/tyre change. We had a Citroen C5X hire car last week in Poland and I love it. French cars always get a bad wrap from years ago, but the C5X really impressed me. Big, safe car with a massive boot, solid build quality and overall amazing car. ICE for me is the only way at the moment until we are forced away from them.
Great video as always but at over £43k that’s more than a new Tesla RWD Model 3. I don’t think they’re sell many at £43k. Probably £33k is nearer where it should be for this car. Also whilst you said the car was showing a range of circa 250 miles, it’s a shame you weren’t able to test that due to the punctures. Looking forward to seeing what the next long termer is. New Range Rover!??🙂
They are going for about that on auto trader, just filter for astra electric and there's 20 test drive models up for grabs at 35k or so
A quick scan of the website showing PCP deals @4.50% which is probably the way I will go if/when I pull the trigger on an EV. I also see the Frontera is making a comeback…
I'll take the second hand ford KA and buy a decent ICE for fun in the weekends lol 43k for an Astra wtf!!! You could get sooooo much used ICE car for that money wowsers!!! 43k on HP for your average Joe, by the time you pay for it the batteries will be cooked and the car worthless!!
I m glad that Opel (Vauxhall) went for the new (retro) design, esp at the front, in terms of proportions - at the wheel arches- it doesn t seem quite right but it s a massive improvement, one that puts them back on the map for me at least. I happened to get a few Opels as rental cars over the past years and the one thing that actually really strikes me no matter what model I got: every time I think, "oh I really like those seats" and I love that they didn t go all out on the touchscreen mania. Meanwhile, when I get asked if I wanted a Golf 8 vs "whatever other car model", you can be sure I pick the other one except if it s a Tesla...that s the one that s even more horrific in terms of usability...let alone its atrocious build quality/ materials.
We have potholes in Johannesburg South Africa 🇿🇦 that are the size of craters 😢 sympathy to your tyre travails Ped
Great video Pete. The problem I see at the moment with buying electric cars is the infrastructure to charge the vehicles. It is not always possible to construct charging facilities at home, so you are then needing to be charging your car elsewhere for it to be fully charged. This is the situation a neigbour found a few years ago when leasing a Tesla. The tesla was suppose to be leased for 18 months to 2 years, but the leasing contract got ended after 6 months as my neighbour had no space for charging equipment to be placed at home and was having to charge the car as best as possible while travelling. This meant that my neighbour was having to travel for more hours that he would need to with either a petrol, diesel or hybrid car.
The fact that you have been having issues with punctured Tyres, does make me think that car manufacturers as roads get worse in the UK really need to go back to having the spare wheel in the car, under the boot. Rather than just providing puncture repair kits.
But you have to go elsewhere to fill a petrol car, as you can't fill it at home...... Charging infrastructure is still in it's relatively early stages. Around 16'000 new public charging connections were installed during 2023, with an even higher number due to go in during 2024. To be fair, the petrol station network probably wasn't brilliant just 10 to 12 years after the motor car first appeared. Everything new has to start somewhere..... I don't know where your neighbour travelled to while he had the Tesla, but if he used the UK motorway network, he'd have found around 40 rapid chargers on Hilton Park services on the M6, as an example.... And even Tebay M6 services not too far from me, now has 9 rapid chargers.....
Unless you and your neighbour are in the sticks, charging infrastructure is a lot better than it used to be, both availability and speeds. I don't have the ability to install a home charger but I'm 2 years and 22k miles into EV ownership and have had only one time where I've had the overhyped combination of range anxiety caused by not being able to find an operational charger.
Agree with you on the subject of a spare wheel though, tyre foam from experience is not the best solution.
So more the owner's fault than the car.
Infrastructure has expanded greatly in the last 24 months; every public car park in my small, country, town, now has multiple 7-22KW chargers, as does the local Aldi; and although we only have 1 ancient Rapid charger, 4 new ones are supposed to be on their way.
I take my 100 mile range, 7 old EV from the Midlands, to North Wales, Manchester and London with little or no worries about charging infrastructure.
All the main routes have so many charger locations, I am spoilt for choice, and even places like the middle of the Cotswolds now have multiple locations.
Sunday, I have a 300+ mile round trip to Gatwick airport this weekend; taking the scenic route as; unaccountably, there are no suitable chargers for my old Kia, along the M25; the last being at Reading Services - unless someone wants to gift me a CCS2 to CHAdeMo adapter.
But by heading towards Southampton, I have a choice from dozens....
Roads are in a terrible state around the UK because local authorities are not spending to repair them its that simple. The reason this car had such bad issues with the tyres and pot holes is not just because the wheels are so big it's also because the car weighs 1.8 ton!!! Lol
@@paulhemming159True. Heavy weight + low profile tyres + British roads that look worse than a Ukrainian battle field.
Nuf said
On the interior theme (Peugeot/Vauxhall) I remember back in the 80’s when it was the same thing with Peugeot/Talbot
Doesn't seem to have been picked up on, but Vauxhall/Opel have quietly "70's retro'd" the latest models... go and have a look at the bonnet/front view of things like the Victor FD and the Opel Commodore C and you'll see what I mean...
I see that 👍
A great review. 👍🇬🇧
Interesting in the cost to charge v a petrol or diesel equivalent vehicle to cover the same distance. I understand the cost to charge is now the same as filling up with the same fuel volume for an ICE vehicle?
You need a tyre insurance company to sponsor the Astra videos 😅
Nice one. Totally agree with your comment regarding the instant performance of EV's rather than range comfort and general average driving. Encouraging range security for the longer travelling is of higher priority. Thank you sir.
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I’m loving the look of the Mocka actually…
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Hi Pete, great video as always! Just one thing, could you for the EV reviews give your average mi/kwh.
Then, that allows us to extrapolate with the usable battery capacity to get a true range figure.
The old guess-o-meters aren't exactly trustworthy...
Noted!
In my 30yrs of driving Punctures seem to happen close together so I got 3 in my 2nd year then nothing 6-7years 2-3 so on. My worst one was a work car on way to a task and both near side wheels went busy road just where 2 lanes became one after lights, luckly lights changed so was able to pull into side road crossing traffic on way both tyres right offs boss not happy.
Our experience of a Vauxhall is not good. We bought an Ampera in 2015. Rock solid car. Range at best 45 to 50 miles in the summer. Great colour and interior. Electrics and tyre’s appalling. It kept advising us the steering column was missing… When we picked the car up me mentioned to the dealer at 0 miles the tyres were cracked. After three years and loads of excuses later. We had enough and part exchanged for an M4. Ahh much better.
I"m wondering if motorists need to simply suck up pothole damage as 'bad luck', as opposed to, say, suing the responsible authorities for negligence. A few expensive law suits might help concentrate their efforts to getting stuff actually fit for purpose.
That is a good point and I've done it once, but far harder than you imagine. They aren't liable for craters in the road, you have to prove that the hole you hit had been reported to them and then they failed to make it safe within the timescales they set themselves! Of course, unless you reported it yourself, how do you prove they knew? If you reported it, you knew about it and don't hit it...so it gets into FOI requests for submitted road reports, council inspections, etc.
Quite impressive car be nice to know how much the car was.
Sorry about puncture’s
I have just had to spend £180 on a new tyre after hitting a pothole!
Ouch 😣
That thing about the centre console controls being the same in a Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen is only a "problem" for you because you sit in a lot of cars. We have the Citroen e-C4 and yes those controls in the Astra are very familiar but I don't care because it's the only car we have. Also, Renault isn't part of a massive multiple-brand group like Stellantis so isn't a fair comparison.
I get that I am more likely to spot that but if you are shopping around you are going to spot the similarities 🤷♂️
That's a fair point if you go to multiple Stellantis brands. We chose the e-C4 having also seen the e-2008 and Kona. I couldn't have told you the visual similarities between the e-2008 and e-C4 because they are quite different overall. Personally speaking, I understood the platform (battery, motors) were basically identical but I wonder how many other buyers would@@PetrolPed
I think these Astras look fabulous. Shame they aren't giving the Insignia this treatment and have binned the car in the range as it sits. We have the 2014 VXLine 2.0d like the one you reviewed, had for nearly 10 years now, as well as the 2018 VXLine 2.0d which is simply brilliant. VX really do have great cars.... not sure what to get in place of the Grandsport now.... maybe the Genesis G70.....
It’s a nice-looking car, Pete, far nicer than previous models. Hatchbacks are great cars, even though most people choose SUVs these days. Agree that it is a shame too many parts are shared within the group. However, as I’ve mentioned before, it seems hybrids make the most sense when you cannot charge at home. Love your videos, but you know that. 😊
Cheers, Tom
Does TPMS not work when u shredded so many tires?
I expect the tpms is not individual wheel sensors but the far cheaper method of rotational speed changes sensed by the wheel speed sensors it's very simple and effective but only when driving at speed so can't tell immediately from a stand still.
Yes, ld be surprised.
Black Astra looks well. But that’s me on new Astra. Liked it when came out. Hardly see them.
What happened to the partnership with the drone safe guys! You were looking forward to it for 2024!!
Still there. Just working on the next vid now 👍
Love that colour.
How thin are those tyres ! Would be interesting to do a comparison brake test with a conventional petrol Astra. I think you will know the result already.
Good review of the car,, 😅🎉
Thanks! 😃
Are you planning to get a space saver spare wheel ?
Automotive greyness at its best. I bet your Defender would have got through the potholes! I think Karma was just trying to keep you out of such an average car - clearly by hard you were trying to say good things about about it - never heard you say “nice” so much 😀. It’s a very good colour combo, but shows the cheap cost cutting build when I see exterior colour around the interior door frames - really in this day and age! Send it back and tell Hendy to give you something decent!
I think so too
One of my favourite cars ever was the three door Astra that I had when my other half wrote off my Renault Estate about fifteen years ago but sadly it had to go back as it was a rental replacement car and for some reason I never got another but did have a Corsa VXR for a while until it started blowing radiators and turbo's weekly. I recently had a slow puncture that after investigation was found to be a buckle on the inside rim of the alloy on the Jag a bill in excess of £100 to rectify that particular issue. I think your new long termer might be an Alfa.
A very good review and a good looking car. I've only seen about three of the most most recent Astra incarnation on the roads though. Why aren't they not selling like the previous model?
I have a Cupra Born EV, the tyres I have on are contiseal by continental, tyres have been Great
Would the equivalent Peugeot be spec wise be the cheaper of the 2? Hello Lotus??
Did you notice road noise - seemed a little noisy on the drive. In general quite a nice little car - and you are right most people don't want Taycan like performance or costs (although second hand ones are getting surprisingly cheap). How does this compare with things like the e208 and the new Renault 5?
Mind, you can buy a used Taycan with low miles for the same price as this Vauxhall
Do manufacturers design their every single model having 'sportiness' in mind? Do consumers make their choice of a car with 'sportiness' being the only feature worth going for?
No, and that’s what I was saying 👍
Jinx or is there a subject for discussion, ie the real value to average drivers and cars of low profile tyres and rims. Cheers
For info:- You can easily report potholes online to the Road Authority. There is a simple process to give position and details, etc. So far three of the reports I have filed have been repaired.
AS for the car, its the size that most people drive in real life, and has the range to do it.
It would have been nice to see the rear seat access, I bet it is far easier than the silly electric seats in the defender that you had.
It will be interesting to see how the range and charge after 10 years as a used car, as the average age of cars in the country is older than that
Driven numerous Vauxhalls over the past 30yrs, all been fairly reliable and affordable but was honestly shocked when I looked to see the list price, £43k for an Astra! I know car prices have gone up but it’s an Astra, aren’t they meant to be reasonably priced cars? Update, the petrol 1.2 auto is £34.5k which I guess is better but still a lot. Also, for the money there seemed to be a lot of average looking black plastic on the interior, maybe it’s the camera not doing it justice?
I can honestly say with a typical budget of £30k when I buy a car (I don’t like the idea of a lease), I will stick with buying an 18month old petrol car with an list of less than £40k to avoid the higher road tax, I realise a time will come when that may not be an option 😞
Imagine driving that car around and having to pay the premium tax on it for 4 years. No chance
A 3 year old model will sell for less than £20K with about 20K miles, much more affordable for the masses. I bought a 3 year old corsa e a year ago with 16K miles for less than £15K and it is a brilliant small car which is roomy and has decent boot space. 200 miles range and is great to drive.
I thought the rule of thumb for range was around 3 miles/Kw, are these cars generally bettering that now or is this a one-off?
3 miles/kWh is average for winter driving, better in the summer if “sensible” driving 😊
Great review i still dont think it convinces me about going EV and what is the price point? I may have missed it. As for potholes they are everywhere.
Feel your pain Pete. Did both nearside tyres and wheels in the Mini. Ended up with two new wheels and four new tyres (two fronts were knackered anyway). Fitted 2 weeks ago and yup, did OSF tyre last week with a mark on my new alloy… Far less stressful just driving the Defender instead!
Ouch 😣
Hope you mentioned that to the Council. Terrible
Love West Wittering Beach with our dogs.
Not sure about this car, colour wise I agree with you Pete. Growing up it boiled down to either being a Ford or Vauxhall fan .... I wasn't in the Vauxhall camp. It seems tyres for EV's aren't easy to come by.
New tyre for our Mini SE (tyre cut) ordered on Asda Tyres Friday lunchtime, fitted Saturday afternoon (1st fitting slot available).
I note that other motoring journalists with the Astra are also suffering punctures. Nice car and the 0-60 seems to be relevant to journalists only and the Tesla driver at the traffic lights😂
Was the trip issue range anxiety by any chance ??? Be honest.
Nope 👎
I’ve got an e2008 and never use the s mode, may be that’s because I’m coming up to 72! Never found it lacking in power. Do find the Astra a bit of a low runner though and prefer a small SUV again that’s and age thing!
I understand Stellantis using parts across brands.... However, they always overcharge on their RRP. Meaning that they are really not competitive unless they discount them. I have a Citroën E-C4 and as a daily drive, it is really good. Fortunately, with the Citroën.... it can easily handle pot-holes...
Next long-termer? Please let it be the Lotus Emira. Looking forward to a comparison with your Boxster GTS.
Tune in on Friday 😬
@@PetrolPedhope you can do a long termer or review of the new model 3. Saw your model y vid a while back
Astra- Vauxhall are just dull! Style and passion are missing, it’s perfect for an individual that wears beige corduroy jeans and a jumper with elbow patches that talks in a nasal tone about trains,but you held it together very well in fairness because it’s hard to be passionate about something that is just a little lacking in personality, love your channel keep it coming and hopefully you’ll be reviewing something special soon 👌
It's a good looking thing. In estate form it would be much more interesting as a practical family car. Nice review Ped.
I think quite a few people who felt the same way, might go for a new MG5 at £30k, and save a lump of money....
Thanks 🙏🏻
The Road outside my house has been closed for 4 weeks due to main sewer repairs and it’s not due to reopen for another 2 weeks. I’ve lost access to my drive and quite honestly don’t know what I would do if I had an EV, however ‘nice’ it was.
Sorry to hear that
I hope you sent the bill for the tyres to the council.
How much does it cost to fully charge for 250 miles Peter? At 7.5p per kwh overnight it should be around £4, thats cheap motoring.
Sure is 👍
Why don't you talk about the costs more, as it's cheap at the moment people need to realise this, and save on buying petrol and diesel. Get well soon.
The problem Vauxhall are going to have with this EV version of the Astra, is the competition at lower initial cost. There's the MG4, the new Renault R5, and others on the way at around £25 to £30k. The list price in the killer with this car, although I'm aware that discounts will be there for the taking.....
The question is why are we getting so many more pot holes, what has changed?
Cars like that, i don't know who would buy it, and why you would buy it. Its probably a really decent nice car but what situation would you chose it
I think you’ve held yourself back quite a bit in this episode.Your flattest review I’ve ever listened too.I personally think think Joe Public would enjoy the car,you maybe don’t appreciate it as you get to drive such fantastic machinery.
I do indeed get to drive some amazing cars and have to balance my comments. Really tried to do that in this review.
3 punctures in the Astra and a few in the Defender 90. Not forgetting the Boxster 😮 that’s a fair few, to suck up.
But quite inconvenient that a replacement tyre cannot be sourced for approximately a week. 😳 That is not ideal considering we usually buy a car for daily duties. How many people can do without their car for over a week when they have a daily job to go to or take the kids 1/2 a mile down the road to school for example? 😂 Not a good situation to be in.
Are you sure on the range , 250 miles on 54kw/hr is 4.6 mile/kw. If thats correct then its outstanding but somehow ?
Real range is 195mi with a usable battery capacity of 50.8kWh, so 3.8mi/kW which is a lot more believable
Totally agree,iam disappointed in Ped he should know better than to trust the guess o meter ,just tell us what mi/KwH you were getting over your usage then you can work out the real range.
EV database real world figures cold weather highway 140 miles, warm weather highway 180 miles.
Thought there’d be issues…it’s a Vauxhall.
Potholes?
What they are more likely to suffer punctures from potholes 🤡
Actually, it's a Peugeot.
I’ve got the new 308 “ICE” and it’s a better car for £15k less!
A £41k minimum one too…
Not much hope for us mere mortals if Puncture Ped Michelin ambassador can't get the tyres for the common car.😉😁
Look on the bright side. You’ve had three punctures and a buckled wheel and it’s not cost you a penny. Imagine if that had happened in the Porsche 😮
Sounds like you've had your quota of punctures for this year and next.. Hopefully... I'm not a vauxhall fan but you've given a very balanced view of this car. It does look like an attractive proposition. Are Ford going to do the same with the Focus?
Omg the scratches on the gloss black interior trim 🙄😬
When will manufacturers stop using these cheap materials?😏
Specific spec tyres that are not on the shelf. Is this another EV issue?
Given it’s a really popular mainstream car and brand. That’s not acceptable.
Ive had 2 Astra’s. When it needed new tyres. I had the choice of many brands and a drive in and fit availability at several local tyre depots.
Evening all! Hope everyone is doing well and have a great week ahead.
You too!
Evening mate, damn potholes, UK at its worst.
Sure are 😡
I drove one of the 1st of these Astra's in the UK dealers when I worked at a dealer in Bolton, you should ask them to lend you the new "GS" Hybrid one with 200+ BHP (225 I think) I think that will be a better "drivers" car, or as near to one as Vauxhall will create these days...
I wonder if the extra weight of EVs make the situation worse with regards to punctures. I totally agree about the common platform situation it’s almost got to the stage you just change the badge as a lot of the stellantis group cars look exterior and interior wise exactly the same. There are exceptions like Alfa Romeo, Ram etc. Nice looking car and colour
1736kg so not exactly on the porky side.
of course it does !
I’ve been driving a corsa e for the last 12 months and never had a puncture, it’s all about the state of the roads.