A Grand Monday: Vauxhall Astra Mk4
It’s very much rooted in banger territory right now, but the Mk4 Vauxhall Astra is a car that has a pretty loyal following, thanks in part to its better than average rust resilience and also for its indestructible powertrains - petrol or diesel, all but the high performance Mk4s are pretty hard to kill.
It’s 21 years since it went on sale, and while it may have looked a little staid at the time, age has been kind to it - it arguably looks less dated than the car that replaced it, thanks in no small part to its unfussy styling.
This example looks to be in rude health and is barely run-in with just 52,000 on the clock - even in 1.4-litre form, the GM ‘Family 2’ powerplant will cover three or four times that providing that you keep on top of its fondness for consuming oil. They all do that, sir…
At £895, then, this one is twice the price of many examples on the market, but you can tell just from the photos that it’s more than twice the car - the interior is almost spotless and it manages to just sit and look ‘right’ in the way that only a genuinely well-loved and cherished car can. Examples like this need buying and preserving while they still exist…
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Craig Cheetham
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expertad on 18 June 2019
These are among the most under rated cars of all time.Had a 1.6 SXI years back,sold it at 180,000,I still see it.Now have a 1.7CDTI as a runabout,going strong at 165,000.Good build quality and a fully galvanized body means they shouldn't rust,and many were built in the UK.Probably better than a MK4 Golf which i have had two of over the years,shows you what the 'experts' know. Easy enough to fix,only had to fork out a heady £300 for an alternator on my CDTI as it drives the vaccum for the steering pump and is a sod to fit.Apart from that,just routine maintanance.Pawel on 19 June 2019
Fully galvanized body? Nope...aufdermaur on 24 June 2019
A friend of mine had one and while we slated him at the time for buying such an uninspired car (we were in our early 20s and he bought a 1.6 petrol in blue), we used it for several trips to the continent and it proved reliable, spacious, comfortable, quick enough with great handling. I wouldn't tell him now but it really was a very good car.Add a comment