HI i amabout to order my next car by the end of this week and have narrowed it down to 2 i can get a gp 1.9 sporting with metallic and skydome and pay under 10,500 gbp or contract hire a astra sport hatch 1.9 cdti sri with metallic for 600 deposit and 200 per month over 2 years which do you thionk is the better car/deal i do about 8000 miles per year and my reason for choosing diesel is purely that i feel it will be worth the extra come resale in the case of the punto and in the astras case it is only £5 a month more than the 1.8 petrol thanks for your help ps i was also considering the citroen c4 loeb are there any others i should look at or have i picked the best

I sugesst you ask for opinions in an ubiased motoring forum, like this one........ http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/index.htm almost everyone in here will tell you to buy the GP, and if you go in a Vauxhall or Citroen forum they will say get the Astra or C4.

sledge said:

I sugesst you ask for opinions in an ubiased motoring forum, like this one........ http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/index.htm almost everyone in here will tell you to buy the GP, and if you go in a Vauxhall or Citroen forum they will say get the Astra or C4.

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:yeahthat:

2 reasons i would not buy a astra.1 They are more common than lampostsit wont depreciate any better than a gp its also mundane looking 2...Sorry thats 3

Is 8000 miles a year enough to justify buying a diesel

will you recoup the savings. I average about 12k miles a year which is growing with the workload etc etc.

i bought the diesel stilo with the intention of keeping it for at least 2 or 3 years therefore it makes sense (its als one of the best engines ).

have you considered a bravo perhaps

Speaking from my experience...

Driven various newish Astra's (company cars) and they're awful! Horrible to drive and to look at imo.

I've now got a GPS and are pleased with it.

As regards Citroen, I've had a C2 VTS and it was a nice car to drive but was airfix build quality....so many things went wrong. So I'd forget the Citroen. Really crap dealers too!!!!!!!!

On reflection it must be the GPS all the way, for me!

To be honest, arent they both different style cars.

i.e. the grande punto is a class size below the astra (im not saying its a less quality product though).

If you were to be comparing the Grande Punto to a car that is equiviently diesel powered i would expect it to be cars like seat ibiza fr tdi's or a corsa 1.7 cdti sri (only relatively decently powered superminis i can think off - even though there not that small).

the astra should be compared to the bravo/focus/golf etc etc

Joshua Frost-Lunn said:

To be honest, arent they both different style cars.

i.e. the grande punto is a class size below the astra (im not saying its a less quality product though).

If you were to be comparing the Grande Punto to a car that is equiviently diesel powered i would expect it to be cars like seat ibiza fr tdi's or a corsa 1.7 cdti sri (only relatively decently powered superminis i can think off - even though there not that small).

the astra should be compared to the bravo/focus/golf etc etc

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Very true it is in a size class above the GP and has better quality plastics but it doesn't detract it from being the most popular and boring to look at car in the UK and its the most heavily discounted car in the UK and its due a big revamp in 2008 which should benefit it greatly

What about a Bravo then for another option

With the 150 diesel engine in it should be just as fast as the grande mulitjet

and it is a fiat as well, which means that you can stay on this forum lol

That astra just has the fiat diesel engine in anyway, so why pay more for it.. .

I looked at the 3 door astra as it is indeed a very nice looking car but i thought the insurance groupings for it was just plain daft!

get the grande... jus cos i have a grande 1.2 an my mother has an astra with heated leather seats and all the other gizmos doesnt mean im biased

I would go with the grande as well

after all it is a fiat, and you can buy it outright as ooposed to hp like you would be that astra

but it is your money.

either way, let us know what you choose

GP, purely because the astra has no styling flair and are common as muck.

Gary?
Like I said at the top of this thread, ask the question in an unbiased forum mate

Have you done the obvious and test driven both?

Exactly.....It will become bloody obvious to you the moment you've driven them a few miles.....and don't tell us that you don't have time.
It's a car....big purchase....make the time for a couple of test drives.

You will make your decision on what car suits after a good test drive

I can remember test driving the stilo and putting my foot down at 40 in 3rd and zooming straight up to 60 in next to no time. That was my decision made, and using the skyroof, and seeing the abarth kit, and the wheels

Though bear in mind a test drive is only an indication - there's no telling of what other issues (be it good or bad) are around the corner once you actually own it.

Next step would be places like FF, but be careful of biased gits lurking around

thanks guys i drove the sporting yesterday and was very impressed with it. I have an appointment to try the astra at 4pm today so ill let you know what its like.to be honest though i genuinely like the looks of both the cars I only really do 2 long (above 500 miles) trips per year I need space for me my wife and 2 kiddies and a boot big enough to put my cherished bike in,A big minus against the astra though is that i eally wanted a glass roof but it is an 850 pound option and i am getting more stingy as time goes on.

Make sure you test drive the Grande Sporting on a typical (pothole ridden, badly maintained) British road rather than the nice smooth ones that surrounded the garage I bought mine from.

Lesson learned - ride quality with the low profile tyres and stiff suspension is as hard as nails. I can't imagine it being a great family car, I can just see the cries of "please daddy, don't go over any more bumps". I can live with it, but a lot of people wouldn't want to and would probably be better off with the Eleganza, which presumably has a more refined ride (can anyone confirm that?).