About the Holden ASTRA
Andrey I purchased this Holden ASTRA used for $16,800 (including all on-road costs) in 2019. Andrey I would buy this car again because: “The car represents a fantastic value for money. There was nothing else in 2019 and I do not believe there is anything now under $20,000 with the same level of performance and practicality. We are talking Golf GTI V numbers in a much more modern car. Holden’s exit from the market didn’t really have any effect on the ownership experience, the car was 95 per cent worry free and the remaining 5 per cent were taken care by the warranty and Holden mechanics who moved to the next door Mitsubishi dealership.”
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
Being originally from Europe and hearing jokes about Opel (Holden Astra is a rebadge Opel Astra) reliability (every car becomes Opel with time) I was a bit skeptical buying one, but a test drive, sharp price, affordable service cost (extremely affordable comparing to Volkswagen) and remaining three years manufacturing warranty changed my mind.
And… I haven’t regretted it. The car has been used quite extensively, peak hour traffic drives, 1500km family road trips and even used as an Uber at some point, clocking 80,000km in three years and it hasn’t missed a beat… Well, almost…
A couple small electrical gremlins effecting rear stop light and turn signal, which took couple of visits to the dealership to fix and a broken clip for one of the internal fixings. Not bad for an “unreliable Opel” in my opinion.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
The overall experience could be divided into two parts: before and after Holden’s departure into neverland. While Holden was still present in Australia, there were no troubles whatsoever.
The car was purchased from a regional WA dealer and they brought the car to me for a test drive (yep, good old times when the dealer was interested in you as a customer. No complaints over the local Holden dealer either, yes the dealership wasn’t fancy, probably due for renovation, but the level of service was great.
Things like courtesy car while the car was in service, courtesy call from the service advisor with updates on the progress are a few examples of what was offered and that’s on a capped-service plan ($299 per service from memory).
Boy, has it changed, with Holden exit from Australia and moving the operation to next door Mitsubishi. Luckily the car was almost worry-free and I only needed to see them once a year.
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
I might be biased, but even at $26k drive away when new it was a good deal. Getting this car for under $17k drive away with 3.5 years warranty left was a daylight robbery of the dealership.
17-inch alloys, 1.6L turbo four-cylinder engine, 360L boot – decent for the class – blind-spot monitoring, AEB, 7.0-inch inch screen with DAB, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, trip computer with digital speedo (I’m looking at you, Mitsubishi).
The only thing which was missing to make it perfectly optioned is LED lights for headlights and rear lights.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
When it comes to the performance Astra smashes the competition, the closest would be Kia Cerato GT, which produces similar numbers but would set you back at least extra $10k. The 1.6T engine produces 147kW and 280Nm – that is Golf GTI V numbers.
The engine is mated to six-speed auto and seems to work a treat. There is a sport button next to the gear shift and once pressed, it makes the steering wheel a bit heavier and the gearbox holds revs over 3000rpm. All of these result in 0-100km/h in 6.2 seconds.
There is a bit of a torque steer under heavy acceleration but nothing overwhelming.
The car was used quite extensively in the last three years, including ride sharing, and the fuel economy was a bit of a surprise as well. The car requires premium unleaded (95 RON min), but pays you back with an average of 7.2-7.4l per 100km and goes down to around 5.0 litres per 100 on a long freeway drives.
What do you think of the technology in your car?
While this Astra generation was launched in 2016, even in 2022 the technology level is on par with the brand new cars.
The R and RS models get smaller 7.0-inch touchscreen, where RS-V model gets 8.0-inch. The 7.0-inch screen is smallish, but adequate and easy to use, running Holden MyLink software. You get wired Android Auto and CarPlay as well as DAB radio and Bluetooth.
No inbuilt navigation, but really never bothered me, since I prefer Waze anyway. AEB, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, a rear-view camera (resolution is fairly low though), self parking mode are all standard.
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
The ride is on a firmish side, rather than plush. However with the 225/45/17 wheels it never gets too firm and uncomfortable.
The only thing I would add is extra sound proofing, it gets a bit noisy on a country roads. If you floor it from the traffic lights, you do get a bit of a torque steer, however with the better quality tires the problem basically disappears.
A special mention goes to the sound system, which is very decent and able to pump some good bass through the speakers.