Nice New Vauxhalls

Look on used car websites and you begin to notice a trend. There is a shortage in the number of used cars on the market which has led to dramatic price hikes. In fact, the price of a used car has increased by a colossal 30% over the past year. This change in the market has occurred because of the government-funded Scrappage Scheme.

In an effort to kick-start the failing new car market the government decided to inject some much needed funds into this industry The Scrappage Scheme got underway in May and has been since hailed as a success.

The scheme not only increased new car sales, but also helped to get old, dirty cars off the road. So the scheme has also benefited the environment as old gas-guzzlers have been replaced by new fuel-efficient cars.

The Scheme has been so successful that it has even been extended until next year. Ford and Vauxhall have benefited the most during the scheme, in particular they saw great sales figures during the all important 59′ plate launch month.

However, although the scheme has helped local car dealers – and the larger manufacturers in particular, it certainly hasn’t benefited used car hunters.

The Scrappage Scheme made the prices of brand new cars seem so appealing that people rushed to scrap there old cars in return for a shiny new one. Therefore, those that would have otherwise sold on their older cars to fund the purchase of their one vehicle have decided to have them scrapped – meaning that the used car market has been severely depleted.

Inevitably, because of the lack of supply, the demand has increased and therefore prices have seen a significant rise.

In some cases, because of the great deals available on the Scrappage Scheme, some people have been able to buy a brand new car for less money than the same model a year old.

This has meant that people looking for a bargain first car are really struggling to find one. The likes of the used Vauxhall Corsa and the little Ford Ka have been scrapped in their thousands – both of these cars have always been a firm favourite among young first-time drivers as they are cheap to insure and run.

As the Scrappage Scheme has been extended the used car market won’t really change until next Spring at least. Once all funds have been exhausted then we will be able if the market returns to it usual state…but then perhaps new car sales will fall once again…

Lucy Penn

In this time of motoring crisis, where petrol is rocketing in price and environmentalists are screaming for us to drive about in what appear to be battery powered chest freezers, it’s clear that car manufacturers need to take note.

All the big players are either producing hybrid vehicles or tiny hatchbacks with even smaller emissions. Vauxhall are one of the biggest players on the car scene and you’d expect them to be the market leader in eco-friendly terms. A trip to your Vauxhall dealer however, will show that someone at HQ didn’t get the low emissions memo. Whether it’s a Corsa, Vectra or even a Zafira, Vauxhall offer them all with a ‘VXR’ badge, which helps turn even the most mild-mannered hatchback/saloon/MPV into a raging beast that gorges on the tarmac it rides on top of. Vauxhall seem to have got the mix right too, with the Corsa still flying off the shelves in standard or VXR guise.

Despite this clever juggling of which versions will meet with public demand, Vauxhall dealers have a secret hidden away, probably chained up in the attic of their showrooms throughout the world. The secret isn’t based on any other Vauxhall model, isn’t available in different trims and in this current economic climate, really shouldn’t be in production at all. The secret? The Vauxhall VXR8.

Perhaps better known as the successor to the Vauxhall Monaro, the VXR8 is Vauxhall’s most raucous hotrod ever. Packing a 6.0 litre engine under the bonnet, you get the impression the word ‘hybrid’ would be met with a confused expression from the VXR8. The performance figures are pretty impressive too, with rear wheel drive helping get 400bhp onto the road in a 0-60mph time of 4.9 seconds. Top speed hasn’t been officially recorded, presumably because Vauxhall fired the designer that missed the memo. Nevertheless other reviewers have easily hit 170mph+ and I’m happy to agree this is possible. Oh, did I mention it’s got four doors?

The VXR8 looks every inch the racing saloon, which when you consider its original form is as a Holden Commodore, mostly seen racing in Australia, this doesn’t surprise. Everything is big, brash and organic – it really is man and machine, with no fancy computers or iPod docking to get in the way of driving. 19 inch alloy wheels adorn the four corners and a rear spoiler helps block out the majority of rear visibility. In fact the wheels and spoiler look almost too small with the flared wheel arches and aggressive front end making the car as big and butch as Bruce Willis.

Just like Bruce, the VXR8 has a presence although the styling certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste. Inside, as you’d expect from a four door saloon, room is plentiful, so even a six-footer like me in the rear still has ample head and legroom. In the UK the car costs £35,000 which compared to it’s rivals will leave you with plenty of spare change. There are few clues as to where this money has been saved, although parts of the interior do give the game away a tad. Some of the plastics do feel like Vauxhall had just £100 left to finish the inside. However, it is put together well and ultimately its how it drives that’s the big winner.

There’s nothing subtle about how the VXR8 puts its power down and it sounds as though the earth is changing orbit when it does so. Gigantic brakes and suspension help keep you on the road and it really can handle a corner – as you’d expect from its racing heritage. The gearbox is slick and helps maintain the car’s feel of being raw and being put on this planet for one reason – to go fast.

Yet despite all this tyre burning and pedal-to-the-metal mayhem, the VXR8 has a trump card. On the motorway, because the engine is crucially full of torque, the 6.0 litre unit barely ticks over, thus returning a heart warming and wallet smiling 27mpg. Yes, town driving sees the consumption rocket faster than a space shuttle launch, but taking the VXR8 into town is like shackling a bear in a cage – they’d both be far happier roaming free.

In summary Vauxhall’s latest whiplash inducer sees the driver taken back to a time when driving was a steering wheel, four tyres and a seat. You feel every movement the car makes in a time when computers seem to control every bit of driving in other sports saloons. Looks like Vauxhall HQ did get the environmental memo. They’ve gone organic and grown their own drivers’ car.

Tom London

Nobody wants to have a car that isn’t safe, so many people research the safety of the cars that they are thinking about before buying anything. Because of this, car companies are adding more and more safety features in order to make their cars more popular with people. One car that has a lot of different safety features is the new Astra by Vauxhall.

The new Astra has the seatbelts that people have come to expect as safety features, as well as an audible warning that reminds everyone in the car to buckle up. The seatbelts are also fitted with safety systems that tighten them automatically if the car should be in a serious crash so that they restrict the forward movement of the passengers.

In the case of young children as passengers, the new Astra has extra safety precautions as well. The airbag in the front passenger seat can be disengaged so that a child safety seat can be put there without danger from this type of device. The outer rear passenger seats have ISOFIX child seat mounts, and top tether brackets are mounted on the seat backs of all of the rear seats, making it easier to safely put in child safety seats.

Airbags are present all over the new Astra, including front airbags, side air bags, and even airbags that cover the glass area in the roof. Should the airbags go off other safety features automatically go off as well. These include the fan and the fuel pump turning off, the interior lights going on, the doors unlocking, and the hazard warning lights go on.

Besides the above mentioned safety features, there are many others available. The headrests are specially designed to help prevent whiplash, in severe frontal crashes the clutch and brake pedals are decoupled to help keep the driver’s feet from being injured, and the brake lights blink to warn other drivers if the ABS system engages when the car is going over 20 MPH.

It is obvious that the designers of the new Astra had safety in mind. There are a number of features available that aren’t standard in many cars that can help keep people safe.

Pete J Ridgard

A cult following has grown up for the Vauxhall Astra car – which started off as an innocent enough family hatch back, has become one of the most sorted, tweaked, tuned and enjoyed of the modern breed of vehicles. Both the petrol and diesel derivatives have their followers, with typical sports improvements including tuning systems, special cams, bodywork, spoilers, wheels, tires, breaks – in fact all the usual sports improvements you would expect to make to a car.

But what of the car itself, and how does it cope with the extra tuning that its owners like to throw at it. In this article we’ll take a brief look at some of the most common problems with the car (not that it is unreliable at all as a rule), and give you a chance to pick them up before you actually experience problems with your Vauxhall Astra.

So typical problems flagged up by owners include:

Rear suspension springs tend to break. Well the solution here is to either fit after market shocks – much better road holding anyway. If you have lowered your Astra then you will have done this anyway, but it won’t happen until you have some significant mileage on the car. Further to the suspension issues, one owner mentions that if you start hearing creaks from the suspension it means that the bushes are drying out, and could be replaced or re-greased as required to get everything flowing smoothly again.

Rear disc brakes on Astra Sri models have been known to seize up – for brakes with Bosch calipers. The solution here is pretty simple, either keep your brakes well maintained, or replace them with Lucas calipers. This problem can also occur on some of the 1.8 and 2.0 Astra TDis – you have been warned.

Petrol Astras:

Engines with a cam-belt should have the water pump replaced at the same service intervals as the cam belt.

Diesel Astras:

The Astra 1.7 DTi has been known to have issues with the turbo and also the head gasket at around 80,000 – 100,000 miles. There are also occasional problems with the ECU burning out on this model, and glow plugs can fail leading to inevitable starting problems. This is easy enough to replace of course. Occasional problems with the alternator and the oil cooler have been experienced – but of course these can be experienced with any car.

On the 2.0 Dti Astra models, the turbos have also been known to cause problems at over 80,000 miles. Fuel injection pumps can also fail at a similar mileage particularly if poorer quality diesel has been used in the engine. Some Vauxhall Astra owners point to supermarket diesel being the main culprit here.

Problems will eventually be experienced with fuel injector seals and spill pipes, which will both lead to starting problems until rectified, also there can be EGR problems caused by clogging with soot.

However owners should not be put off by this page – it has to be said that overall the Vauxhall build quality is very good, and reliability from the astra models is fantastic. Systems for Vauxhall Diesel Tuning are readily available making it really easy to get the best out of the car.

There is an enthusiastic network of owners ready and willing to offer help and advice, plus Vauxhall enthusiasts such as ourselves like nothing more that to take half an hour off to discuss our Astras.

So enjoy your Vauxhall Astra car, be it petrol or diesel, and we’ll see you on the track!

Anna Barrington