Holden Astra

The Euro Holden Astra R+ hatch is steadily becoming one of the market's true bargain buys, if you know where to look. The fact that it happens to be genuinely quite good is something of a bonus.

Compact and competitive

What to look out for when buying a second-hand Holden Astra

An in-depth look at Holden's small car options.

Opel and Vauxhall tease their new plug-in hybrid Astra small hatch – though the demise of Holden means it's highly unlikely to reach Australia any time soon.

PLUS: DBX prototype drive, 2017 Holden Astra owner review, and CES report

Holden Commodore and Astra to be retired by the end of 2020 as sales fall and buyers move to high-riding models.

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Ashish needs a new family-friendly hatchback with lots of rear-seat leg room. The budget is $35,000.

With $30,000 to spend, Rod needs a small or mid-sized car that can handle the city and the country. 

I always liked the Astra, I have owned the Opel Astra previously but needed to upgrade to a car with an automatic gear box, as I am not getting any younger and a lot of city driving. I looked around on carsales for used Astra, after I tried my luck at a dealer. However they didn't have a used RSV, only RS and they were quite expensive. Luckily, other car dealers had good offers, I bought a 1.5 year old Astra from a Dealer, they used it as their accountant car, it only traveled 5500 km and came with a 7 years warranty. By the time I bought it there were 5.5 years left, the perfect car to buy. I love the Astra. it is such a great car, perfect to drive, efficient, solid and reliable. The cabin is well put together, everything feels firm and will last for a long time. The door closes with a heavy thud. The seats are very comfortable, but the adjustment is done by a little wheel rather a leaver, which is a bit annoying when reclining for a little nap in the car. (here comes the age again) The steering wheel is made of leather, 1 year after i bought the car I noticed it started to peel. The car is mainly parked in a car port or a under cover car park in the city, so not much sun nor heat could have caused it. i wasn't really optimistic that the GM/Holden warranty will look after it, But it did, I went back to the dealer I bought the car and they confirmed that they will exchange the steering wheel. I really like the way it connects the phone and the streaming via bluetooth is excellent. I had an I30 as rental for a week, I noticed that the music stops and continues for a second, but not in the Astra. Once the phone is connected, the streaming runs smooth without interruption. Such a good little car. I am using E10 Petrol to fill up, the reading comes back between 5.5 and 7 liters per 100 km. Depends if I do highway driving. The average consumption I archive is 6.5 liters. I am very happy with the punch it delivers too. It has a 1.6 l turbo engine, you put your foot down and you go. There is a little turbo lag though, but that is normal and really don't mind. Thanks to the Holden capped price service, it is fantastic, however I had some bad experience with Holden Dealers around my area (inner west of Melbourne) The tires are very thick and expensive to replace. 1 week after having the car, I hit a pot hole and damaged the tire and it needed replacement. The tire alone costs $360.00 just for 1 tire, that is quite a price. The car is european and very well made and designed. I highly recommend the car for everyone looking to upgrade their car. There are really good deals on Astras, service can be done in any reliable mechanic/ garage. The car has some little drawbacks, some parts are quite cheap and flimsy. The boot cover comes to mind, very light and not well made, that could break easy. Spare wheel is only a doughnut and could be replaced with a proper one. But I would by the car again, highly recommended.

Holden's 2020 Astra R - the last of it's kind - surprises in many ways, and provides plenty of value for those in the market for a budget hatchback. Concerns over the longevity of support for these vehicles will undoubtedly rank front and centre for buyers of this car, but there will always be some kind of sacrifice at this price-point. I've owned this car for the better part of a month now, and as you would expect from a new vehicle, things have been running like clockwork. Although I'm unable to comment on the mechanical reliability of this car over the long term, I've still got plenty to say about every other aspect of this vehicle. Given its base model 1.4L Turbo 4-cylinder, I wasn't expecting much out of the Astra when I first took it for a drive. However, I was pleasantly surprised by its responsiveness, agility and appropriate power. Having taken the car through both flat city, highway, and more hilly terrain, I've never felt that the car's 110kW figure was under-powered, and am pleased to report that it doesn't feel like the car is struggling to keep up. On the same note, handling and braking performance are great as well. Having transitioned only now from an older car with much less stopping power, the first time I tapped the brake pedal I pulled up about five meters before the lights! Granted, this is a feature shared by virtually all cars with four-wheel disc brakes, but it warrants a mentioning at the very least. Matched with this is a light body with above average handling, making it great fun to take corners with. The six-speed auto changes gears as you might expect, and works fine – leading to a fuel consumption figure ranging anywhere from 5.4L/100km to 7.5L/100km. Ride comfort and cabin noise are also better than expected. It feels like a larger car than it is (which is a good thing), and it’s smooth to drive even on lower quality roads. When it comes to the styling of the vehicle – both interior and exterior – it is definitely more quaint then other cars in its class. It is much less muscular and angry-looking then something like the Honda Civic and is more akin to the Impreza Hatch in terms of looks. There is also a noticeable lack of continuity between front and rear styling. Still, the car is by no means ugly, either. Moving inside, the cabin is simple, comfortable and utilitarian. I really do appreciate the dash and centre console setup. All of the buttons, switches and knobs are simple to understand and have a proper purpose. It’s refreshing to sit in a car that doesn’t feel like I’m Captain Kirk in the Starship Enterprise. Everything has a job and does it; No complaints. Android Auto also works great (when it does), although I have had connectivity issues on occasion. I love the ‘nightrider’ feeling of telling my car to do things like navigate or play music. Believe me, the feeling doesn’t get old. This is paired however, with a disappointing speaker system. No matter how I tried to play with the levels and balance in the settings, I just can’t find a sound that I’m entirely happy with - although I’m a bit of an audiophile. What is slightly odder is the absence of a centre armrest in the base model. There are two silly little trays that can’t hold anything useful, meaning it’s a bit of a struggle to fit your phone, keys and wallet in the cupholder spaces that remain. On that note, another negative is rearward visibility. The C pillar is humungous, and it feels like I’m looking out of a porthole of The Love Boat when I’m trying to see anything in the back window. This isn’t helped by the rear reversing camera, which is pretty lacklustre, and looks like 1980’s CCTV footage. A single rear reverse light also strikes me as odd. Luckily, the poor quality of the camera doesn’t come over to the other safety features. Lane keep assist, front collision detection and autonomous braking seem to be working well despite a few false alarms, although I’m not keen to test them out! Boot space is also acceptable, and the seats fold down easily enough to give extra room. It’s not a great struggle to fit tennis bags and other sports gear in the back, but the boot definitely does feel a bit shallow compared to other cars. Driver, passenger and even rear passenger room is also a great feature of this car. The exterior size is misleading, and there are acres of room in the front and back of this car – even for me at 186cm in my regular driving position. Overall, the Astra presents a great value hatch, especially with the currently deep discounts. However, buyers should beware about a possible lack of support in future and a deep depreciation hit that is likely to be felt upon resale.

In 2017 I decided I wanted to upgrade from my 2014 Ford Focus Trend Manual. After owning a few mainstream hatches I knew I wanted another hatch, but this time with a bit more oomph from in the powertrain. My shortlist was the Golf and the Astra. Initially I was interested in the 1.4 turbo R+ which had some welcomed safety additions and enough poke for city and freeway driving. During the test drive the salesman said they have an un driven RS black demo manual which they just registered so I thought I would just drive it to compare. The difference in drivetrain was instantaneous. The 1.6t just sounded better and had a surprising amount of mid range pull, particularly in sport mode that has a staggering 300nm of torque. Not bad for a mainstream hatch for 23k. After some consideration I asked if I could have an extended test drive, and took it home for 24hrs. I think my mind was already made up after the first test drive, and a week later that is the car I took home. 2 years later I still enjoy driving this car. Been a hatch it is extremely versatile, and comfortable enough for longer trips. I still find it an attractive hatch, particularly in black. I have always owned manual cars, and this 6 speed gear box suits the car perfectly. The clutch is nicely weighted, and the engine has enough flexibility to pull from 1500rpm around town happily. Pressing the sport button sharpens up the throttle response and adds a bit more weight to the steering when you hit the windy roads, and is surprisingly fun. Although not a hot hatch, I think it definitely borders warm hatch. Spending most of the time in the city you can expect fuel consumption in the 8’s and on longer trips it will drop down to high 5’s low 6’s. This engine does require 95 RON which may put off some. The technology both inside and outside is pretty standard for most cars on the market. Apple car play was a welcomed addition from my previous car, and the suite of safety features is actually really handy. It also negates the need for built in sat nav that my car doesn’t have. Lane keep assist does take some getting use to, but the autonomous braking has saved me once in wet weather too. No car is perfect, but the few qualms I have a relatively minor. The most irritating thing about this car for me is the parking sensors. This car beeps A LOT. Stopped in traffic if a pedestrian walks behind you, the reverse sensors pick this up, even when the car is not in reverse. The only other thing that can be a bit frustrating is the USB port which is in the middle armrest. Not a huge deal if your cable lives in the car. One other thing I constantly wish the Astra had in RS form is auto up/down on all windows. Only fitting it to the drivers window seemed a bit cheap. In 2019, Holden decided to stop selling the 1.6 in manual form altogether which did surprise me a little. The more recent decision for Holden to stop selling both the Commodore and Astra is disappointing but inevitable with their sale volumes. My plan is to hold onto this car for at least 5 years as it does everything I need it to and is a great day to day car. If anything I would describe the BK Astra as underrated. In such a competitive category I think the Astra really deserves to do better on the sales charts.

The 2005 Holden Astra CDX AH really is worth it's bang considering it's 13 years old. I bought the Astra as my first car in when I moved interstate and picked her up with 182,000km for $5600. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, just a car that was in reasonable condition and anything BUT the Toyota Echo or the Holden Barina. Once I went for a test drive and once I got my hands on the leather wrapped steering wheel that was it. I do cop a bit of slack from my car enthusiast mates for liking my Astra and I’m sure that will continue until I upgrade or the car dies. I’m just under 210,000km and there’s plenty of life and torment left. My favourite thing about my car is the take off and ability to build speed quickly. The 1.8L 4sp engine cycles through the gears seamlessly and makes for a really comfortable drive. There is a bit of cabin noise when on an unsealed road but otherwise a very low level of driving noise. The fuel economy is reasonable and I can get anywhere between 380-420km out of a tank in a city environment. My car does have a bad reputation for engine issues and I have had to replace the radiator, thermostat and housing when I had a coolant leak. That was about 24 months ago and it hasn’t skipped a beat since (even though I am guilty of stretching the services out over a year). The tech in the vehicle was good at the time with steering wheel controls, cruise control and a 6 stack CD player with 6 surround speakers (4 front and 2 rear). Even with the ability to have 6 CDs to choose from, I do find myself yearning for any form of iPhone connectivity. In my model I’m unable to change the stereo to one with phone or AUX functions as the whole unit would need to be taken off, it’s not worth the hassle. Certain design aspects keep me wondering for example the lack of centre console and how the cup holder is in the glove box. It’s completely inaccessible when driving and gets in the way of passengers. It’s more of an afterthought than part of the actual interior design of the vehicle. A fault that I have noticed on many AH Astras is the side mirror covers seem to come off easily and you can’t buy the cover separate as they come as one assembly. Both of mine have gone missing leaving my wiring exposed to the elements. However they still work. All that aside, I truly do love my car. I’m not sure I’d buy another one from the same year but if the new Astra can give me the same joy as the old one I’d buy one tomorrow. I’d recommend buying this as a first car or downgrade car but just make sure to get the full service history and go for the mid-high range model (CDX, CDXi, SRI) for the best experience possible.