Used Vauxhall Astra cars for sale

Used Vauxhall Astra pros and cons

Is a second hand Vauxhall Astra a good car?

For 40 years, the Vauxhall Astra has been providing affordable, sensible family transport to car buyers across the UK. It’s a bit like C&A — remember C&A? — in that it’s not always the most exciting purchase around, but usually a pretty safe bet all the same. The Astra’s an alternative to the likes of the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, and Toyota Corolla. 

The current version of the Astra is the most stylish and most contemporary-looking version yet. It uses Vauxhall’s current ‘visor’ front end, so there’s a big, black, mostly blanked-off radiator grille, with sharp-edged LED lights at either end. With certain colour schemes — notably red or metallic yellow — this is a really handsome car. 

Down the sides it’s still good, with a forward-leaning rear roof pillar, and across the boot lid there’s the word Astra spelled out in classy-looking letters, and some more slim lights. 

Unfortunately, the cabin isn’t as handsome as the outside. It’s fine, up to a point, with big digital screens for both instruments and infotainment, and still some proper physical buttons for air conditioning — which is a major bonus. The steering wheel is also a fairly sporty-looking three-spoke affair. 
The main screen is okay to use, but not the best in class by a long stretch, although at least you do get standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The digital instruments also look a little dull. Some of the plastics used are also rather cheap, and the fit and finish of some of the panels isn’t quite straight. 

The Astra’s also not the roomiest car around. It’s fine in the front, where you’ll find comfortable and supportive seats (optionally, the higher-end seats come with the approval of the AGR, the German bad back association — yes, that’s a real thing) and there’s plenty of storage space, including a neat spring-loaded drawer, lined with felt, that’s perfect for stashing keys and loose change as nothing will rattle around in there. 

However, the back seats are actually quite cramped, with limited rear legroom. A Skoda Octavia has way more rear seat space, and the Focus and Golf are better too. The only comparable hatchback with less rear seat room is the rather cramped Toyota Corolla. 

On the upside, the Astra’s boot is massive, at 422 litres. Now, again, that’s well-beaten by the Skoda Octavia, which has a huge 600-litre boot, but the Astra is well ahead of the Golf, Focus, and Corolla in terms of boot space. 

If you need maximum space, there’s the Astra estate, which has a massive boot (beaten by the Octavia, again) but no extra space in the rear seats. If you go for the plug-in hybrid model, it loses boot space to battery capacity, and so the available volume falls to 352 litres, which is still more than you get in a Golf e-Hybrid. 

Speaking of the plug-in hybrid Astra, it uses a 12.4kWh battery to offer an electric-only range of up to 40 miles, but it’s rather heavy and not very nice to drive, not to mention it becomes quite thirsty on long motorway runs. There’s a sporty GSe plug-in version too, but it never feels like a proper hot hatch. 

There’s also an all-electric Astra, which has a range on one charge of up to 252 miles, and that’s a much better bet, feeling smoother than the PHEV version, and which avoids the jerky automatic gearbox of the PHEV models.

To be honest, the best Astra engine is the basic 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol turbo, which comes in 110hp or 130hp forms, and which has a standard six-speed manual gearbox. This is a zippy, sprightly engine to drive, and it easily averages 50mpg. It’s much lighter than the other Astras too, so it’s nicer to drive. 

None of the current Astra versions feel as sharp to drive as a Ford Focus nor Mazda 3, but they're about on par with a Skoda or Toyota, and the light steering makes any of them easy to use in town. The ride comfort can be a bit too firm, though, especially for the PHEV models. Adaptive cruise control helps with longer motorway journeys (standard from GS models up) and Vauxhall has fitted more sound deadening to help keep the Astra quiet at a cruise. 

While it’s not a car that’s a knock-out in any one area, the Astra’s a solid family car, and one that’s definitely worth adding to your used car shopping shortlist.

What to look for when buying a used Vauxhall Astra

There is a known issue with the Astra’s 1.2-litre petrol engine, which is shared with Peugeot and Citroen models, and which uses a ‘wet belt’ system, where the cambelt passes through the engine’s oil supply which can weaken the belt over time, and cause clogs in the oil feed. Changing the belt ahead of schedule and making sure you get regular oil changes should help you swerve any issues. Other than that, the Astra seems to be solidly made, with no recalls for issues so far. 

The Astra didn’t feature in the most recent Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, and Vauxhall finished 26th in the overall customer satisfaction survey, out of 32 brands, with a relatively poor showing for quality.