Too late....

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gumshoe
  • Start date Start date
True true. Not as good as a GTi but still good in it's own right. But then I guess that's why a lot of us with N16's mod them, esp. the suspension, so that they become more than nice to drive :D Got lots of potential these N16s.
 
this is true sam, i know i take the piss once or twice but i actually like some N16s, ed s will be nice, liked darrens (ish) and shnakeys, nearly brought a P1 sport+ td myself but insurance cost stopped me...
 
N16s are by no means perfect but FFS they have to beat the equivilent Astra.

OK, the N16 is not the most comfortable or flashy car in the world but this guy is used to driving Vauxhalls and he tried an N16 for a few minutes. It didn't feel 'right' because it's not what he's used to so he paid a grand more for an Astra?

I'm so used to my car that any other car feels 'wrong' until I've driven it for a good few hours. Even swapping between my two N16s when I had the both for a couple of weeks felt awkward.
 
I've driven my fair share of Astra's (of the Opel variety) over the years and IMO the almera is much better. Granted I've never driven the 1.5 but my 1.8 sport had a fantastic driving position, the handling was perfect & it was reasonably quick too (an awful lot better than ANY astra I've ever driven). My first car was the 1.4 Astra F, while it did the job it was slow, had horrible feel to it & I'd a few mechanical problems with it too. My girlfriend currently has a 1.4 Astra G (some sport model), it too is slow & the driving position is horrible - even worse than the F - the seat is too high at its lowest setting, can't go back as far as I'd like & there's no room for my knees. I wouldn't mind if I was tall as but I'm only 6ft 2".... She too has had more than her fair share of hassle with it & only has it a couple of months! I've driven the H in both varieties (sports hatch & regular) & was unimpressed with both. No comparison the Focus or Golf & while you know your in a more modern car than the phase 2 Almera for the money you're getting a much better package with the almera.
The timing chain is much better than a belt as it lasts longer & warns you before it goes (unlike my old Astra F!) and the one in my N16 did 80k+ before it needed to be changed & even at that my mechanic told me it had another couple of thousand miles in it yet!
As for the test drive I think wraith was bang on, any car feels weird when you get into it for a few minutes; my dads M-Tech 530d feels heavy cumbersome & slow (until you look at the speedo), I still don't have the same confidence in my new S15 (which handles like a dream btw) as I had in the N16 as I could throw the Almera into an abandoned roundabout at 80kph with no drama & come out the other side with a big smile on my face, do that in the S15 & you'll be lucky if you can walk home....
 
Used to drive mother's astra SRi all the time when my N16 broke, and it was always great to jump back into the N16.

No comparison. The N16 was miles better. I think this guy is just some kind of hardcore vauxhall lover.

Has anyone else noticed how pap pauxhall brakes are?
 
My N16 has several seat adjustments - two adjustments to the height (front and back lift) which I though was pretty cool plus lumber support. Maybe you dont get them in the SX. The driving position is pretty good I reckon, better than my Astra that I had.

I don't reckon his Astra will be as reliable :) Pretty lame really him coming here in the first place - its not like we are gonna agree with him is it!?
 
Astras are crap..end of.Driven one or two and they are so uncomfortable.Will never own a Vauxhall.Give me a good nissan anyday.

The sunny I had for just over 3 yrs never ever skipped a beat and it had the biggest pasting ever.Seriously....the amount of times it's been through forestries is unbelievable.Only failed the MOT on the dreaded rust and didn't want to weld it up as it would make good spares for the rally car :D
 
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