Contents: Some measurement results ⬇ Opel Astra: 100,000 kilometers ⬇ Operating costs of the car Opel…⬇
OPEL Astra cars appeared on the market in February 1998, replacing the previous model. The cars are equipped with petrol engines of various modifications, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 liters. 1.6 liter engines are produced in 8- and 16-valve versions. The remaining engines are 16-valve. The cars are equipped with 5-speed manual gearboxes or automatic transmissions, power steering. Most cars are equipped with an anti-lock braking system.
The Zafira model was introduced in 1999. The car is equipped with twin-shaft 16-valve petrol engines of 1.6 and 1.8 liters. The Zafira body is designed for 7 passengers (including the driver), the seats are arranged in 3 rows (mPV version - Multipersonnel Version). The rear seats, thanks to the Flex 7 system, easily fold down to create a spacious cargo area.
Since February 2000, the Astra model has been produced with a 2.2-liter engine, and since October 2000 - in a version with a 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol engine.
Some measurement results
| 30000 km | 100000 km | |
| Maximum speed, km/h | 187,5 | 188,2 |
| Acceleration time, s | ||
| 0-50 km/h | 3,87 | 3,98 |
| 0-100 km/h | 12,46 | 12,99 |
| 0-150 km/h | 29,87 | 31,48 |
| on the way 400 m | 18,46 | 18,66 |
| on the way 1000 m | 33,72 | 34,14 |
| 60-100 km/h (3rd gear) | 8,43 | 8,55 |
| 60-100 km/h (4th gear) | 11,71 | 11,59 |
| 80-120 km/h (5th gear) | 17,47 | 16,61 |
| Run-out, m | ||
| from 50 km/h | 738 | 816 |
| 130-80 km/h | 1124 | 1157 |
| 160-80 km/h | 1698 | 1746 |
| Braking distance from 100 km/h, m | 50,0 | 46,6 |
| with force on the brake pedal, kg | 37,5 | 39,2 |
| Deceleration, m/s² | 7,7 | 8,3 |
Opel Astra: 100,000 kilometers
The Astra was used intensively: daily runs of 200-250 km, long business trips. About half of the total mileage was covered in highway modes, the rest was city trips. The load was usually small - most often I drive alone, occasionally with one or two passengers. And only about 5 percent of all trips the car was almost completely loaded.
The first forty thousand kilometers of the Astra passed without problems. The only thing that surprised me was that the plastic of some external parts became too brittle in severe frosts. In addition, during the assault on virgin snow, the mudguards "self-destructed" - the metal brackets that fixed them to the fenders came unfastened. Another unpleasantness - in winter, due to the carelessness of the car washer, who poured hot water on the car, the windshield cracked. Fortunately, the glass was subsequently replaced under warranty.
At 42 thousand, a small play appeared in the hub of the front right wheel. At the Trinity Motors service, they agreed to replace the hub assembly under warranty - the design of the hub does not allow eliminating the play by adjusting the bearing. By the way, at the RM-Market service, where I underwent TO-3, they refused to replace the hub under warranty.
Article posted on a web portal (www.opelbook.ru)
Soon after, the cold engine started to "triple", and after warming up, it worked unevenly at idle speed. But after replacing the spark plug set at TO-3 (45,000 km), the engine again worked steadily. Interestingly, the service book prescribes the first replacement of spark plugs only at 60,000 km - apparently, counting on good gasoline.
By the sixtieth thousand, the rear suspension "weakened" - vertical rocking appeared, strange knocking sounds were heard from behind. The reason was revealed on a lift during TO-4 - the right spring of the rear suspension had burst. The two lower turns of the metal rod disappeared without a trace! And because the Astra "squatted" on the shortened spring, the rear right shock absorber also failed. I was very lucky that the warranty period (one year unlimited mileage) expired only after a week. As a result, after some time, both springs and both rear shock absorbers were replaced on the Astra free of charge.
By the way, during the TO-4 service, the service technicians insistently recommended replacing the timing belt. It turns out that despite the fact that the service book of the second-generation Opel Astra cars increases the timing belt replacement interval to 120,000 km (previously it was 60,000 km), there were breaks at 80-90 thousand km. And for a 16-valve engine this is especially dangerous... I agreed to the replacement. With this operation, the mechanic also combined the warranty replacement of the rolling rollers in the timing drive, which began to make noise even before TO-3.
Then a bad streak began for the Astra. First, my rear light was damaged in the parking lot: I had to buy a new one. A couple of weeks later, during the March thaw, cars parked near the editorial office were "bombarded" by icicles falling from the roof. Among the victims were the "tried-on" Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI and, alas, my Astra. The damage was small, but offensive - the hood and right wing were dented and the right headlight was damaged. Independent experts estimated the damage at $800, and I decided to claim this money from the local housing office. No such luck! I had to file documents in court. I am still waiting for my turn to have the case considered... However, this is a topic for a separate article. And we carried out cosmetic repairs to the damaged body panels ourselves at the Autoreview technical center, so the unpleasant incident with the icicle is not reflected in the table of operating costs.
This spring, at eighty-four thousand, it was time to buy new summer tires. Despite the fact that the "native" Continental tires of size 185/70 R14, in principle, could still be used, we decided to try the new Nokian NRH2 model. Unfortunately, Nokian does not produce such high-profile tires of this model, so we bought tires of size 195/65 R14. The first impression of Nokian NRH2 is a fairly high noise level. But the developed water-removing tread pattern provides excellent grip when driving in heavy rain.
At the eighty-seventh thousandth, the logbook recorded "knocking in the front suspension on uneven surfaces when turning." The reason was play in both ball joints. Fortunately, the design of the front suspension allows you to replace only the ball joints, rather than buying complete control arms because of this, as you have to do on some other foreign cars.
During TO-6 (90,000 km), in addition to the scheduled work, the spark plugs were changed on the Astra at my request - the second set after 45,000 km also clearly needed to be replaced. In addition, the front brake pads were worn out to the limit. Yes, yes, the "native" set of front pads lasted 90,000 km! Of course, such a long service life is also explained by my habit of widely using engine braking not only in winter, but also in summer.
By the way, I am also to blame for the fact that the Astra's exterior light bulbs burn out quite often - I turn on the lights as soon as it starts snowing, raining or fogging. But, in my opinion, it is better to drive "in broad daylight" than to risk being unnoticed by other drivers...
Now Astra is in good technical condition. The engine works like a clock, starts without problems in the most severe frosts. The oil level during the interservice runs remains unchanged. Average fuel consumption is low - about 7.2 l / 100 km.
The car's "good shape" is also confirmed by the results of tests on a dynamometer road. Compared to the first measurements we took last spring at a mileage of 30,000 km, neither the "maximum speed" nor the elasticity indicators have changed. True, the braking distance on Nokian tires, although shorter, is still too long even for a car without ABS - 46.6 m from a speed of 100 km/h.
What's the bottom line? Two years ago we bought an Opel Astra 1.6 16V sedan for $17,750. Since then, Opels have become noticeably cheaper - now you can buy an Astra with a 16-valve 1.6-liter engine for $14,580, and for this money the car will be equipped with ABS and the DSA course stabilization system, which our car lacks. Operating costs for the entire mileage were $5,165. Most of the other editorial cars were more expensive to operate. For example, the Opel Corsa 1.4 "ate" $7,718 per 100,000 km, the Toyota Corolla 1.3 - $7,178.
And the resale value of the Astra is not low either - now you can get at least $8000 for such a car.
Reliability? Despite the breakdowns that arose, I had to visit the service station, which left me "without wheels" for two days, only once - to replace the windshield. So it's a sin to complain about the excess of trouble. And, what is very important, we lived with Astra all 100,000 km in perfect harmony. As they say, our characters got along.
Operating costs of the car Opel Astra 1.6 16V (mileage 100000 km)
| Mileage, km | Works and materials | Cost, $ |
| 500 | Signaling (with installation) | 604,3 |
| Radio tape recorder | 200,0 | |
| Set of rugs | 8,0 | |
| 5000 | Nokian Hakkapeliitta tires (4 pcs.) | 340,0 |
| 7000 | Nokian Hakkapeliitta tire (1 pc.) | 61,3 |
| 10900 | Repair of a punctured tire | 1.7 |
| 14900 | TO-1 (oil (4 l), oil filter, routine maintenance) | 142,5 |
| Replacing the low beam bulb in the left headlight | 23,3 | |
| 16000 | Stopping a Windshield Crack | 4,2 |
| 30300 | TO-2 (oil (4 l), oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, cabin ventilation filter, routine maintenance) | 123,9 |
| 31400 | Trico windshield wipers (2 pcs.) | 17,2 |
| 45000 | TO-3 (oil (4 l), oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, flushing fluid, routine maintenance) | 148,3 |
| Replacing spark plugs (4 pcs.) | 85,6 | |
| Replacing the low beam bulb in the right headlight | 16,5 | |
| Adjusting the rear left door lock | 17,4 | |
| 54300 | Replacing the front right wheel hub | guarantee |
| 60000 | TO-4 (oil (4 l), oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, cabin ventilation filter, timing belt, scheduled maintenance) | 327,7 |
| Replacing the parking light bulb in the right headlight | 3,6 | |
| Adjusting the parking brake drive | 13,6 | |
| Replacing the timing belt drive rollers | guarantee | |
| 62700 | Windscreen wiper blades NePa (2 pcs.) | 10,6 |
| 68000 | Fuse 20A | 0.2 |
| 69000 | Replacing shock absorbers and rear suspension springs | guarantee |
| Replacing the left headlight low beam lamp | 17,8 | |
| 72100 | Windshield replacement | guarantee |
| 76000 | TO-5 (oil (4 l), oil filter, routine maintenance) | 108,6 |
| Replacing the license plate light bulb | 2,5 | |
| Replacing two center console illumination lamps | 8,8 | |
| 77500 | Rear left light | 66,2 |
| Brake and tail light lamp | 1,4 | |
| 82000 | Right headlight low beam lamp | 10,5 |
| 83000 | Nokian NRH2 tires (4 pcs.) | 268,5 |
| 88000 | Ball joints (2 pcs.) | 88,0 |
| 90000 | TO-6 (oil (4 l), oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, cabin ventilation filter, routine maintenance) | 250,1 |
| Replacing spark plugs (4 pcs.) | 27,7 | |
| Replacing the front brake pads | 90,8 | |
| Antifreeze liquid | 22,6 | |
| Petrol (7218 liters) | 2051,2 | |
| Total | 5164,6 |
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