Opel astra vs toyota corolla

niavd

Im looking for a new car around 04/05 and up until now ive been looking at toyota corollas as ive been told there great cars etc - but for the past 2 yrs ive really wanted an opel astra because i just really like the look of them.
People are still pushing me towards the corolla but i cant get the astra out of my head!
Im afraid if i buy the corolla il always regret not getting the astra but if i buy the astra that it will let me down and everyone will say 'i told you so'.
Please if anyone has any advice or experiences with either car it would be great.

Payton

Corolla for me, I had one for 4 years and never a problem.

meoklmrk91

My father has a corolla of this era, in fact he has had nothing but corollas as long as I can remember. Tbh it is nothing special, it has given him a good bit of bother, they are not a bad looking car but the interior is about as dull as you can get.

With toyotas you are paying for their famous reliabity, I don't know about anyone else but I don't think that this era corolla is a patch on the xli of the 90's in terms of reliability. You should get whatever car you want to get and feck everyone else, that said I no nothing about Astras of this era, they could be woeful for all I know, but personally I think any car regardless of the badge can be reliable if it is minded and maintainted properly.

colm_mcm

If you're looking at petrol models then the reputation is deserved, I sold them for years and very rarely saw any in for warranty work.
Try and get a higher spec one as the base model is poorly equipped.

Rasheed

Just after up grading to a 08 astra from a 04 and I absolutely love them. Never had a bit of bother with the 04, which was a petrol. Very economical and never let me down. I was doing 90 miles round trip 5 days a week in it through the bad winters, never had any bother.
The 08 I'm after buying is a diesel, very nippy, looks gorgeous and seems deadly so far.
I had a 04 corolla, my brothers, while I was getting the new car sorted and I seriously did not like it. Did not like the feel of it driving, not as comfortable and definatly not as good looking as the astra.

It was hard on petrol, seemed very creeky for a 04 and had given him bother regarding the electrics, eg, window winder needed replacing,heater broke, wipers were temperamental.

I'd sat follow your heart, get the astra and il bet ya a tenner you won't regret it! Plus the corollas are too common...

Squ

niavd wrote: »

Im looking for a new car around 04/05 and up until now ive been looking at toyota corollas as ive been told there great cars etc - but for the past 2 yrs ive really wanted an opel astra because i just really like the look of them.
People are still pushing me towards the corolla but i cant get the astra out of my head!
Im afraid if i buy the corolla il always regret not getting the astra but if i buy the astra that it will let me down and everyone will say 'i told you so'.
Please if anyone has any advice or experiences with either car it would be great.

Have you sat in/drove an astra? I had a new one on hire last year.. After a few days i absolutely dreaded getting into the thing.

Seats, dash, ride. All brutal.

Ive had a couple of carollas. They wont set your world on fire, but are a good car.

Leonard Hofstadter

The Astra is a fair bit nicer than the Corolla - especially inside.

Toyota reliability is nothing special really - the reputation is over-exaggerated if you ask me.

Astras are reliable although they do suffer from head gasket failure. What happens is that the coolant can leak out of them and if it goes unchecked for long enough then the head gasket will go, but if you check the coolant every week then if it suddenly drops you'll spot it and it's usually very cheap to fix!

Corollas from that vintage have issues with burning oil as well, and gearbox bearings can give trouble from time to time (although the latter problem isn't all that common).

colm_mcm

It'd be rare enough to get a corolla of that era burning oil, the previous generation does alright.

SJPK

I'd have to recommend the astra! My dad has one (06) and my brother has a corolla (05). Even though the corolla is grand thats really as far as i can go. Both are much the same power wise etc but i feel the astra is better in a few ways. For example, in my experience the handling/comfort/cabin noise is a good bit better! It also feels a lot sturdier on the road and 'irons out the bumps' as they say really well! overall, really comfortable on any road.
The astra is nicer to drive with a bit of a lower driving position and the pedals, gearbox and steering is nicely weighted, whereas the corolla is very light with not very much feel?
Inside the astra feels n looks nicer and very well built .
one downfall i have with the astra is that the timing chain is fairly prone to stretching/rattling if not serviced but my dads one has low miles and is extremely quite/smooth. In that line the corolla may be a bit more robust/tough.
Another downfall with the astra is that it wont hold its value as much as the corolla, but in saying this, theres an awful premium on toyotas.... but this could woork to your benefit as it will be cheaper and there seems to be more well looked after astras with lower miles in comparison.
oh and which ever one you get, try your best to get anythin above the base model, as mentioned, i.e not astra life, not nice
oh and the astra can be a bit noisey/scratchy from cold, but once warm.... like silk

Xantia

I had a Diesel Astra for a few years, no problems at all with it.
Although I presume that the Corolla would be just as reliable.

Zubeneschamali

Xantia wrote: »

Although I presume that the Corolla would be just as reliable.

No, the Corolla would be ten times as reliable! That's why people buy them.

niavd

Thanks to everyone who answered, so all in all both cars are decent enough - and yes i agree with the inside if corollas being very dull and boring looking and im shallow when it comes to cars so that is a bit of a let down for me.
I think il try get an astra, if i can find a nice one :-). Thanks again

shane.

have an 06 astra myself, go for the 1.6 if you can

niavd

shane. wrote: »

have an 06 astra myself, go for the 1.6 if you can

Why 1.6? I actuly just sold my 1.6 car so i could get a 1.4 :-(. Going to see one tomorow. Hopefuly its nice and i can have some happy years in a new astra. Too excited!

colm_mcm

Who changes cars for 200cc

niavd

colm_mcm wrote: »

Who changes cars for 200cc

Tax and insurance - also petrol - obviously :-)

bazz26

Have you looked at the Mazda 3? Cheaper to buy than a Corolla.

colm_mcm

You're going on the (often incorrect) assumption that a smaller engine will save you money on fuel.

niavd

colm_mcm wrote: »

You're going on the (often incorrect) assumption that a smaller engine will save you money on fuel.

Its more for tax and insurance reasons, to be honest my last car was a gem on fuel.

MuppetCheck

niavd wrote: »

Tax and insurance - also petrol - obviously :-)

Tax and insurance are minimal. Modern cars are heavy and often a higher powered model will be lighter on fuel compared to the lower powered one as it doesn't need to be worked as hard. This is particularly the case with cars in this class of the 1.4 and 1.6 variety as many of the 1.4s are very underpowered.

Leonard Hofstadter

niavd wrote: »

Its more for tax and insurance reasons, to be honest my last car was a gem on fuel.

So you're going to spend potentially thousands on a new car to save €100 a year in tax, or two euro a week?

Squ

captainspeed wrote: »

So you're going to spend potentially thousands on a new car to save €100 a year in tax, or two euro a week?

SSSHHHHHH!!!!! It's irish mentality like this that lets me buy a cls for 6k..

No second hand value as lads wont pay the tax:)

Rasheed

niavd wrote: »

Why 1.6? I actuly just sold my 1.6 car so i could get a 1.4 :-(. Going to see one tomorow. Hopefuly its nice and i can have some happy years in a new astra. Too excited!

Let us know how you get on!