Civic or Astra?

samby_08

Hey all,

Been shopping around lately for a new car. Was looking at both a 2008 1.4 civic and Astra but torn between the two. Anyone have any thoughts are these two cars? Which is nippier/better drive/ economical etc??

bazz26

Civic is a fresher model being launched in 2006 whereas the Astra was launched back in 2004. Civic would generally be more reliable and better equipped too. Performance and fuel economy would probably be similar on both.

counterlock

I went for the 1.8 es version of the civic, very little difference in economy and I found the 1.4 a little underpowered. Lovely car to drive, very comfortable but the suspension is very low and hard in comparison to the astra. Absolute oceans of space in it.

My other half has the 1.4 club version, reliable enough although she did have quite a bit of trouble with the timing chain. I find the interior a bit dull.

samby_08

Thanks folks, I test drove the 1.4 16v Astra today and found it alarmenly sluggish/slow. Like the engine would not equipped for the weight of the car. It's advertised of having a slightly more powerful engine (1364 cc compared to the 1339 cc civic)

Does anyone know if the civic is equally sluggish as the Astra?

ShadowHearth

samby_08 wrote: »

Thanks folks, I test drove the 1.4 16v Astra today and found it alarmenly sluggish/slow. Like the engine would not equipped for the weight of the car. It's advertised of having a slightly more powerful engine (1364 cc compared to the 1339 cc civic)

Does anyone know if the civic is equally sluggish as the Astra?

From what research i did on those civics, I learned that 1.8 version is the one to go for. Fuel economy same, but it is a lot better engine. More power and drives nicer. Economy of 1.8 supposed to be really damn good for petrol car.

One issue that I find with those gen civil is the radio hand unit thing. If you buy thagcivic pretty much be ready to use only standard stereo. I am no boy racer with damn boom box in the back, but things like Bluetooth, aux, USB are a must for me.

bazz26

If your going for a 2008 model and if both are on the new tax system then it's worth checking out the 1.8 litre 5 door hatchback Civic, tax on them is only 390 compared to 280 for the 1.4 litre. 1.8 litre 3 door hatchback and 4 door saloon Civics are in a slightly higher tax brand at 570.

GustavoFring

I just filled up herselfs 1.8 civic hatch there, after a trip to Limerick, on to Kilkenny and back to cork plus some local driving it worked out at 44mpg which I think is about as good as you'd get in a petrol car in that class. The only thing I'd say against the civic is it feels a bit tinny and noisy but otherwise it's a much better car than the Astra.

CiniO

samby_08 wrote: »

Thanks folks, I test drove the 1.4 16v Astra today and found it alarmenly sluggish/slow. Like the engine would not equipped for the weight of the car. It's advertised of having a slightly more powerful engine (1364 cc compared to the 1339 cc civic)

Does anyone know if the civic is equally sluggish as the Astra?

If you felt Astra was underpowered, then Civic will be even more underpowered.

Astra is 1364cc with 90HP, 0-100km/h acceleration 13.7s
Civic is 1339cc with 83HP, 0-100km/h acceleration 14.6s

Both very poor performance IMO.

If I were you, I'd either go for 1.8 I-VTEC Civic or 1.4 I-VTEC Civic (if for some reason you need 1.4) which was available on vehicles after facelift in 2009 (I think from September 2009) so you'd need to go for 2009 or newer.

Civic with 1.4 I-VTEC is 1339cc with 100HP, 0-100km/h acceleration 13s.
Or just go for 1.8 I-VTEC 1799cc, 140HP, 0-100km/h acceleration 8.9s (which is a huge difference to 1.4 version).

colm_mcm

Just watch the insurance on the 1.8 - mine isn't astronomical but I'm def paying a bit extra for having a civic, the 3.0 jaguar I had before it was cheaper to insure.

punisher5112

Civic all the way...

counterlock

GustavoFring wrote: »

I just filled up herselfs 1.8 civic hatch there, after a trip to Limerick, on to Kilkenny and back to cork plus some local driving it worked out at 44mpg which I think is about as good as you'd get in a petrol car in that class. The only thing I'd say against the civic is it feels a bit tinny and noisy but otherwise it's a much better car than the Astra.

Had to spin out to work this morning and reset the trip counter before I left. 50.7 out of mine, 43 mile round trip, light traffic but crap roads with a lot of hills. I find it very heavy in town, stop start stuff. I'd average 40 over the course of three months, which is very respectable given the power.

I would also echo what was said earlier about the stereo, its a disaster. No aux or bluetooth on all but the top model if I remember. The aerial is in the back window and it affects FM tuner something awful

samby_08

Thanks for all the help guys appreciated it