VAUXHALL ASTRAVAN Price as tested: £10,985 (ex-VAT).
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Engine: 1.7-litre, 67hp (50kW) turbo-diesel.
GVVV: 1,680kg. Payload: 509kg.
Test distance: 9,600 miles.
Fuel economy: 47.3mpg (5.91it/100km).
It's finally time to hand back our long-term Vauxhall Astra, having spent six months as an honorary White Van Man. Needless to say we didn't live up to the breed's reputation of originating road rage but even so, other drivers viewed us with suspicion and more often than not gave us the right of way.
So we'll feel more socially acceptable now our Astravan has gone, but are we happy to see the back of it or, is this the end of a wonderful relationship?
• PRODUCTIVITY The competition in this sector has become even fiercer since the launch of the excellent Renault Kangoo, another purposedesigned small van in the Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner mould (see Roadtest, page 42). This trio offers greater payload, more volume and some innovative functions that turn the vehicle into a mobile office. So why go elsewhere, you might ask?
The Astra does have a lot going for it and for operators who don't need maximum payload it's still very much in the running, with lively performance and good fuel efficiency in its favour.
We've had this Astra from new and the 1.7-litre turbo-diesel has loosened up considerably. Subjectively the performance seems to have improved and we reckon our previous 0,80km test time of 15 seconds would no longer stand. It's a pity that the power delivery isn't more linear, however, and the noticeable step up in acceleration at around 3,000rpm can become tiresome.
Fuel consumption has also improved over time. With around 4,000 miles on the clock the Astra returned 44.6mpg fully laden (some 4mpg better than the Berlingo). Recently, with just less than 10,000 miles recorded, we got 47.3mpg on our Kent light van test route. Few vans have done better.
With a van that's based on an estate car you're obviously going to get poor load volume but the payload is about right for the class. The only thing to watch out for is overloading the rear axle: to get the full benefits of loading capacity you need to stack the heavier stuff near the front or, even in the passenger seat.
• ON THE ROAD With some roadtest vehicles we notice things we don't like ini tially but expect to get used to over time. However, with long-term test vehicles there are sometimes features which only become apparent over time.
The Astra's steering falls into the first category—but after nigh-on 10,000 miles it still feels wrong. It's really too slow for town work and a little vague for high-speed driving. Three CM staffers have driven this van and they've all come back with the same complaint The steering is nicely assisted so it's never hard work, but it's all too easy to forget how much you actually have to turn the wheel. The highspeed woolliness is less of a problem but you still need to keep your wits about you.
In the second category there are the glow plugs and the build quality. The glow plugs take a long, long time to warm up: in the depths of winter we had to wait nearly 15 seconds before firing up the engine. A couple of months of this and it becomes a pain in your rather chilly backside.
Fortunately the heater works very well indeed. It takes a while to get going but can be easily adjusted and warms the cab quickly, thanks to its powerful fan.
Rattles and squeaks became apparent a couple of months from new, particularly from around the bulkhead area, so it seems the Astra has suffered somewhat in its conversion from car to van. To be fair, the cab itself still feels reasonably well bolted together.
Our only mishap with the Astra was a blow-out on the nearside rear, which gave us an opportunity to test the jack, which is easy to get to under a panel in the load space, and easy to use. We bought a replacement tyre for £76 including fitting.
The first service is imminent: the van will need to be booked in for a day and the cost will be £114 (inc-VAT).
• CAB COMFORT Our most authoritative assessment of the Astra's comfort comes from a staffer who took the Astra on an 1,800-mile round trip of Scotland and came back raving about it. He has often suffered back problems in similar vehicles but reported excellent support from the seat despite one run of around 550 miles of non-stop driving.
He also praised the engine, which pulled easily up the highest pass in the UK near Applecross in third gear and sat at speeds appropriate to the White Van Man for hours at a time.
Other good points include the security features and the powerassisted steering. There are useful storage areas behind the seats but a few more compartments for items such as tapes would be useful near the driving seat.
Our only real complaint concerns noise levels, which are fairly intrusive around the legal speed limit; one of our testers found that the cacophony could be masked by putting the radio through the rear speakers. Watch out for when a tape finishes, however, as there's a huge difference in volume settings between the tape and the radio.
• SUMMARY For our money there are two designs of vans in this market which are far better suited to the commercial operator: the Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner and the Renault Kangoo.
They all offer better payload, volume, storage space and (certainly in the Kangoo's case) handling.
The Astravan is quick, comfortable, fuel efficient and looks like a car: four reasons why it has sold so well and will continue to do so.
Our six months with it have shown that there are a few minor faults, but the next time you see White Van Man in a rage, remember that it's not the Astra to blame.
by Charles Young