New Vauxhall Astra TwinTop review
Author: David Miles
Published: 04 July 2007
The Vauxhall Astra TwinTop is a two door coupe-convertible with prices ranging from £17,195 to £21,325.
There is a range of petrol and diesel engine choices and Standard, Sport, Design and Exclusiv trim and equipment levels. There are also several option packs that will further add to the price.
My chosen model was the TwinTop 1.9 CDTi Design, the likely best seller for company car users who traditionally cover higher mileages and diesel power is then a better choice.
Whether it is a retail or a business user I think the diesel model offers the best combination of performance and price at £21,165. Retail, lower mileage customers, might go for the highly respected1.8i petrol engine with the same Design specification but costs £1,970 less, but offers less rewarding driving.
An automatic transmission is also available as a £1,035 option with this petrol engine.
Core feature to this car over a three door Astra hatchback is the electrically operated three section steel roof. Being of three sections means it takes up less space once stowed in the boot leaving a useful 205 litres of luggage room and the boot can be easily accessed with the roof stowed in it.
Open the boot lid in the rain and water runs off the outside surface and down into the boot itself, as it does with the Focus CC.
Rear passenger space in the TwinTop for two adults is not great; plenty of elbow room but the legroom is minimal. The VW Eos in particular, and the new Focus CC, better serve rear seat passengers, especially on long journeys.
Rear headroom is just about adequate. The roof is easy to use and it seems to work well enough or though it feels fragile and it creaks and groans when in the raised position during driving on country roads.
Rear visibility is not great either and the extra cost rear parking sensor should be a standard item, not an extra cost option.
For added safety the front windscreen has a strengthened surround, there are active rear roll-over hoops, front and side airbags and added engineering makes the bodyshell 30 per cent torsionally stiffer than the previous Astra Convertible.
An electronic stability handling programme with traction control is standard fitment on the Design and Exclusiv versions of the TwinTop but it should be standard on all models, it costs £400.
Every version of the Astra TwinTop has air conditioning and a stereo radio and CD player.
The Design version has as standard 17-inch ally road wheels with low profile tyres, a Sports switch for the suspension, an upgraded sound system, rain sensitive wipers, the all important windbreak which reduces buffeting inside the car when the roof is down, and front foglights.
My test car had in addition larger 18-inch alloy wheels - don’t bother they look great but do nothing to improve the driving or ride quality, adaptive forward lighting, a further sound system upgrade, satellite navigation and cruise control and these items made the all-up price of the car a hefty £23,516.
The overall handling and road performance was good enough but not exceptional. The steering is relatively precise but is prone to kickback on poorer road surfaces, torque-steer and there is significant bodyshake with the roof down.
The 1.9-litre turbodiesel engine has 150PS of power with 320Nm of torque but the high fifth and sixth gear ratios, chosen for fuel economy and lower exhaust emissions, makes for lots of use of the six speed transmission on A and B roads.
Higher speed cruising on motorways is good and relatively noise free. Top speed is 132mph, 0-60mph is covered in 9.5 seconds and the road test fuel economy was 44.4mpg so overall this engine option is pretty efficient.
MILESTONES
Vauxhall Astra TwinTop 1.9CDTi Design
Price: £21,165 (£23,516 as tested)
Engine: 1.9-litre, four-cylinder, common-rail turbocharged diesel, 150PS, 320Nm from 2,000rpm
Performance: 132mph, 0-60mph 9.5 seconds, 47.1mpg (44.4mpg actual), CO2 160g/km, VED Band D £140
Insurance group: 12E
For: Attractive looks, stylish cabriolet and practical coupe in one car, compact roof, good diesel engine, well equipped, competitive starting price for the range.
Against: Average handling performance, creaking and fragile roof, limited rear legroom, rain water runs into the boot on opening the lid, not as good overall as the VW Eos of Ford Focus CC.
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I bought my astra twintop 1.8 design new july 2008.I have no problems so far with roof, but had mine back to dealer as when parked up from cold first time you get to about fifteen miles an hour I hear a loud clunk{like a cable adjusting)been told its air vents in engine opening and shutting at 700 miles. I took it back again at 1000 as it got worse(told it needed a new part)asked what part receptionist didnt know. Rang me when i was at seaside withcar to say part had come ABS unit! Fitted/ Took it back again as it started again at 1600 miles.I was told it is abs selfcheck system. nothing they can do. Now at 2400 miles been to second garage and they say the same and was told vauxhall will not do anything because no falts shows on computer system.Also was taken out in a 57 plate it was worse,told some do it some dont, wont go away and wont get any better vauxhall are aware but wont do any thing.Not letting this go, going to get in touch with watchdog. How many more are out htere with the same problem i wonder? Has anybody got any ideas go to plymouth on sunday.
I run the Astra Twintop Owners Club and several of our members have had minor roof problems and also water leaks. See astratwintop.net and we´ll try to help all TwinTop owners.
Nothing But problems with roof.
has been back to dealer 3 times and they have given up and told me to take it to a centre of excellence for twin tops !!
really cheased off.
Roof looses its memory to close as soon as you enter the boot .
big problem if the roof is open at the time as you are stuck with the roof in open position.
Julie Martin: Julie, the noise you hear is the ABS Solinoid engaging. I have a 2007 TT Design and it always happens after you start the engine and reach about 10 mph. It is quite normal and nothing to worry about. Hope this helps put your mind at rest.
Our TT (1.8 Petrol) is about 10 months old now - we have had problems with leaks and creaks. Car has been returned to the dealer 3 times to service, but water is still getting in. The creaking used to be minor, but now the whole roof seems to be creaking anything we drive over rough surface or a speed ramp!
I also reckon that the car is hard on petrol - I try to drive economically, but I struggle to get more than 350 miles from a full tank. Is this normal?
i have recently bought a 57 plate design model. Just tried to put teh roof back up and whilst it completed the boot flicked open and there are two bars about 3 inches long sticking up between the rear of the boot and the rearwindscreen and the boot has opened. Don`t want to force it, any suggestion out there???? please????
I have a '56' reg twin top that has water pouring into the boot.On taking it to the main agent I was told it was caused by damage to the 'c' frames which was due to the roof being opened with something on top of the 'net'. This has never happened, has anyone else had similar problems?
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I have had a twintop from new July 2006. Recently the boot has been taking in water and my local dealer but not supplier at Bapchild nr Sittingbourne Kent cannot seem to find how it is getting in. Since new it has taken in water when you lift the boot.A few months ago the top became stuck half open. Lets hope this does not happen in a sudden downpour. Pomphreys have had the car over a week now and today the 4th of February they say it will have to go to a twintop specialist as they cannot cure the problem. Can anyone out there sort out this. ongoing problem.Perhaps Vauxhall can help. I would like to have my pride and joy back. We are a vauhall family 5 various vauxhalls all from new in the past two years.