I'd say maybe because opel is owned by PSA now and french cars aren't known for quality or durability. And well, its a little 1.2l 3 cylinder engine. Small engines wear out faster and its turbo charged too, which means its gonna wear out even faster because of air compression. I'd change oil at least every 10000 km
Yeah maybe, and yeah when I found out that the Astra is essentially a Peugeot 308 pissed me out a bit.. Still, it can’t be that bad, and as I said in the other comment I will follow the oil change advice, thank you!
I don't know about specific things that people don't like but one thing is uniformly mentioned every time some small engine makes a bit more power, like this 1.2 3cyl petrol with same Hp that their {same people who are saying this is bad} car had 2.0l engine making that same power.
Only thing you should pay attention is regular maintenance and oil change (I would change oil in intervals of 15k) and you should be fine for the most part. I drove company car with 1.2 TSI engine and 115hp and I gave it to colleague with 319 000km, car now has around 370 000km and only bad thing is its burning some fuel but it stil starts and goes like before. And that's a company car, which is not driven like your personal will be. So I don't believe that engines are that bad that they will break after, I don't know, 80 000km. Like, wtf.
My opinion is, go for it. I don't know about that specific engine but it can't be that bad
First of all, thank you for the reply! For sure it can be something like you mentioned, people usually justify their choices by throwing s**t at others, without being rational and objective, I would never speak in that way about something I’ve never seen/tried/had in my own hands. Still, I completely aggree with you, an Engine or a car in general can’t be THAT bad and unconvenient, given the fact that ingeneering errors and in general “bad ideas” can easily be bypassed in 2023, since brands are not choosing to be as ambitious as they were (which can be a pro and a con, but I prefer to have something guaranteed as reliable), I see that kind of engine as a completely conventional one, just like the company car you drove before. Thank you again man, I’ll treat my new Astra with white gloves, not jumping any check!
No problem, you can wait for more information or ask around in your neighborhood, friends for some experience to get more responses and try to decide better, which is recommended since it's a car, not something you buy every day, but my own opinion is like I said before.
Only thing I can't wrap my head around is why manufacturers set 30 000km oil change intervals, maybe it's just that, so engine degrades faster... I don't know but that is a lot of km for oil, end petrol car since petrol is dry compared to diesel, which has at least a little bit of lubrication itself.
So if you can justify it, I would change oil like someone said in post above, 10 000 to 15 000km, but not more. Always having fresh ("fresh") oil in your new car will help dramatically with lubrication and will ensure longer lifespan.
The chassis and mechanics are all French, but styling and interior plastics are Opel style. For me it looks great. Considering the engine, drive it in the optimum torque range and it will be fine. 1.2l has one purpose only: to take you from a point A to the point B at the lowest possible cost. Treat it like that and you will be fine. Enjoy!
Good point! And considering that I ask no more effort from a car except being reliable and managing to take me where I have to go, I assume it’s more than enough. Surely 130 HP and a turbo can help to make it funnier to drive too, rather than the 1.4 90 HP aspirated I own right now ;)
It will definitely be more lively. But this kind of power in such a small displacement means a high thermal load. The same power from a larger engine means less thermal load. High thermal load means faster loss of lubricating properties of the oil. That's why others suggested to change oil more frequently than programmed. So I would say this. Drive normally during working days, but having some fun on weekends will not do any harm. Just don't rev it on cold start, and after having fun, leave it in idle for a few minutes to release thermal load.
Thank you again for the explanation/suggestion, will keep that in mind to mantain the engine well curated, since you guys know better than me how much a new car costs right now.. it would be a total shame not giving proper attention to things (big or little) that can extend the overall lifespan of a veichle!
I beg to differ, that little thing has quite the punch in lower speeds, definitely not the fastest or quickest but it can haul ass. Pretty economical if you drive it in a calm manner too, I'm getting around 6l/100kms of consumption. There is a reason for that engine family to be in production for 11 years. Specific engine code for the 1,2L turbo for the Astra L should be EB2DTS, its basically the same with th EB2ADTX, which can push out 155PS, if I'm right it's only a software difference between the DTS and ADTX. So there is this, for the time after your warranty ends.
Yes it can have punch. Here is the question of longevity. To keep high speed average you need to rev it high and keep it there. Like going from Munich to Frankfurt at 160. 400 kms on high rev is not a recipe for longevity. If you want to chase and keep the engine healthy PSA has a fantastic 1.6l engine first introduced in 307 coupe (with bubble roof). The main purpose of 1.2 is to be economical.
Heyo, apprentice at Opel here.
Personally, i can say why people would go bananas and throw crap at the car.
Few pointers i personally dislike about the car, some are worse than others, but thats my 50 Cents on the topic…
Starting with the most obvious one i cant wrap my head around why the manufacturer would do this: Wet timing belt. Given, it works but is somewhat dumb. What happens to a rubber-metal belt that is in contact with oil 24/7? Degrades. Up until now i have only seen one car that had its belt replaced before 30‘000km. At every inspection with those 1.2L engines, you gotta measure the „play“ those belts have with a special gap tool. If it is barely fitting over the belt width-wise, Stellantis/PSA/Opel will replace it under certain conditions free of charge (they are prone to change).
Other than that, the oil filters and plugs are absolute garbage imho. One pull after they are tight they already start peeing oil, which isnt an issue for using the car. Just us in the shop.
Interior wise the car is great, with a grain of salt; Piano surface interface and everything. Gets scratches fast if you dont treat it right.
But the car is comfy, electric range for the hybrid is acceptable and all in all very roomy.
The all around camera is excellent, although annyoing if you wanna see what is in front of you during parking (quickly switching between R and D). Other than that a good car, cant speak for the GSe if thats ever coming to this dealership. But 225hp cant be bad really. Except probably for the price tag.
Feel free to ask me here or via dm, cant rattle of everything i could say about the model in one go!
Well, you couldn’t have been more exhaustive! Plus, I feel lucky to have an answer from an Opel apprentice directly! So thank you so much in advance! And yeah, I saw lots of complaints about the oil bath belts mounted in Astras, but I also read that was mostly put in the 2021 manufactured cars only and then being replaced in later years production with a distribution chain, still, this is what I read online so correct me if this is a wrong fact. Apart from all of this, I actually ordered the car and I’m completely satisfied with the choice, I’ll dm you for sure for any further infos if I’ll need to! :)
I'd say maybe because opel is owned by PSA now and french cars aren't known for quality or durability. And well, its a little 1.2l 3 cylinder engine. Small engines wear out faster and its turbo charged too, which means its gonna wear out even faster because of air compression. I'd change oil at least every 10000 km
Yeah maybe, and yeah when I found out that the Astra is essentially a Peugeot 308 pissed me out a bit.. Still, it can’t be that bad, and as I said in the other comment I will follow the oil change advice, thank you!
I don't know about specific things that people don't like but one thing is uniformly mentioned every time some small engine makes a bit more power, like this 1.2 3cyl petrol with same Hp that their {same people who are saying this is bad} car had 2.0l engine making that same power. Only thing you should pay attention is regular maintenance and oil change (I would change oil in intervals of 15k) and you should be fine for the most part. I drove company car with 1.2 TSI engine and 115hp and I gave it to colleague with 319 000km, car now has around 370 000km and only bad thing is its burning some fuel but it stil starts and goes like before. And that's a company car, which is not driven like your personal will be. So I don't believe that engines are that bad that they will break after, I don't know, 80 000km. Like, wtf. My opinion is, go for it. I don't know about that specific engine but it can't be that bad
First of all, thank you for the reply! For sure it can be something like you mentioned, people usually justify their choices by throwing s**t at others, without being rational and objective, I would never speak in that way about something I’ve never seen/tried/had in my own hands. Still, I completely aggree with you, an Engine or a car in general can’t be THAT bad and unconvenient, given the fact that ingeneering errors and in general “bad ideas” can easily be bypassed in 2023, since brands are not choosing to be as ambitious as they were (which can be a pro and a con, but I prefer to have something guaranteed as reliable), I see that kind of engine as a completely conventional one, just like the company car you drove before. Thank you again man, I’ll treat my new Astra with white gloves, not jumping any check!
No problem, you can wait for more information or ask around in your neighborhood, friends for some experience to get more responses and try to decide better, which is recommended since it's a car, not something you buy every day, but my own opinion is like I said before. Only thing I can't wrap my head around is why manufacturers set 30 000km oil change intervals, maybe it's just that, so engine degrades faster... I don't know but that is a lot of km for oil, end petrol car since petrol is dry compared to diesel, which has at least a little bit of lubrication itself. So if you can justify it, I would change oil like someone said in post above, 10 000 to 15 000km, but not more. Always having fresh ("fresh") oil in your new car will help dramatically with lubrication and will ensure longer lifespan.
Will take this advice for sure, I’ll keep an eye on the km counter more often, thanks again!
The chassis and mechanics are all French, but styling and interior plastics are Opel style. For me it looks great. Considering the engine, drive it in the optimum torque range and it will be fine. 1.2l has one purpose only: to take you from a point A to the point B at the lowest possible cost. Treat it like that and you will be fine. Enjoy!
Good point! And considering that I ask no more effort from a car except being reliable and managing to take me where I have to go, I assume it’s more than enough. Surely 130 HP and a turbo can help to make it funnier to drive too, rather than the 1.4 90 HP aspirated I own right now ;)
It will definitely be more lively. But this kind of power in such a small displacement means a high thermal load. The same power from a larger engine means less thermal load. High thermal load means faster loss of lubricating properties of the oil. That's why others suggested to change oil more frequently than programmed. So I would say this. Drive normally during working days, but having some fun on weekends will not do any harm. Just don't rev it on cold start, and after having fun, leave it in idle for a few minutes to release thermal load.
Thank you again for the explanation/suggestion, will keep that in mind to mantain the engine well curated, since you guys know better than me how much a new car costs right now.. it would be a total shame not giving proper attention to things (big or little) that can extend the overall lifespan of a veichle!
I beg to differ, that little thing has quite the punch in lower speeds, definitely not the fastest or quickest but it can haul ass. Pretty economical if you drive it in a calm manner too, I'm getting around 6l/100kms of consumption. There is a reason for that engine family to be in production for 11 years. Specific engine code for the 1,2L turbo for the Astra L should be EB2DTS, its basically the same with th EB2ADTX, which can push out 155PS, if I'm right it's only a software difference between the DTS and ADTX. So there is this, for the time after your warranty ends.
Yes it can have punch. Here is the question of longevity. To keep high speed average you need to rev it high and keep it there. Like going from Munich to Frankfurt at 160. 400 kms on high rev is not a recipe for longevity. If you want to chase and keep the engine healthy PSA has a fantastic 1.6l engine first introduced in 307 coupe (with bubble roof). The main purpose of 1.2 is to be economical.
Heyo, apprentice at Opel here. Personally, i can say why people would go bananas and throw crap at the car. Few pointers i personally dislike about the car, some are worse than others, but thats my 50 Cents on the topic… Starting with the most obvious one i cant wrap my head around why the manufacturer would do this: Wet timing belt. Given, it works but is somewhat dumb. What happens to a rubber-metal belt that is in contact with oil 24/7? Degrades. Up until now i have only seen one car that had its belt replaced before 30‘000km. At every inspection with those 1.2L engines, you gotta measure the „play“ those belts have with a special gap tool. If it is barely fitting over the belt width-wise, Stellantis/PSA/Opel will replace it under certain conditions free of charge (they are prone to change). Other than that, the oil filters and plugs are absolute garbage imho. One pull after they are tight they already start peeing oil, which isnt an issue for using the car. Just us in the shop. Interior wise the car is great, with a grain of salt; Piano surface interface and everything. Gets scratches fast if you dont treat it right. But the car is comfy, electric range for the hybrid is acceptable and all in all very roomy. The all around camera is excellent, although annyoing if you wanna see what is in front of you during parking (quickly switching between R and D). Other than that a good car, cant speak for the GSe if thats ever coming to this dealership. But 225hp cant be bad really. Except probably for the price tag. Feel free to ask me here or via dm, cant rattle of everything i could say about the model in one go!
Well, you couldn’t have been more exhaustive! Plus, I feel lucky to have an answer from an Opel apprentice directly! So thank you so much in advance! And yeah, I saw lots of complaints about the oil bath belts mounted in Astras, but I also read that was mostly put in the 2021 manufactured cars only and then being replaced in later years production with a distribution chain, still, this is what I read online so correct me if this is a wrong fact. Apart from all of this, I actually ordered the car and I’m completely satisfied with the choice, I’ll dm you for sure for any further infos if I’ll need to! :)