[TejasKinger]

Lovely thread. Thank you for the nostalgia trip. Here's an Opel Astra Club that I saw recently decaying away in the lanes of HSR layout, Bangalore.



The exterior actually seems to be in good condition. And going by the way the tyres are holding up, it doesn't look to be abandoned a very long time ago. Fingers crossed someone saves this beauty.

[Nanolover]

I still remember the Auto india road test of the astra. The original with black bumpers and a nice shade of purplish red ( don't know the colour). Saw one in our school for the first time and it was a stunning car for its time. It shouted rich !!! And was every bit as covered as the Mercedes E class.

However running costs and reliability issues drove it to the ground. It was a car way ahead of its time. How I secretly wish was old enough and rick enough in the 90's to own these gems- Astra, 309, Honda City, Sierra turbo... The lust list goes on...

[W.A.G.7]

If you ask me, these things were seriously good for their time. Opel Astra, Ford Escort, Honda City (1st Gen), Daewoo Cielo, Maruti Baleno (old one) and the Maruti Esteem were pretty good cars for their time in the late 90's and early 2000's. In fact I would say they were very much ahead of their time. There are some really thoughtful touches on each of these cars with regards to usability and interfaces. The seriously good part was that there were no touch screen functionality, almost no electronic gimmics and everything had the physical buttons! I really miss those. Thanks for bringing back the Nostalgic Memories.I also remember that Autocar, Overdrive and a couple of other magazines used to run comparos between these cars. It was a treat to read about those.

[Entsurgeon]

Originally Posted by shardul_pathak

I also remember, there was a movie with Salman Khan, Priety Zinta and Rani Mukherjee, where either one of the actresses have an accident, and in the hospital, the doctor says, that she got saved because the car was an Opel Astra! Don't remember the name of the movie!

Chori chori chupke chupke i guess. The scene was in first 10 minutes of the movie.
That was an era of potholes and unmarked highways. Even in zero traffic, one needed to brake or swerve twice a km on the better highways. This took toll on engines suspension and body shell. These cars still lasted a good 70-80k kms without overhaul. The cars were fast for the era.

[ard1955]

The Opel Astra will always hold a special place in my heart. We bought ours on January 24th, 1997, an unforgettable day because it was also my father’s birthday. The car came in a beautiful Tuscany Red (a rich maroon shade) from ACT India’s showroom in Alwarpet, (Madras) now Chennai.

But fate had other plans, just 15 days after the delivery, the car met with a major accident on the Tirupati hill, rolling over at the first hairpin bend. Miraculously, all the occupants escaped without a single scratch. The car was repaired and returned to us, and it became a part of our family for 9 incredible years.

During its time with us, the car clocked an impressive 220,000 kilometers, ferrying my father and our extended family on countless road trips across South India and even up north. Those road trips were pure magic, even though the Astra wasn’t trouble-free. I distinctly remember an incident in 2003 or 2004 when the fuel pump gave up on a journey to Bangalore. We had to leave the car midway and rely on ACT India’s service team to pick it up the next day. Eventually, we got it fixed at Garuda Motors in Bangalore, but such challenges became part of the car’s story.

Our frequent visits to the Guindy service center (ACT India) in Chennai are another fond memory, especially the times my father and I spent there together. As the car aged, it did face more issues, but it soldiered on.

Our Astra ran on Bridgestone Potenzas in the beginning and then we switched to Michelin when they introduced the Certis. Post that, switched over to Pilot Preceda 2. The tyre changes were always done at Siremull Hirachand's Tyrestore.

The Astra also went through a few transformations over the years, too. Originally in Tuscany Red, we later changed the color to grey and then finally to a striking bottle green. By the end of 2006, though, its time with us came to an end. We sold it for a mere ₹60,000. The car had given it all by then, and it was practically lifeless, but the memories it gave us were priceless.

Even today, whenever I spot an Opel Astra, my heart skips a beat. It reminds me of my father and all those wonderful moments we shared in the car. The Astra was his favorite, and now, both the car and my dad are no longer a part of my life. Yet the bond remains, stronger than ever.

I often dream of owning an Opel Astra again someday. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll get to relive those memories in some way.

Here are a few pictures of the Astra

[Uppili_N55]

Ah great memories. In my opinion, it was the most European looking car that was sold in India back in the day. I remember a guy who had one near my house when I was a 5 year old kid and I would look at it every time it drove by. It was sold as a Vauxhall in some parts of world, but they still carried over the V grill for its facelift, even when the car was still sold as Opel and not Vauxhall in India.

[invidious]

Difficult to express now with the plethora of cars we have - how the mid 90s heralded a significant change for the Indian consumer. From Maruti 800, Zen and 1000/Esteem being the only viable options (not going to count cars by HM and PAL) - all of a sudden we had Opels, Fords, Hyundais, Hondas, the short lived Peugeot, Daewoo and Skoda. Maybe I missed some. But it truly was a decade which changed the Indian landscape in almost every sphere.

Lovely memories.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Year 2000 through to 2006 I had two Astras - two tone cars one in shades of brown and the other in shades of black/silver.

Sir, While creating the thread, something told me that you'd have definitely owned an Astra, and I wasn't wrong.

Originally Posted by saket77

The design even today doesn’t look out of the place

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The Opel Astra is such a gorgeous car; absolutely lovely design

Agree; even today, this design would turn heads.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

these guys first got an Astra that had a Sunroof which was latter swapped for a newer model which came with a DVD player and a flip down screen for the second row

A premium stereo those days was a big thing. Thank you for sharing that story.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

I remember how my jaw literally dropped when I saw the power antenna come out. The power windows were like magic too

Same feeling here, when I'd acquired a '95 Esteem in the year 2000 that was retrofitted with a power antenna and Mitsubishi power windows.

Originally Posted by shardul_pathak

It is the textbook definition of nostalgia!

they offered to drop us home in their Opel Astra! As a kid that was a dream, the power windows, the dash, the rev counter, I kept gazing at all of that!

Thank You for sharing that experience; am sure you'll remember it forever

Originally Posted by TejasKinger

Here's an Opel Astra Club that I saw recently decaying away in the lanes of HSR layout, Bangalore.

Attachment 2699266

Thank You for sharing this pic; the HR alloys look better than the stock ones.

Originally Posted by Nanolover

Saw one in our school for the first time and it was a stunning car for its time. It shouted rich !!

Rich indeed!

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

I also remember that magazines used to run comparos between these cars. It was a treat to read about those.

Absolutely; those days, I'd visit a library and go through all available auto mags there for such articles.

Originally Posted by ard1955

The Opel Astra will always hold a special place in my heart; the car clocked an impressive 220,000 kilometers. Even today, whenever I spot an Opel Astra, my heart skips a beat. The Astra was his favorite, and now, both the car and my dad are no longer a part of my life.

Very poignant story there; however it would only be fair to say that Dad is still part of your life, and so is the Astra as a car.

Originally Posted by Uppili_N55

it was the most European looking car that was sold in India back in the day

Indeed

Originally Posted by invidious

From Maruti 800, Zen and 1000/Esteem being the only viable options (not going to count cars by HM and PAL) - all of a sudden we had Opels, Fords, Hyundais, Hondas, the short lived Peugeot, Daewoo and Skoda

Several options even then to suit various pockets.

Originally Posted by SuperGirl_Dad

Can you please explain whats the gross weight and Perm axle wt. front/rear here? Is gross wt. = vehicle + passengers. If then without rear passengers will it be front heavy car?

Does this car have ABS brakes?

The Astra didn't come with ABS, at least at launch.

In the name plate on the Astra that I shared, the permissible axle weight front plus rear totals the Gross Vehicle Weight. Out of curiosity, I checked name plates on my current ones and no mention of weight was there. Some RC cards carry the unladen and Gross Vehicle Weight numbers these days, while some don't mention these.

[Dippy]

What a fabulous write up vigsom and thanks for taking me down memory lane.

It was truly something else growing up in the 90s especially during years that India received an influx of international cars. The Astra was one of my favourites. Apart from one of my friends getting one of the first cars, the owner of my computer classes also owned one.

Loved the interiors and tank like build. Every bit of that car reeked of quality.

I remember back in 2001 when I bought my used Zen AT, I was offered an immaculate condition Astra Club AT for a nice price. I stayed away though.

My favourite was the 98 Soccer World Cup edition in a lovely shade of green and a special badge.

There are still a few of these Astras around. I see one well kept one often being driven around by an elderly lady. Looks right out of thr showroom.

[raj_5004]

Thank you so much for this thread.

Our first car like most Indian households was a Premier Padmini. It was followed by a 118NE.

One summer, dad gave me a surprise that we are getting a new car and it's on the way home. Obviously, I was glued to the window all day. Lo and behold, I see a silver shine at a distance. It was an Opel Astra in silver shade. Damn, I was excited! It was our first "luxury" car. When I sat in the cabin, I wanted to touch and try all the buttons, I wanted to read the full owner's manual... Damn, I was excited!

Dad loved the Astra! When it was time for a change, he again chose an Astra. In silver shade, the official name was "Kashmere". This time it was the Astra Club and it came with the below upgrades over the regular Astra (as far as I can remember):

- Dual tone color
- Sunroof
- Air vents on the hood
- Wooden interior panels
- Alloy wheels
- Fog lights
- Rear spoiler

Most of these features were unheard in this segment back then, especially the sunroof. I still remember the attention it used to get when driven with the sunroof open. We had retrofitted this car with an aftermarket head unit with a 12 CD changer. The CD changer was installed in the boot, common practice back then.

One of the best traits of the Astra which most others have mentioned in this thread was the ride quality. Sublime is an understatement!

But the build quality was top notch. Once we were rear ended by a Mahindra MM540 at a low speed. The Astra was left unfazed by the metal bumper of the Mahindra.

The looks. It was understated and classy. No offence, but even though they were priced almost similarly, I felt the Opel Astra were a class above the more popular Honda City & Mitsubishi Lancer.

A few negatives which I remember:

- The bonnet lacked insulation and used to heat up pretty bad after a long drive. Our first Astra even had a minor paint fade. This was solved with the Astra Club as it has air vents.
- The steering was really heavy, especially compared to the Honda City which was the top seller in the segment.
- Expensive maintenance!
- Headlight throw was really bad, fog lights were useless!

We were so impressed with Opel as a brand that we had even considered and test driven the Opel Vectra in 2005. But by that time, news of Opel exiting India had come by. And we kept the Astra for a while which was eventually replaced by a boring Toyota Innova.

Guess what. We had the Astra with us till around 2010. Then it was sold to a family for a paltry sum of Rs. 80,000! When we asked him why he was buying an Astra as the brand did not have presence in the country anymore, he simply mentioned - "I do not want to drive the car. I just want to park it in front of my house and show people that I have an Opel."

My dad passed away in 2022, but if you ever asked him what's the best car he ever had, he would say in the blink of an eye - ASTRA!

[ritedhawan]

The only german car , I ever drove extensively was the two-tone black-and silver Opel Astra Club. My father bought it second hand, and I was the one who drove it past 6 digit mileage.

(1) Solid build.
(2) The higher the speed , the planted the feel.
(3) I used to buy ArmourAll liquid wax and polish and used to apply it periodically and then it would turn heads whether on highways or city roads.
(4) The extensive use of clutch , whether in city or highways would cause a return force, could easily cause pain in the left calf and heel.
(5) The paucity of parts was a perennial issue, and became acute once Opel left.
(6) For some reason "it had a camber issue which could not be fixed and due to which , one could never get the alignment right" -- Quoted from our preferred mechanic who used to work on it.
(7) The interior as well as the exterior was build to last.

There are many other points which I have detailed in my long-term review which I posted for my erstwhile ownership of the dual-tone Opel Astra club way back in 2010. Google 'opel astra club review' and its likely that my review shows up either first, second or third.

I will share that long term review link here which I posted on T-Bhp in the year 2010:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ng-review.html (OPEL ASTRA club, 1.1 lakh km, long review)

[loki]

Thanks for starting this post - brings back a lot of memories from the mid-late 90s.

Some really nice looking set of wheels (for 90s India) back then - Opel Astra, Daewoo Cielo, Maruti 1000 / Esteem in the mid 90s and then Honda City, Mitsubishi Lancer, Hyundai Accent, Maruti Baleno in the Late 90s.

The Astra was among my favorite to ogle at. Loved the Lightning bolt Opel logo as well. I was drooling when Opel brought in the Vectra (to compete in the D segment with the Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata etc).

Wish we had better roads, Sedans would be big today as well..

[sjain2054]

What a wonderful thread for such a beautiful car.

In 1998-1999, when I was about 15 years old, a friend shifted from our building in Colaba to Malabar Hills. I am mentioning this to show that his dad moved up in life and to a fancy location and soon thereafter bought a fancy car too - the Opel Astra. They used to call it the poor man's Mercedes. I never really cared for that saying. Anyway, so this friend used to come to meet us in Colaba in this Opel Astra. This is where I met the Opel Astra for the first time in my life. We were close friends and our gang of boys got a new way to make fun of him - "Arey bada aadmi ban gaya..." and all that. You know how we were at that age (still are), always poking fun at our friends and that is what made us good friends.

Back to the Astra, I remember thinking how smooth it was and discussions about fuel economy with his driver. He told us that it is indeed very nice to drive and told us all about the smooth gear shifts and the great pick up. He even mentioned the support of the suspension while turning corners. The driver was an enthusiast and I still recall his stories till date. Fuel economy in Mumbai city was 6kmpl. But who cares about such things. I was enamored most by the "support of the suspension while cornering". 5 years later, I was driving and exploring cornering of cars like Ford Ikon 1.6 and the Balono 1.6. Good days.

In 2003, a friend in college at Hyderabad bought the Opel Corsa. We would go drag racing in that car. He was a really good driver. I loved that car too. What handling! Was the Corsa an improved version of the Astra?

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by sjain2054

Was the Corsa an improved version of the Astra?

Nope. The Corsa was a segment below the Astra.

I believe they were both sold simultaneously for a couple of years in the early 2000s. Guess the Astra was stopped when the Vectra was launched in 2002 and the Sail and Swing accompanied the Corsa sedan.

[abhi_tjet]

It was lovely reading about the forgotten beauty. Opel's looked quite different in a sea of City, Esteem, Cielo and others. The suspension, door heft, door console design, dashboard quality were all quite superlative. Thanks for sharing and refreshing memory.

My encounter with Opel
One of our roommate during my bachelor days was looking for a pre-owned car in Pune during 2010/11. We found a decent looking specimen of Opel Corsa in True Value, MyCar, Wakad outlet.

It was a 2005 make car with 1.4L petrol engine, ran around 70K kms. Got it serviced at Carnation, Tathawade before using it as a daily and they gave it a clean chit. It ran quiet fine for few thousand kms apart from some random overheating issue.

While using car for city duties, we had shown the radiator issue to multiple garages but none were able to fix it permanently and it finally went dead one fine day just like in case of fellow bhpian -
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...se-help-2.html (Opel Corsa Sail 1.4 Engine heating problem. Please Help!)

My first breakdown experience
When above happened, I was travelling to Navi Mumbai with my parents and room mate. I was at the wheel on expressway and car was cruising around 80-90 kmph. Suddenly, the engine was not revving, power wasn't getting produced and car started slowing down. I moved to the left shoulder slowly and tried restarting the car after turning it off. However, the car never started after that.

We had just crossed the Talegaon toll plaza and were relatively close to Pune. The tow truck came and towed the car back to Carnation but they were clueless. I booked a Shivneri(MH state Volvo) for my parents and they left for Mumbai. The car was later taken to Kalyan (my roommate's home town) and showed to some garage. Not sure about the exact cause but mechanic said the timing belt snapped and damaged some engine internals.

A used engine was later procured from somewhere in Thane and vehicle was used there after waiting for quite some time for parts, etc. So, above was my Corsa experience.