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Car #1
Make
Model
Variant
Engine
Car #2
Make
Model
Variant
Engine

compare selected cars
1998. - 2004.
C - Small family car
wagon, 5 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
1998. - 2003.
C - Small family car
wagon, 5 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4288 mm
1709 mm
1510 mm
480 liters
1500 liters
52 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4397 mm
1735 mm
1473 mm
460 liters
1470 liters
55 liters
1998 Opel Astra Stationwagon
1998 Volkswagen Golf Variant

Engine

Opel / General Motors
2.0 Y20DTH
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1995 cc
101 hp
230 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
1.9 TDI ATD
Diesel
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1896 cc
100 hp
240 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 5 gears
1280 kg
12.5 s
183 km/h
7.7 l/100km
4.8 l/100km
5.9 l/100km
158 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1295 kg
12.7 s
188 km/h
6.8 l/100km
4.3 l/100km
5.2 l/100km
140 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 5 gears
1354 kg
13.9 s
184 km/h
8.7 l/100km
5.2 l/100km
6.5 l/100km
176 g/km

Expenses

500 EUR
Price from
800 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the small family car segment and utilize the same 5-door wagon body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific diesel engine choice they offer. The first one has a Opel-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 101hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 100hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

Safety

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Golf offers a marginal difference of 1% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Opel, as well as Volkswagen, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Astra as average reliability-wise, and Golf is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Astra rank it on average as 4.2, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.4 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Opel is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.2 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 183 kilometers per hour, 5km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Golf, averaging around 5.2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (54 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 13% difference compared to Astra.


Verdict

Volkswagen appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Golf offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with Opel offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the Volkswagen. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.

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