Car of the Week: Holden Astra Convertible

Sometimes chopping the roof of a car to make a convertible can have a horrible end result. The proportions get messed up and if the maker decides to fit a folding hard top said car is usually left with a massive derrière, take the Renault Megane CC for example. However, at other times a manufacturer nails it and my long overdue car of the week is my case in point, the Holden Astra Convertible.

The Holden Astra Convertible, unfortunately only Europe got the Coupe

The Mk4 Astra was a strong seller for GM the world over, taking the fight to the Ford Focus and VW Golf in the hatch back grudge match of the late 90's. But despite strong sales the Astra always looked a little plain Jane. Thankfully in 2001 GM fixed this by turning to Italian styling house Bertone and asking them to turn the bland Astra into a Coupe. What resulted was a handsomely proportioned, elegant two door Coupe and fabric roofed convertible variant. And between 2001 and 2006 Holden got a hold of that convertible. Now almost 10 years after production ceased Holden's Mk4 Astra cab makes a tempting proposition. Let me explain.

A thing of beauty, really...

A thing of beauty, something I never thought I'd say about an Astra but after a day staring at them in for sale ads I really do think this car is a looker. That long tail adds a real elegance to the Astra's form and by electing for a fabric roof rather than a metal folding one the Astra's lines aren't ruined, roof up or down. On the right set of wheels the car sits really nicely too and I was always a fan of the Astra's front splitter for some reason.

Easy to fix

Being based on the hum drum Astra also has it's benefits, like the availability of cheap parts. There are literally thousands of Mk4 Holden Astra's out there so should something go wrong a part shouldn't be hard to come by nor expensive. In saying that though the big selling Holden proved to be pretty reliable in the first place so provided you buy right a well maintained cabriolet shouldn't need too much tinkering. Also the benefit of being a cab means original buyers might not have used them as hard as they would have a normal hatchback, more of a weekend cruiser than a daily commuter tool. So km's might be fewer and wear and tear less.

Turbo makes up for cheap interior

Two engines powered the Astra Convertible, a 2.2 litre four cylinder and a more powerful 2 litre turbo. The Turbo cars are rarer due to a smaller production run but worth looking for if you want something with a bit more overtaking potential. Naturally though, chopping the roof of a car doesn't do wonders for it's structural rigidity so although the Astra might be fine in a straight line round corners expect scuttle shake and more than a fair bit of flex. A cheap interior lets the Astra down too, a boring layout and hard plastics painted silver are the order of the day, while the option of red leather seats might not be to everyone's taste. My advice, get the roof off, look around, stick to a leisurely cruise and just enjoy the sensations of top down motoring.

    

Go get yourself one   

I have found a Turbo Astra, quite hard given there are only 9 listed on Carsales! This one comes from a dealer and has very low km's give it's age. Not a great description and it does have the polarising red leather interior, however for the price it might be worth a look if you want a cheap reliable convertible for summer.

2003 Holden Astra Convertible, $5990  

Car of the Week: Jaguar S-Type

Let me start by putting it out there, the S-Type is not one of Jaguar designs finest hours. That narrow grill just looks like your granny puckering up her lips for a kiss doesn't it? And combined with the retro inspired quad headlamps the car takes on a sort of surprised alien face. However, despite appearances I have indeed chosen the S-Type as my car of the week, why? Because how can you not resist the luxury of a Jag for under $5000.

What has it got to offer?

So besides it's unique appearance what else does an S-type have to offer? A strong choice of engines for starters, available in V6 or V8 flavors from launch the S-Type was no slouch, the V6 makes 179kw good for 0-100km/h in 8.7secs which for a car of it's size is pretty impressive. Jaguar also made sure the S-Type could handle too. With power sent to the back there was a claimed 50:50 weight distribution and although steering was said to be a little vague, road holding was good.

Whats it like inside?

On the inside it was usual Jaguar fare, albeit with some switches taken straight from the Ford parts bin. Vast swathes of leather and wood are the order of the day making sure that when your in it you feel suitably posh. Being a luxury sedan up against the likes of Merc's E-Class and BMW's 5 series also mean that despite early cars now turning 16 yeas old, there's a myriad of creature comforts. Electric memory seats, power mirrors, dual zone climate control, cruise control, a decent sound system and alloys wheels all came as standard. SE models like the one I've picked out also came with sunroofs.

Reliability 

Of course being British is usually a byword for not very reliable and the S had its fair share of issues and recalls. However don't let little mechanical or electrical gremlins put you off, as like I have mentioned before with high end cars, the previous owner probably cherished it.

Go get yourself one

That last statement is even more true of today's pick, as no one looks after an expensive car quite like it's first owner. That's right, the person selling this one owner S-Type for $4,600 originally paid $95,000 for it! Stating that they now need a smaller car the big Jag appears to be in good condition bar a bit of lacquer peel on the bumper. The interior looks clean and the engine bay spotless for a 15 year old car and to top it off 178,000km's isn't that high either. For the price I think this Jag is definitely worth checking out, even if it is a little surprised looking.

2000 Jaguar S-Type, $4600                

Car of the Week: Fiat Coupe

Remember when BMW design went a bit mad with something called flame surfacing ? Well one car and it's designer can be credited with causing the biggest shake up car design has seen in the last 20 years and it's a little Italian coupe, the super rare down under Fiat Coupe.

Rarer than a jogging koala

Designed by Chris Bangle long before he got mitts on BMW's model range the Fiat's angles, slashes and radical approach to wheel arches helped Fiat shift over 72,000 Coupes. However if what I have read is to be believed only 23 of Fiats 90's icon have made it down under and I think you should go and find one.

Divisive design 

Rarity is obviously one reason why you might want one as is the iconic exterior design, but the interior of the Coupe is also worth a mention. Designed by legendary design house Pininfarina the Coupe was certainly no rehashed Punto on the inside, with body coloured wrap around trim, clear dials and simple controls the Fiats inside looks as fresh today as it did way back in 1993.

And then there's the engine

And then there is the engine that Fiat chose to put under the bonnet, a thrumming 5 cylinder 20v turbo.Yes other engines were available during the cars 7 year production run but the one you really want is that 20v. Producing a handy 162kw the little Coupe could dispatch 0-100km/h in 6.5 seconds before romping onto 240km/h. The turbo cars also benefited from a limited slip diff to make sure the power got from those front wheels to the road with minimal wheel spin. Combine all that with independent suspension on all four corners and the Coupe makes for a rather delightful drivers car.

A rare, turbo charged coupe with looks that will divide opinion wherever you go, the Fiat makes quite a compelling case for itself. If your in the market for a 90's coupe how about spending a little more and getting yourself something truly unique, the Fiat Coupe.

Go get yourself one

A little expensive compared to a Japanese coupe of similar vintage it might be but this weeks car still won't break the bank. Privately imported this cars most likely been cherished by its previous owner, with only 64,000kms on the clock it doesn't seem like it's had a hard life either. Most importantly thought it is a 5 cylinder 20v turbo model.

1997 Fiat Coupe, $12,900


             

Car of the Week: Porsche 924

The last two weeks has seen the blog take a French turn, with a Renault 12 and super rare Citroen BX taking the crown as car of the week. So in a bid to diversify lets hop back over the border into Germany and delivery another iconic brand that I didn't think could be so affordable in Australia. This week's car is the Porsche 924.

A bit of background

With a front mounted watercooled engine and rear wheel drive layout the 924 marked Porsche's first foray into making sports car with a more traditional setup. It was a trend which lasted almost 20 years with this cars successors the 944 and latterly 968 produced until 1995. Despite it being somewhat of a revolution for Porsche sports cars though, the 924 was never far from criticism. Developed in conjunction with Volkswagen the car was intended to wear a VW badge as well as Porsche one. However when the oil crisis hit in 1973 VW thought a sports car project probably wasn't what they should be focusing on and pulled out. Porsche bought the design of them and continued unabated but still, come it's launch the joint nature of the 924 led some to believe the car wasn't a thoroughbred Porsche.

   

Performance

The 2 litre Audi derived engine didn't help the 924 initially either. With a very un sporty 93kw and a 0-100km/h time of 11 seconds the car was never going to break lap records. Under powered it might have been but it was at least reliable, something that can't be said of many other sports cars of the era, the engine was so dependable in fact that Volkswagen later put it in a van. Porsche did rectify the speed deficit with a 130kw 924 turbo in 1978, however early cars were dogged by reliability issues that the non turbo car didn't have. A 2.5 litre 944 engine was transplanted into the 924S in 1986 for the final years of production with more success.

Simplicity = success 

Sales speak louder than some Porsche purists complaining though and the 924, despite it's VW connection and under powered engine was one of the companies most successful models with over 150,000 produced between 1976 and 1988. The reasoning, it drove like a Porsche damn well should. Simple mechanical's teamed with a slightly rear biased 48/52 weight distribution meant the handling balance of the 924 was spot on. Once up to speed the entry level 924 delivered the sort of driving experience that previously only the privileged could afford. Porsche had brought a luxury sports car to the masses and the masses approved.

 

Go get yourself one

There aren't many cars from manufactures of bona fide supercars that you can pick up for such little money, but the wrongly and often overlooked 924 is one of those cars. It is a properly reliable classic and one that given the badge many previous owners will have cherished. From the few cars I've looked at the relatively low km's covered by them further confirms this. The 924 has clearly been the fun weekend car for many and it could be the one for you too.

This weeks car has been laid up for a few months, but it looks remarkably neat with only 86,000km, the only noticeable flaw being a tear in the drivers seat. The seller says it starts and drives well and is only asking $300 more to get it rego'd which would imply that mechanically it's all good. Prices for 924's can't stay this low forever so now might be the best time to pick up a classic Porsche.
1977 Porsche 924, $2800

Photo Credit    

Cars and Coffee Byron Bay 14th June from 8.30am

This Sunday the 14th June sees Cars and Coffee Byron Bay back for its second meeting at The Farm. Last months inaugural meeting saw everything from a Targa Tasmania prepped RX3 coupe, wide body Renault Clio and a whole heap of Porsches turn up so signs are good that this months meet will be even better.

With rumours of Ferraris, Fiats, hotrods and even my own Golf cabby going to be in attendance eveything and anyone is welcome. Its totally free and I think the event is going to go from strength to strength. Heck this month there are even prizes on offer for the the car deemed, car of the day!

So go on, if you are in the locality and simply like cars or are hiding something special in your garage, dust it off, fire it up and come along to The Farm, Ewingsdale Road Byron on Sunday to show it off. If my Istagram account is anything to go by there are a lot of awesome machines out there.