Howdy from San Antonio

[mhall]

Hello! I've been a long time lurker of this and other astra-centric forums and finally decided to nut-up and participate. Hopefully I'll be able to contribute to the growing list of helpful guides I've found here.

I own a black '08 Saturn Astra XR. I've had it for about a year and a half now, and I both love and loathe it. I highly value it's compact size, spacious interior, and nimble handling. However, I think it's about 40hp short of something satisfying to drive, I would do well with an iPhone connector, among other minor gripes.

Regarding me: I'm 24, I work at a small software development company, I'm technically inclined, and ________. I can't think of anything worthwhile to close that up with, so I'll just leave it blank.

I've got more to say, but I'll be posting it in the modifications section. I got some things done over the weekend, and I'll post some pictures.

-Mike

[astra3dr]

40hp would turn it into a nice car...the sole reason we got rid of ours.

[mhall]

Exactly! It took me forever to be able to put my finger on what was really my issue with the car, and then i drove my girlfriend's '07 Subaru Legacy... A little extra power would really improve confidence in the astra, but from what I've seen, you've got to be willing to vest about 2 or 3 grand into it in order to get those kinds of improvements.

[Nimraynn]

It's a shame they only offer you a 140BHP 1.8 16v petrol in the US... we have this huge list in the UK:

88BHP 1.4 16v Petrol
104BHP 1.6 16v Petrol (I used to own one)
115BHP 1.6 16v Petrol
177BHP 1.6 16v Turbo Petrol
125BHP 1.8 16v Petrol
140BHP 1.8 16v Petrol (Same as yours)
170BHP 2.0 16v Turbo Petrol
200BHP 2.0 16v Turbo Petrol
240BHP 2.0 16v Turbo Petrol (VXR)
88BHP 1.3 16v Turbo Diesel
79bhp 1.7 16v Turbo Diesel
98bhp 1.7 16v Turbo Diesel
108BHP 1.7 16v Turbo Diesel
120BHP 1.9 8v Turbo Diesel
120BHP 1.9 16v Turbo Diesel
150BHP 1.9 16v Turbo Diesel (I own one)

So yeah, we're a bit spoilt for choice