Saturn Astra XR-3 (or a Ti)?

[ellcapitan]

Would anyone consider buying a new/used (leftover/demo) Saturn Astra XR 3-door, as an alternative to a good clean Ti, if price weren't really too much of an issue? Aside from "wrong wheel drive", they seem pretty well matched against each other. One might be sporting the roundel, but both are German cars that are compact, efficient, well-made, and sporty...if somewhat underpowered. Has anyone, with an old worn, or dying Ti on their hands, considered one of these as a suitable replacement?

[bmorekirby]

i just looked at an astra the other day. i'm a fairly new bmw owner and by no means a qualified person to answer this question. so why am i? eh, whatever. anyways...... i would go with the ti. new cars just have too much going on with them. the ti, well i love mine for the fact that i can work on it, and not have 1000 wires hanging everywhere to have to work around. plus you can always swap in a 6 cylinder for more power. for as much as the astra is $14,000-19,000, you could buy a ti and 'tune' it the way the want it for much less than the asta. just my 2 cents........

[vjmvjmvjm]

Originally Posted by ellcapitan

Would anyone consider buying a new/used (leftover/demo) Saturn Astra XR 3-door, as an alternative to a good clean Ti, if price weren't really too much of an issue? Aside from "wrong wheel drive", they seem pretty well matched against each other.

1) The front vs. rear wheel drive is a major issue for spirited driving / handling.

2) Now that Saturn is dead, dealer support / parts may be less than desired.

3) Unlike BMW, Saturn doesn't have a large network of independent mechanics.

4) And, most importantly, there is no xr3.org!

Vic

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by vjmvjmvjm

2) Now that Saturn is dead, dealer support / parts may be less than desired.

it's a Vauxhall

I'd really much rather have a ti instead of an Astra

[ellcapitan]

Originally Posted by tiFreak

it's a Vauxhall

I'd really much rather have a ti instead of an Astra

Why, specifically?

...And, it's made by Opel. Vauxhall is the name it's sold under in Britain, just like Saturn is (was) it's name here.

And while I generally agree that rwd is generally better, I would also argue that it won't make much difference which wheels are driven when you have a well sorted chassis and such low levels of power. I highly doubt that a Ti would have any clear handling advantage over an Astra XR (sport suspension), if any at all, that could be attributed to the driven wheels.

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by ellcapitan

...And, it's made by Opel. Vauxhall is the name it's sold under in Britain, just like Saturn is (was) it's name here.

well I was close

I just think the ti is a cooler car if for nothing else but the brand, plus I'm not a fan of the Astra's styling

[pdxmotorhead]

Originally Posted by ellcapitan

Why, specifically?

...And, it's made by Opel. Vauxhall is the name it's sold under in Britain, just like Saturn is (was) it's name here.

And while I generally agree that rwd is generally better, I would also argue that it won't make much difference which wheels are driven when you have a well sorted chassis and such low levels of power. I highly doubt that a Ti would have any clear handling advantage over an Astra XR (sport suspension), if any at all, that could be attributed to the driven wheels.

In general, of the many track cars I work on each year, FWD costs significantly more to tune and maintain on track than RWD.

BMW's are always a threat in the stock classes, because they handle with springs and shocks, FWD cars need welding, bars, all kind of mods that take them quickly out of the stock classes.

Specifically I see way more bad CV joints and transmissions in FWD than RWD on track.

They do have an edge in the rain!
Just my nickles worth...

Dave

[ellcapitan]

Originally Posted by tiFreak

[...]I just think the ti is a cooler car if for nothing else but the brand[...]

Case closed. (That's what I was afraid I'd hear.)