I've been surprised with the grip from the Astra in the wet, perhaps it's only positive quality so far - most Diesels skip around in the wet like a stone on an ice covered pond, the Astra (to be fair) gives good grip with hardly any loss of power.
However ... along came the snow, now I've had some pretty shitty cars for the snow, the Avensis was probably best categorized as "shit" when driving in snow but the Astra actually managed to perform worse.
I couldn't get out our car park at all at work, the traction control can't be turned off so it instantly cuts engine power when the wheels have no grip, a lot of digging later and several people pushing I got out the car park.
One thing I noticed a few days earlier was the Astra does not like a bit of ice, anything resembling ice causes it to skid in that "I'm sure I have ABS but nothing seems to be happening" sort of way, today I found either the snappy clutch causing me to spin the wheels at the slightest throttle pressure, the engine stalling if I tried to pull off in 2nd gear (come on Vauxhall, I could pull away in 3rd gear in most diesels I've had) and then the slightet dab on the vicious brake pedal caused yet another skid so I had to use nothing more than throttle and gears to stop - what a crock of shit.
There's no doubt the Astra is quick, there are many cars that will leave it behind but it's a nippy blighter and even more loony with the sports button on but I've had enough of it, for day to day driving it's noisy, unrefined and I think terrible value for money.
Weather permitting the Astra goes back tomorrow, I'm swapping into a 1.9tdi Passat so it will be interesting to see the difference, I did notice one button in the Passat that immediately got my vote "ESP OFF" - that's what you need when the white stuff comes and despite the dire equipment level in the Astra I almost find it offensive that Vauxhall seem to know better than you but omitting one from their car, in fact i've had one in just about every diesel I've driven due to the torque they generate so in slippy or snowy conditions it's common sense to be able to turn it off.
I've come to the conclusion that any car without a engine temperature gauge is the work of the devil and should not be trusted, it should therefore be burnt at the stake at a cost of 37.2 mpg.
Perhaps when I get in the Passat I will get my hearing back and some comfort, apparently the 1.9 tdi is surprisingly powerful despite a low horsepower so this may be an interesting comparison.
