MK2 Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v [LUTON] Review and Drive

The first astra gte 16v's were the fastest of its time and none of the other hot hatches could touch it with 156bhp 0-60 7.4 & 137mph and still the performance is very respectable today.
My friend had one and I wanted one of these,but was too expensive and got a mk2 3 door astra sri 1.8 instead.
Same colour as the champion as well and extremely rare now.
It was lightweight, great feel to it & was very reliable and easy to work on.
The gearbox and clutch on it did nearly 200,000 miles with no issues at all and used no oil when i eventually sold it.
The front wheel bearing were over engineered as well and still perfect with no play in them coming upto 200,000 miles.
The later mk3 & mk4 astra's were very heavy in comparison and were a bit numb to drive but still great nonetheless.
I think the astra gte 16v and the astra 1.8 sri were the best vauxhall's ever made in history.
Total legends just like the gsi's.

So reliable too. Unlike todays cars

I loved my old GTEs, i had a white one, a grey one, then a blue one. I'd love to have a wee blast of one again. Everyone used to get well excited at the digital dash. I do remember the electric windows were as slow as a fortnight lol

Strange one, but one that a lot of people can relate to. The 90s smell when you get in, I get it every time i get in my Mk3.5 Golf.

Gte valver loved these cars in the 90,s never owned one.was a 205 gti man myself

Ef9 civic is the memory machine for me

great review love the astras mk2

I had a 1.8 8v gte and it was fucking rapid

Fantastic video mate, the Astra GTE was better than the XR3i

Loved mine I
Had 3 gtes burnt all golf gtis. And the Essex boys cars escorts xr3is also loved the Capri 2.8i back in the day

Nice video Calvin
I am also a Sundon Park bod
Spent my childhood in Sundon Park
Excellent video

joyriders most likely car the gte astra to be nicked n ragged around the estate if you had one if these n woke up to find it nicked lol n in the estate being ragged around n then burntout 😥😥

what Vauxhall' shud have fitted is the 3 litre 24 valve from the senator now that wud be super quick

Love it memory lane , used to nick 2 a week in and away in 30secs before the moss 706 alarm ever rang big up the stopsley old boys we smashed it in the day.fair play calvin

Love these cars, had one exactly the same when I was 21 I am now 47. white best colour for the car I had great times great video cheers

Bought a clean white 20v just over 20 years ago for £150 in pound coins, was “chipped” is what we used to say back then. Still have to appreciate the odd one you see about now

Blast from the past! Owned 1 exactly like this and crashed it 🤦‍♂️ then went for Sierra sapphire coworth. Good old memories!

wow that brought back memories.i had a black one in spain .it was a opel gsi and i loved it so much .thanks for the video brought back good times

They had a 2’litre 157bhp engine, loads more than the competition. Shame about the skinny wheels/ tyres

My Dad had a MK1 GTE and a 205 GTi 1.9. Pretty cool to have a Dad that has owned arguably the coolest hot hatch of the 80s, and the coolest hot hatch of the 90s. Some may argue the coolest hot hatch ever.

That's a great car review right there.

I built them in the 80's when I started at Vauxhall, if you compared it with the basic merit version it was a luxury sporty model. I remember having a job of fitting the rear quarter interior trim. There was a strip of foam that got in the way, we often ripped it off to make the job easier. I later bought a new astra sx looked the part but the trim rattled like hell (maybe that bit of foam was important)

I need a cavalier in my life again

Great car, I had one between 2000 and 2004, white 16v, 1989 F Reg. tuned to 189.9BHP and 179lb. Quick car, even for the modem day. STI WRX beater. :-)

I've got a gte and its 547 Bhp

I had a standard m2 Astra, loved it. I bet that older fella had one in his day, or worked at Vauxhall in Luton.

I grew up in Luton also and bought a J reg white GTE when I was 18. I probably had my car when you had yours lol , maybe we crossed paths .

Best car ever , I will never forget it

I was there mate, Astra Gte, Pug 205 GTI, RS Turbo, Renault 5 Turbo, Cav' Sri and Gsi and if you had a little more coin, how about the BMW E30 325i in Dolphin Grey!? The list goes on and on.. Only owned a Cav' Sri though lol, but I was right there in my late teens, early 20s. Cars were simply just magic back then, they had their own character and were simply more fun to drive in their own distinctive way. Like Calvin said, not the quickest by today's standards, but boy if I jumped into one of those beauties now, I would be high with nostalgia and love for them all. Great video.

I had an F plate(88) GTE-16v back in the day in polar white...what a car, performance was phenomenal for 2.0 litre 16 valve Red top lump tuned by Cosworth 👌

My Dad owned one of these back in the early 90's bright red when I was only 7 years old,seeing this brought back so many memories.

I used to LOVE my red 88/89 GTE 16v (Coscast head, no cat) Astras certainly didn't have the greatest chassis among Hot Hatches of the era, but that 2.0 16 valve engine was an incredible engine! The motor media of the time rated it as far and away the greatest 16 valve engine of the era. I used to do 130+mph in that car every single day that I owned it (down the A120 in Essex!) and the car shrugged it off like it was nothing! Granted it was always a scary experience, you certainly knew that you were doing that speed as it would be doing around 6000/6500 rpm at that speed! I never tuned my car but that engine had great potential, fitting a pair of carbs was said to increase power from 156bhp to 190bhp with no other mods (over 200bhp with a decent individual throttle bodies set up!) A company offered a ITB and other mods package that gave around 220bhp (the same output as the Calibra Turbo!) even offering a mad package that gave around 270/300bhp! (although I think that also added head mods, cams etc) Cosworth worked wonders on that design, thats for sure! I remember a 300bhp turbo GTE in Max Power (a hugely modded by Courtney Turbo Championship edition with leather interior!) and can only imagine what that beast must have been like to drive haha!

ASTRA GTE, awesome car

Really pragmatic review, I enjoyed it.

I had a Cavalier SRI, a MK 1 GTE, a MK 2 GTE convertible, and now a MK 4 Convertible 2.0 Turbo.

If I had the money and garage space I would love to have a GTE again.

Luton, the Islamic haven and shining star of multiculturalism in England. I must book a holiday there.

Great car Astranomical.... had my one nicked in Bristol, Gutted...

So glad I've got a minter. Basically same as this one but with 63,000 miles on the clock.

My mate's brother had a gte i was 13 at the time loved looking at the car everytime i went to his house.

Traffic police always struggled keeping up with their Rover Fastbacks
.
Apparently!
Said a friend.

Astra’s are part of my history with my brother and dad I love them, a very good tool in the day

One of my top 5 cars ever I just love these and also the digital dash wasn't to keen on the 18 I but the 20 I and the 20 I 16 valve were the one's to have

Started working at Vauxhall Ellesmere Port in Feb 89 just when these came out amd a couple of months after passing my test and one of my first jobs was taking cars off the end of the line and getting the radios fitted.. was dream land for a 19 year old kid getting to drive sri’s, gte’s and these 16v’s.. good times all round

It maybe an old car but come on its still bad arse!! Quality motor, especially the H reg version, so many good memories about these cars,your so lucky mate

Really took me back to my Astra GTE i had back in 1988 on e plate ferrari red! I would say three things the digital dashboard, engine, and bucket sports seats

Here in Brazil Chevrolet Kadett 1989 - 1998.

Just catching up on your earlier videos Calvin 😁 the Gte is from my era , good old days ( I had hair and sanity back then lol ) and awesome cars for the time when Vauxhall’s where on top of their game . I loved my Vauxhall’s ,I had 4 mk2 cavillers, a mk1 & mk2 Astra & my favourite was my Calibra ❤️ actually owned it for 5 years, had a cheap Irish plate LLZ7633 ( same colour as your calibra ) always regretted selling that car 😩 thanks for bringing the memories of special times back 😁👍

Had a white 16v G reg loved it but steering was a bit shot - If I had space on the drive I'd buy it back for the the 3K I sold it for back in the ninetees :) - good video thanks Calv.

once the 16v felt quick back then, got to drive o e a couple of years i was a bit gutted as i yust to love them , and it showed my age 😂🤫 , your wright you should of hung on to your lotus canton tho 👍🤜