...bit of thread drift here: S40 man - how are you getting on with the Astra? Is it just exceptional value compared to a Focus, Golf etc or are there aspects of living with it longer term which are starting to grate?

Mine is the 1.6 turbo with 200 BHP. It's been very reliable. My mine gripe is Android Auto doesn't work, (apple car play is ok).

I paid £8700 for it in Sep 19 and they still seem around that price at dealers now. I don't think that affects anything but it is quite pleasing anyway.

It's quite nippy and also has good in gear torque. Reliability has been good so far, but it's only 4 years old. I get an indicated 43 mpg on mixed driving, but always seems optimistic by 3 or 4 mpg.

It's got lane departure which I very rarely use and doesn't seem to do anything until you are nearly over the line in the road. Collision assist can go off randomly but lowers insurance premium.

I have had 2 small bumps one my fault on not my fault, neither of which you can blame the car for.

So far it's been very good, decent if not exceptional to drive, interior is good with more space than MK3 focus in the boot and the back. Everything works ok and they are a lot cheaper than competitiors. If that's due to badge snobbery I don't care, if it's for to a tangible reason I haven't found it yet.

It's quite nippy and also has good in gear torque.

So far it's been very good, decent if not exceptional to drive,

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Funny how a car with 200bhp can be described thus, yet a few years ago Sierra Cosworths and their ilk were putting out roughly the same amount of horsepower and were a hoot to drive. That's weight gain for you I suppose.

No criticism, just an observation.

Not really about weight gain as there isn't actually that much in it, 70kg or so. More about performance expectations now vs then, along with the cars position and purpose within the range.

The Sierra RS Cosworth was at the top of the tree in terms of power and performance at the time. It was raw and visceral, appropriate for its 'touring car for the road' billing, plus it was rear wheel drive. If you think about how, in its day, the Cossie would have been a rival for the original BMW M3, and about where the M3 sits now performance wise, compared to a hot hatch!.

The Astra K in this case, might be the fastest current Astra, but only because they didn't introduce a 'full fat' performance version to replace the (3 door only) 280bhp VXR Astra J. In todays hot hatch hierarchy, 200bhp would be considered 'warm' at best. So while it may well drive and handle nicely enough, it is not designed to be the kind of car you get up early on a Sunday morning just to have blast along your favourite country road.