"New XR3"

It's growing on me...

I didn't think those that lived in Wales were capable of sarcasm owing to a bylaw?

I'd like to try both back to back. I like the Civic Type-R and I like the Astra. Hmm.

It's the colour - I think they've made a *very* clever choice !

See my reply to Lordy...

Steve certainly is - you've just seen it with your own eyes :)

Until it pops :) Or until cambelt-time arrives, and you have to sell the car.

You'd have to drive the Astra first, otherwise the the lovely Vauxhall (!) Turbo would make the Civic's wasp-in-a-tin-can lump feel even worse than it actually is :)

I'm just re-reading that before I hit send, and I really HAVE used the words "lovely" and "Vauxhall" in the same sentence !!!! Oooh look, some pigs are flying past the window...

Not just that one, but all of them. I think it's just because there are so many of them, heh. I get used to the wrongness of it, soon it becomes right...

Well, perhaps. The best thing about the Civic Type-R is that it's a great car* as well as a great hot hatch.

It does all the car things just fine - reliable, spacious, blah blah. It has a passable stab at being economical, it's driveable at low engine speeds, it won't fall apart.

"Renault, Peugeot, show me the way home."

As for the previous generation Astra, now don't get me wrong, I've driven enough Focii and Astras to prefer the Focus but it only wins on points. But when I can but an equivalent Astra that is perhaps 9/10 as good as the Focus (oh and 15/10 as good as anything else in the class for driving) for three quarters of the price... I would be tempted.