I've got a 11 plate 1.6 astra and a 1.4 fiat grande punto.
I love the astra, Its great on long journeys because its comfortable pretty quiet and I can put the foot down and it will move.
The fiat is the exact opposite of the astra, Uncomfortable, loud(it sounds like the drone of a plane engine) and hates going further than the shops, But its fun on country roads you can fling it into corners. The MOT is up in December so its getting traded in and gonna go for some sort of BMW or a Mondeo/insignia.