Its exterior styling is nothing if not dramatic and it certainly shouts “SPORTS CAR !” loud and clear. While the two large frontal honeycomb mesh grilles are real enough, those around the fog lamps and at the rear, while looking good, are fakes and serve no aerodynamic purpose. They are there for their looks alone. As colour coding seems to be one of the labels of sportiness these days, if you look closely at those attractive alloy wheels, you will notice blue brake callipers lurking behind them. They hug large diameter 321 mm x 28 mm ventilated discs at the front and 278 mm x 10 mm plain discs at the back.
When I floored the accelerator, on dry tarmac, I could feel the front wheels beginning to loose traction. This made me wonder if a car like this should not come with four wheel drive ? Possibly the solution may be to have one of those electronic, torque sensing differentials, found on many SUVs, which can detect slip in the driving wheels and then redistribute some of the torque to the rear wheels, until grip is restored to the front wheels. Opel have access to this technology through General Motors’ association with Subaru. They use it themselves in the new Opel Antara launched at the Paris Motor Show in September 2006.

If you have a high performance engine, you probably want to show it off to your mates. At least Opel do not hide it under a black plastic acoustic cover. There is not a lot to see, other than the large black plastic pipes running from the air cleaner, turbocharger and intercooler to the inlet manifold, but the cam boxes are finished in silver and are highlighted with a blue band and the opc logo. The underside of the leading edge of the bonnet, where the top pressing is riveted to the underside pressing, has a sharp edge all along its length and this is in very close proximity to the bonnet release catch, so do be careful. Things like the dip stick, oil filler cap, radiator header tank and windscreen washer reservoir, are all clearly marked and easily accessible. Access to the back of the headlamp units, to change a bulb, is another matter altogether. While there are access hatches, they are completely inaccessible, as other equipment like the air cleaner, battery and electrics are all too close behind.
It would be interesting to know the weight distribution of the Astra opc, as there is a lot of equipment under the bonnet, but without a spare wheel, no corresponding mass to balance it at the other end.
The Astra opc has a very basic suspension layout, based on MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam with trailing arms at the rear. The spring and damper rates give a firm ride, but the trade off is that the car sticks to curves and corners like glue and combined with the quick steering, with just 2.5 turns from lock to lock, the car delivers a sporty and exhilarating driving experience. That I suspect what opc is all about. Of course, you do not have to exploit all that performance all the time, you can drive it like a normal small car, but why pay all that extra for the opc, when a normal Astra, perhaps with the 1.4 petrol engine, costs a whole lot less.

The opc does cost a lot more than its humbler sisters, but you and more importantly your friends, can see what you are getting for all that extra money. First of all there are those vibrant opc colours ; Arden Blue, Black Sapphire, Flame Red and Star Silver. Then there are the large alloy wheels and black mesh - real and fake - plus the trapezoidal exhaust pipe in the centre of the rear skirt. Open the large door and you see those well bolstered rally style seats, the carbon fibre trim strips on the facia and doors, the analogue instrument faces with blue and white detailing, the alloy pedals and the chunky leather covered steering wheel. Then just in case any of these symbols has not registered with you, the interior is black. Black upholstery, black roof lining, black facia, apart from the silver centre panel and black trim. Now you know it must be sporty, because as everyone knows, Black = Sporty !
There is no denying that those well bolstered seats are comfortable. They do, however, have a major disadvantage, if you happen to carry passengers in the rear seats. While they tip and slide forwards to give easy entry and exit, they do not go back to their pre-set positions, which is a confounded nuisance, as you have to readjust them every time. It is enough to put you off carrying rear passengers at any time. The rear passengers probably feel the same way, as the rear seating area is anything but inviting. Thanks to that black headlining, it is as gloomy and uninviting as a subterranean cave, while the view of the outside world, is practically non-existent.
The seats themselves are comfortable and surprisingly, it is possible to seat three people of normal build side by side. If you are offered a rear seat, volunteer for the centre section, as in that position at least, you get a decent view out through the windscreen. There is also a decent amount of headroom, as although the quarter windows fall away sharply, the roof runs back level, which benefits headroom over the rear seats. The rear seat backrest splits 60/40, so you can carry a lot of equipment like sailboards, etc, in place of rear passengers. The normal boot provides 0.312 cubic metres of covered space, but with the seat folded, this increases to 1.070 cubic metres, when loading to the roof.

If you decide to buy a car like this, it is hardly for use as family transport. If all that luggage space is insufficient for your needs, you can carry up to 75 kg on the roof, but remember, it does not matter where you put it, you are still limited to a gross vehicle weight of 1840 kg. Unlike other models in the Astra range, Opel do not recommend that you use your Astra opc for towing trailers.
The six speed manual gearbox is smooth enough. However, I did not like the button on the front underside of the gear knob, which has to be depressed in order to select reverse. On far too many occasions, when sitting in neutral at traffic lights, when I gripped the knob to shift it into first, when the lights changed, it found its way into reverse, which is embarrassing to say the least. This takes the comfort factor out of driving.