Fully accepting that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I personally found the new Opel Astra to be a very attractive and good looking car. I particularly liked full and rounded rear end, its sporty and thrusting front end and the overall symmetry and balance of its profile. Inside the same modern attractive styling is a feature of the front seating area, although the rear seating space is much more ordinary, perhaps even lack lustre. Whereas, the previous Astra was conservative and practical in its overall styling, this latest model is much more adventurous, with a decidedly upmarket character.
Inside the front seating area is very impressive, with well bolstered, firm and superbly comfortable seats. The two front seats adjust for reach, height and backrest angle. The leather covered steering wheel has a high quality, firm and chunky feel and is geared to give 2.75 turns from lock to lock. The electrical power assisted steering makes manoeuvring effortless.
In SRi form, the Astra comes with a high level of trim and equipment. Unfortunately it also has two glaring omissions, for any car with aspirations to be considered in the premium sector. Firstly it only has electric operation for the two front windows, the two rear windows still have to be cranked by hand ! Then the rear bench seat, which has a 60/40 split backrest, lacks both an adjustable headrest for the centre seating position and a folding centre armrest. These glaring omissions take the car back fifty years or more ! Opel, you can and MUST do better !

One of the advantages of the flatter rear seat, is that it is more comfortable for a third adult sitting in the centre. Shoulder room would still be a problem for all three rear seat adults, but the two outer seat occupants would not be so much lower than the person sitting in the middle. Two models back the Astra just stretched over the 2600 mm mark in wheelbase length. This was comparable with respected competition like the Peugeot 308 (2608 mm), Volkswagen Golf (2578 mm) and the second generation Ford Focus (2640 mm). This latest model, however, has grown to a spacious 2685 mm, which not so long ago, would have positioned it in the large car segment of the market. The Opel Vectra I tested in October 2006 had a wheelbase of just fifteen millimetres more (2700 mm). As a result of this, the latest Astra is spacious and comfortable inside, with a good degree of rear seat kneeroom and footroom.

The instrument panel is simply and clearly laid out. The four main analogue instruments have white lettering on black backgrounds, with red needles. There is a tachometer on the left, with a matching speedometer on the right. Between these two large instruments, at the top of the binnacle, there are an engine temperature gauge (left) and a fuel level gauge (right). Below them there is a rectangular digital information panel, than shows a variety of selectable information. At the top of the centre console there is a large digital information panel, that also serves as a screen for the satellite navigation system. Immediately below this there is a row of very important buttons, On the extreme left there is the Sport button, with a matching Touring button on the right. I will explain these later. In the middle there is the hazard warning button with buttons for locking/unlocking the doors on the left and a button to deactivate the front passenger seat airbag on the right. Below this is a whole battery of buttons and controls for the audio system and navigation system. Right at the bottom of the stack there are simple and clear controls for the heating/ventilating system. These are easy to use even whilst driving. Finally right at the bottom and immediately ahead of the gearlever, there is a deep and useful open storage space, with a covered socket for other accessories. The steering wheel has additional controls for the audio system and your mobile telephone on its right hand arm and cruise control on the left hand arm. A twist control on the driver’s door panel adjusts the exterior rear view mirrors. All in all it is a simple, clear, easy to use layout, that contributes enormously to the overall driving pleasure.

I must confess that I do not know what SRi stands for in the car’s model description, perhaps it is Sports Racing instructor, as it is certainly not lacking in the performance department. Overall it offers a top speed of 221 kph (137 mph), with 0-100 kph in a sports orientated 8.5 seconds. Remember this is a practical five door family hatchback, not a two seater sports roadster. To put this into perspective, the MGF TF only manages 205 kph (127 mph) and 8.8 seconds, while the King of the roadsters, the Mazda MX5 can only deliver 196 kph (121 mph) and 9.4 seconds. Both of these highly respected models have 1.8 litre engines compared to the Astra’s 1.6 litre unit. The difference of course is that the two roadsters are naturally aspirated, while the Astra is turbocharged.
When you come to those red traffic lights and that inevitable Bavarian make pulls up alongside of you and its driver gives you that superior smirk, discretely press that conveniently located sport button on the facia. Then if you keep your wits about you, as the colour changes to green, floor the accelerator pedal and you will leave the smirking fool choking in your exhaust fumes, as you disappear into the distance. It is just as handy for overtaking that poor soul who thinks that safety demands driving down the middle of a twisting road at a snail’s pace. When the opportunity arises, a good press on the throttle pedal will have you rocketing away in safety, before the next obstruction comes along from the opposite direction. Once past the aggravation you can settle back into a more relaxed pace again. Out on the open road, where you only need the additional thrust on an occasional basis, the Touring button delivers the same acceleration, but with lower revs between those occasional spurts. The only trouble with this sort of exhilarating performance, is that once you get used to it, any car with a more mundane performance, seems to be completely lacking in enjoyment.
Of course the cynics, especially if they are GREEN, will tell you that performance of this nature will quickly bankrupt you with the amount of fuel you will use. The official EU standards quote an Urban cycle fuel consumption of 32 mpg (8.8 lt/100 km), Extra urban cycle of 50 mpg (5.6 lt/100 km) and Combined cycle average of 41 mpg (6.8 lt/100 km). Bearing in mind that this is a petrol engine, not a diesel, these compare remarkably well with other less powerful 1.6 litre petrol powered competitors.
In June 2006 I tested a Seat Leon with a 1.6 litre petrol engine. It delivered a top speed of 184 kph (114 mph) with 0-100 kph in 11.7 seconds. Fuel consumption was 27 mpg (urban) 47 mpg extra urban) and 37 mpg (combined), with exhaust emissions of 180 gm/km. Then in July 2007 I had a Toyota Corolla 1.4 petrol model on test. It had a top speed of 179 kph (105 mph) with 0-100 kph in 13.0 seconds. Fuel consumption was 32 mpg (urban), 49 mpg (extra urban) and 42 mpg (combined) with emissions of 158 gm/km. Finally in October 2007 my Nissan Tiida test car with a 1.6 litre petrol engine, had a top speed of 186 kph (115 mph), with 0-100 kph in 11.1 seconds. Urban cycle consumption was 31 mpg, extra urban 48 mpg and combined 40 mpg, whilst emissions were 165 gm/km. Thus the Astra SRi 1.6 Turbo offers a remarkably superior performance, with a very comparable fuel consumption and similar emissions of 160 gm/km. I will readily admit that this Astra has had the opportunity to benefit from all the latest engine technology, which only goes to show what magnificent strides the international automobile industry is making in producing cleaner and more efficient vehicles.

In order to keep all this performance in check, the Astra SRi has 300 mm x 26 mm ventilated disc brakes at the front and 292 mm x 12 mm plain discs at the back. The servo assisted system naturally has dual circuits, with anti-lock, electronic brakeforce distribution, emergency brake assist, cornering brake control and the electric handbrake is linked to a hill holder assist system. The car rides on attractive seven spoke alloy wheels, shod with Michelin’s excellent Premacy HP tyres. The only downside is that there is a Spacesaver spare wheel, which I suppose is better than no spare wheel at all.
The ride is certainly of a high quality. The ripples, humps and other annoying small surface irregularities, that are a perpetual annoyance in today’s driving conditions, especially here in Ireland, where it appears the authorities have never even heard of the concept of road maintenance, were smoothly ironed out. Of course you still have to avoid the crater sized, tyre and suspension wrecking potholes, that are also a integral part of our everyday driving experience. The direct and positive steering is a big help in avoiding these latter, lethal obstructions. While the front suspension is a normal MacPherson design, the the trailing arms on a torque tube design at the rear is rather special, in that it adds a Watts linkage as well.
While it is an attractive good looking car, that is fun to drive and offers a scintillating performance, with a commendable fuel consumption, the Opel Astra is still basically an adaptable and versatile family car. When all five seats are in use, it provides 0.351 cubic metres of luggage space, that expands to 0.776 cubic metres when only the two front seats are needed and you restrict loading to the lower level of the windows. If you need only two seats and load to the roof, this capacity increases to 1.216 cubic metres.

Above left : Normal luggage space, with adjustable floor in its lowest position
Above right : Normal luggage space, with adjustable floor hooked in foldaway position

Like many cars today, it has a two level luggage floor. However, in the Opel Astra the upper floor, whilst adjustable for upper and lower positions, cannot be removed from the car. Its forward edge is fixed in a permanent mounting, that allows it to be adjusted up and down, but not removed. It is also hinged along its centre, transversely, so that it can be folded, while a strap in the floor and a hook on the underside of the rear parcels shelf, allows it to be folded up into an almost vertical position.

Above left : Adjustable luggage floor in lower position
Above right : Adjustable luggage floor in upper position

If this is not enough for your occasional loading requirements, you may need to think in terms of a small trailer. For family holidays, most cars need the maximum seating capacity as well as plenty of luggage space. In these circumstances you may need a suitable roof box, or a small baggage trailer. This version of the Astra can tow braked trailers/caravans of up to 1500 kg in weight, or unbraked trailers of up to 730 kg, which should satisfy most normal requirements. It will also carry up to 75 kg in a suitable container on the roof. Remember that 75 kg includes the weight of the container and its fixings.
Overall I was more than happy with the Astra as tested. I would have liked electric windows on the rear doors as well, but you can get used to living with this omission. The performance was certainly very satisfying, which more than made up for any other small deficiencies.

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