Opel Astra turbo-diesel an impressive performer

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Friday, July 30, 2010

For a company which was in dire straits just a few short months ago — and it is not out of the woods yet, by any means — Opel could well be considered to be in rather rude good health right now.

With the new Insignia selling well against the likes of the Mondeo, Passat and Avensis, the excellent new Meriva just coming on stream, the Corsa holding its own in the supermini segment, and the latest Astra doing well against stiff opposition, things are rather better right now for the German outfit than could reasonably have been expected.

The Astra is the focus here, however, and while the company has done a sterling job in producing a very sharp looking machine which is far more appealing than recent versions of the car, there are still one or two holes in its armoury.

We tested the turbodiesel engined version of the car not so long ago and found it to be a roomy and well built machine and one which performed decently on the road in terms of handling, performance and economy.

This week, however, we got into the 1.6 litre turbo petrol version of the Astra and while it really was an impressive performer, I do not believe that Opel are going to be selling too many of them.

The current economic climate has forced major changes on how people look at cars and prompted a complete sea-change in respect of what car buyers now want and need. Diesel, obviously, has become completely de rigueur not alone from an economic standpoint, but also from the taxation and CO2 emission side of things as well. Petrol cars are, in many ways, yesterday’s news.

That is not to say that the 1.6 turbo Astra is a bad car, simply that timing and political and social forces have combined against it and made it a machine which , in reality, could only be considered by people for whom economic pressures do not apply.

The basic nuts and bolts of the 1.6 turbo show us that it produces some 132 kW (178 bhp), some 230 Nm of torque between 2,200 and 5,400 rpm, a top speed of 221 kph and a 0-100 kph capability of 8.5 seconds, which is all very laudable.

It Reasonably enough, it also returns some 6.8 l/100 km (41.5 mpg) over the combined cycle and it has to be said that for a semi-performance hotshoe those are not unacceptable figures.

Neither is the spec. level which includes as standard 17” alloys, sports suspension, air con., cruise control, sports front seats and a pile of other gear.

And, on the road, the Astra is a tenacious performer with impressive handling traits, a very smooth ride (even on poor surfaces) and an overall poise which many similar sports orientated machines lack.

The optional ‘Flexride’ suspension does give you further options, but in truth doesn’t add much to the experience.

All of this is very good, and the five door Astra is also a very practical machine despite its inherent sportiness, but I am afraid I still don’t see where the buyers are going to come from. It is a car conceived in boom times but being sold during a bust.

Good car and all as it is, that fact might consign it to being a curiosity rather than a popular choice.