Red-hot Astra vindicates GM

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Friday, May 14, 2010

Never in the history of a motor company has the production of one car meant so much to so many as does the new Opel Astra.

After a horrible 2009, when it seemed Opel was going to be sold off by GM to an uneasy alliance of Canadian and Russian interests, the company had an 11th hour change of heart and kept the brand in-house.

Given that Opel had just launched the excellent Insignia and was about to launch the ever-so-important Astra, it would, in truth, have been a grievous error for GM to have ditched the company at this time.

Now it must be said that The failure of the previous Astra to match its main rivals, such as the Ford Focus and the VW Golf, in sales terms across Europe was probably a factor in GM wanting to shed Opel, but the combination of a new era for Astra and plenty of German subsidies probably combined to persuade the Yanks that selling was not a good idea.

For once, they got it right. If the evidence of this test is anything to go by, then Opel dealers must be beside themselves with joy unconfined.

Well, they might be more delighted if the price was a little more competitive, but at least they have a mainstream car which they can confidently compare with its main rivals.

The new car certainly looks the part, and is, indeed, a very stylish addition to the ranks of small family cars.

It is sporty without being unnecessarily flash on the outside, and, at the same time, is extremely functional and practical on the inside.

We were given — as is the wont of many car companies — the Elite, or top-of-the-range model, as our tester and this can often confuse us poor motoring hacks, who never actually get to see what the baseline versions are actually like.

A machine packed with extra kit can often blind one to reality.

Even so, this Astra impressed greatly — on a variety of fronts.

The upgraded (123 bhp as against the baseline 108 bhp), turbodiesel CDTi engine is a fair unit, as evidenced by its 195 kph top speed, and the 11.5-second, 0-100 kph time compares well with most competitors, and the consumption figure of 4.7 l/100 km (60.1 mpg) is not to be sneezed at.

I understand that the standard suspension is pretty impressive in its own right, but the test car was fitted with the Flexride adaptive suspension system, which provides for appreciably different settings, but I’m not sure it is worth the extra 640 it actually costs.

That is because the standard set-up is so good that it provides a very smooth ride and supple handling, anyway.

The sleek shape of the car gives a somewhat false impression of the interior size, but don’t let yourself be kidded, because the Astra is a very roomy machine with excellent head and leg room, particularly for the rear passengers.

The boot space is very useable, too, and versatility is added by the split/folding rear seats.

From the driver’s point of view, the dash is very modern and well laid out, but it must be said that some of the switchgear is a bit fiddly and hard to assimilate, especially when you are on the move.

The seats are very comfortable, though, and there is loads of adjustment on the driver’s seat, in particular.

Specification levels in this Elite model are very impressive — cruise control, heated front seats, air con., leather steering wheel and 17” alloys are all part of the deal — but if you want stuff like sat. nav, embedded Bluetooth and parking sensors, for example, then the price goes up alarmingly quickly.

But, these minor quibbles aside, there is much to like about the Astra in terms of its appealing looks, tidy handling, excellent refinement and top line safety specification.

Opel has got much of this car right, and, once again, it can be mentioned in the same breath as the Focus and the Golf.

I have to say that I was fearful for the Opel brand when GM announced it was to sell it off, but I thought its ultimate decision to keep it in-house was the correct one for all concerned. The Astra, in its current guise, certainly confirmed that for me.