Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch   Women's view

Vauxhalls Astra looks great in 3-door Sport Hatch guise. June Neary Checks it out.

This is quite simply the most stylish Vauxhall Ive ever laid eyes on. And its an Astra! I cant quite believe it. Vauxhall have been granted a huge degree of liberty in their styling of the Astra Sport Hatch model Im looking at here by the success of the rest of their more versatile product lines. For every Meriva or Zafira the company sells to the family motorist, a potential Astra driver wants something with sleeker styling.

The five-door Astra is a very neat piece of penmanship but the equivalently priced three-door Sport Hatch model knocks it into next week. Many of the design cues remain, as the two cars are, after all, built on the same platform. The broad hips, the high window line and the family-look front end are largely carried over, with the three-door merely accentuating these details.

The sloping roofline looks as if itll have taller rear seat passengers entering the number of their chiropractor into the speed-dial but Vauxhall claims that rear seat space is well up to par for two adults. They just didnt specify what size. The rear seat is a conventional three-abreast bench with a practical 60:40 split system offered as standard or the alternative 40:20:40 layout available as an option. Luggage room is slightly hampered by that rakish roofline but given the cavernous amount of space in the back of the five-door Astra, its hard to see carrying capacity being a reason to grumble.

Theres a choice of four petrol and three diesel engines. The line-up kicks off with a 90bhp 1.4-litre petrol unit, alongside a 114bhp 1.6-litre and the familiar 125bhp 1.

8-litre engine. The 180bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged unit is also offered although this is resoundingly trumped by the 240bhp 2.0-litre Turbo in the range-topping VXR performance variant.

The entry-level 1.4 and 1.6-litre engines will use the Twinport technology as already seen on the Corsa whereby one of the two exhaust outlets are closed down at low revs to boost torque and improve fuel economy. Three diesel engines are available: a 1.7-litre 100bhp unit, plus beefy 120bhp and 150bhp 1.9-litre powerplants developed by Fiat. As would be expected, all three meet the Euro IV emissions regulations.

In keeping with the cars name, only the sporty SXI, SRi, Design and VXR trim levels are being offered priced from £14,415, all fitted as standard with lowered sports suspension and alloy wheels. Theres also a Panoramic Windscreen option, one of the years most talked about automotive innovations, which for around £850 extra, gives you a huge section of glass stretching from the top of the bonnet over the passengers heads. Vauxhall reckon that it will bring a whole new dimension to driving, especially on scenic roads.

Yes, yes and again yes. And I never thought Id be saying that about a Vauxhall Astra.