Vauxhall ASTRA RANGE
Vauxhall Is A Company On The Up And The Latest Astra Reflects This Buoyant Confidence. Andy Enright Runs The Rule Over The Design
There has to come a moment when Vauxhalls capacity to surprise us wanes. For years, this manufacturer laboured under the weight of a dull but worthy model range aimed at undemanding fleet managers, but of late the brand has been transformed into one of the most progressive around. The latest Astra model shows Vauxhall at their confident, contemporary best.
At last somebody has had the gumption to run counter to the trend for gawky high-roofed family hatches that ape MPV people carrier style. Vauxhall quite reasonably contend that with the Meriva and Zafira models in the range, the sort of customers who want this look are already well catered for and have instead commissioned a design thats sleek and sporty looking, particularly as a 3-door Sport Hatch but even in five-door and estate guises. Prices start from £10,995. Two key criteria were identified early on in the Astra design process.
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Firstly, the car had to pass what General Motors executives refer to as the shop window test. That is, owners had to be so enamoured of the Astras lines that they couldnt help but sneak a look at its reflection in a plate glass window. As good as its predecessor was, only the coupe and convertible models would ever have scored a pass there. The other examination the Astra was tasked with was the 100 yard test.
A large percentage of the buying decision comes about in the first 100 yards of any given test drive and the Astra had to make the driver feel instantly at home and comfortable with the controls, impressing through sheer ease of use. Take note,
BMW.
"The tale of the tape shows the Astra is one of the biggest cars in its class"
One thing that
Vauxhall trust will be immediately apparent is the Astras ride quality courtesy of an advanced suspension system. Its the first car in its class to feature Continuous Damping Control (CDC), electronically controlled shock absorbers that continuously adapt to the road surface and the drivers style. Its all part of what Vauxhall dub the Astras Interactive Driving System (IDS) that can integrate all of the electronic functions in a way thats a good deal cleverer that you might think. For example, the ESP stability control system now beefs up the damper forces first before applying the brakes to the front wheels during extreme cornering manoeuvres making for a more sensitive and less intrusive intervention.
Upspec models will also feature a Sport button so that the suspension settings, accelerator and steering response can easily be adapted to the mood of a driver. Its something weve become used to on premium sports cars but not on a family hatchback. Despite all of these high tech touches, the Astra still uses a relatively simple beam axle at the back instead of the sophisticated multi-link layouts used by
Volkswagen and
Ford. Whilst GM executives contend that this system provides good handling while transmitting less noise into the cabin.
The engine line up consists of the usual wide selection of powerplants, some new, some heavily revised and some carried straight over from the previous model. The line-up kicks off with an 85bhp 1.4-litre petrol unit, alongside a 100bhp 1.6-litre and the familiar 125bhp 1.
8-litre engine. A 170bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged unit is also offered for sportier versions and theres the 240bhp unit that powers the mighty VXR. 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. Five diesel engines are available, a 1.7-litre unit in 80 and 100bhp forms and a 90bhp 1.
3, plus 120bhp and beefy 150bhp versions of a 1.9-litre powerplant that was developed by
Fiat. As would be expected, all five meet the Euro IV emissions regulations which means that business users wont have to pay the onerous three per cent benefit in kind surcharge that drivers of non-compliant cars get tapped up for. Future developments are rumoured to include a version of the dual-clutch DSG gearbox and even a continuously variable transmission option to supplement the available five and six speed manual boxes, the four speed auto and the Easytronic clutchless manual system.
A five door hatch and an estate are on offer alongside a three door Sport Hatch version. A coupe-cabriolet variant is also due, as is a replacement for the ultra successful Zafira
mini-MPV using the same mechanicals. Clever packaging and a long wheelbase have helped to maximise the Astras interior space, helped in no small part by the fact that the exterior tale of the tape shows the Astra is one of the biggest cars in its class. That sloping roofline looks as if itll pinch rear headroom but look a little closer and youll notice the sloping line that catches the eye is but a chamfer and the actual roofline arcs higher.
Rear headroom is in fact better than the outgoing car and legroom and shoulder room is in another league. A Vauxhall spokesman claimed that the interior of the new Astra fitted like a glove, but as few people we know are shaped like hands, this would seem to present certain problems. Not so. Big doors and surprisingly upright side windows give an airy feel to the interior, although anybody familiar with the look and feel of the latest Vectras cabin wont find much to excite them with the Astras fascia.
Vauxhall have completed an about face with the latest Astra. Its predecessors were often cars that werent sufficiently special to appeal to private buyers, instead depending on corporate bean counters to swell the sales figures. The latest model changes all of that, offering a design that most private buyers would be glad to see sitting on their driveways. Naturally Vauxhall hope that business buyers arent deterred by its good looks and sporting credentials but for the first time in years, heres an Astra hatch that wont result in wiseacres telling you what you could have bought.
That has to be a surer test of the cars desirability than any Vauxhall have yet devised.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Vauxhall Astra range
PRICES: £10,995-£19,195 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 4-14
CO2 EMISSIONS: 132218g/km
PERFORMANCE: [80bhp CDTi ECOTEC] Max Speed 104mph / 0-60mph 14.0s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [80bhp CDTi ECOTEC 5-door hatch] (city driving) 34.4mpg / (rural/highway driving 54.3mpg / (combined) 57.6mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags / ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: [5-door hatch] Length/width/heightmm 4249/2030/1460mm
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