SSbaby
11-06-2004, 10:59 AM
by Autoweek (http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat_code=reviews&loc_code=index&content_code=06014798)
http://www.autoweek.com/weekart/2004/0524/0524opel1_main.jpg http://www.autoweek.com/weekart/2004/0524/0524opel5_rear.jpg
Unveiled at the Frankfurt show in September, the third-generation Astra is Opel's most important product, since it is also sold in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Astra. The compact car class, in which Astra competes, accounts for 30 percent of the market in Europe. Opel had more than 30,000 firm orders for the car before the first deliveries early last month. That number of pre-sales is important because it eclipsed the pre-sale orders for Volkswagen's new Golf-Astra's major European competitor-which went on sale last fall. (We will not see the new Golf in the States until next year.)
Astra will be in just about all GM markets except the United States. The closest we will get to the Astra is the Chevrolet Cobalt, due later this year. But close is a relative term. Cobalt is built on GM's small-car, front-wheel-drive Delta platform, while Astra is built on a modified Delta base. Cobalt and Astra share some suspension parts and dimensionally, they are similar.
After sampling this Astra on both public roads in Europe and an airfield-turned-test track, we wondered why this isn't the new Cobalt, or why it is not destined for the United States. Yes, Americans don't buy hatchbacks; they favor small sedans. But based on a brief test, the Astra would seem to be a fitting package. Noth-ing about it screams "economy car," in fact, it is just the opposite. The exterior shape is handsome for a small car and the interior is fitted with high-grade materials that appear to be better than those used in Chevys, Pontiacs and Saturns.
The Astra comes in five trim levels. There are six engine choices, including four gasoline engines, 1.4-liter, 1.6-liter, 1.8-liter and 2.0-liter, and two versions of a 1.7-liter common-rail diesel. Four transmissions are available. No domestic manufacturer offers anything close to that on its compact cars for U.S. sale, further emphasizing this segment's importance in the European market.
We drove an Astra with the 2.0-liter, 170-hp turbocharged Ecotec inline four mated to a six-speed manual and found that to be a wonderful combination. Offering smooth power with little turbo lag, the car had the legs to keep up with bigger sedans on the auto-route and was a blast on the auto-cross course. The only complaint: a balky shifter that surfaced while pushing it on the track. Smooth shifts were hard to accomplish under hard cor-ner-ing or heavy acceleration. It is a minor complaint, because unless you are participating at a track day event, chances are you would not be pushing your Astra this hard.
There may not be a day when GM builds and markets a true world car, but this is clear: Engineers on both sides of the pond are at least talking to each other about how to make cars better. In the long run, world car or not, that should be better for GM customers.
http://www.autoweek.com/weekart/2004/0524/0524opel1_main.jpg http://www.autoweek.com/weekart/2004/0524/0524opel5_rear.jpg
Unveiled at the Frankfurt show in September, the third-generation Astra is Opel's most important product, since it is also sold in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Astra. The compact car class, in which Astra competes, accounts for 30 percent of the market in Europe. Opel had more than 30,000 firm orders for the car before the first deliveries early last month. That number of pre-sales is important because it eclipsed the pre-sale orders for Volkswagen's new Golf-Astra's major European competitor-which went on sale last fall. (We will not see the new Golf in the States until next year.)
Astra will be in just about all GM markets except the United States. The closest we will get to the Astra is the Chevrolet Cobalt, due later this year. But close is a relative term. Cobalt is built on GM's small-car, front-wheel-drive Delta platform, while Astra is built on a modified Delta base. Cobalt and Astra share some suspension parts and dimensionally, they are similar.
After sampling this Astra on both public roads in Europe and an airfield-turned-test track, we wondered why this isn't the new Cobalt, or why it is not destined for the United States. Yes, Americans don't buy hatchbacks; they favor small sedans. But based on a brief test, the Astra would seem to be a fitting package. Noth-ing about it screams "economy car," in fact, it is just the opposite. The exterior shape is handsome for a small car and the interior is fitted with high-grade materials that appear to be better than those used in Chevys, Pontiacs and Saturns.
The Astra comes in five trim levels. There are six engine choices, including four gasoline engines, 1.4-liter, 1.6-liter, 1.8-liter and 2.0-liter, and two versions of a 1.7-liter common-rail diesel. Four transmissions are available. No domestic manufacturer offers anything close to that on its compact cars for U.S. sale, further emphasizing this segment's importance in the European market.
We drove an Astra with the 2.0-liter, 170-hp turbocharged Ecotec inline four mated to a six-speed manual and found that to be a wonderful combination. Offering smooth power with little turbo lag, the car had the legs to keep up with bigger sedans on the auto-route and was a blast on the auto-cross course. The only complaint: a balky shifter that surfaced while pushing it on the track. Smooth shifts were hard to accomplish under hard cor-ner-ing or heavy acceleration. It is a minor complaint, because unless you are participating at a track day event, chances are you would not be pushing your Astra this hard.
There may not be a day when GM builds and markets a true world car, but this is clear: Engineers on both sides of the pond are at least talking to each other about how to make cars better. In the long run, world car or not, that should be better for GM customers.