According to Vauxhall, 25 per cent of British motorists have driven an Astra at some point
in their lives and the UK is the Astra’s most popular market in Europe.
Now in its seventh-generation, Vauxhall says it has been working on this new hatchback
from as early as 2009.
But what have those five or so years meant for the Astra?
Well, it’s clearly had a design revamp, it’s now smaller on the outside, but bigger
on the inside, it’s up to 200kg lighter than its predecessor, it has a host of new
technology and its chassis has been specifically tuned to deal with UK roads.
But is that enough to steal sales from the likes of the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf?
Let’s see.
The big difference in here from an aesthetic point
of view is the new dashboard layout.
Trying to find vital controls in the old Astra was a bit like doing a word search, but Vauxhall
has rectified this with a much cleaner layout of buttons that are spliced into easy to digest
sections.
A key addition to the facia is this reworked Intellilink touchscreen system which is intended
to offer a tablet-like feel – and this comes kitted up to the eyeballs with music and map
functionalities with things like AppleCar Play and Android Auto.
Now, air-con, cruise control and a seven-inch touchscreen are standard – but we have got
what is expected to be the best-seller - the SRi model – and this adds a leather steering
wheel, a host of driver assistance features, like traffic sign assist – and Vauxhall’s
new OnStar system.
So, what is OnStar?
Well, it enables the car with 4G Wifi capabilities and gives you the choice of either utilising
the car’s functions while being sat in it, or by playing around with its features via
the smartphone app.
So, if you have a crash on the road, the SOS feature will kick in and someone from Vauxhall’s
HQ will speak to you while you are still in the car.
If there is no response then they can call an ambulance.
You can also press the blue OnStar button which connects you to a call centre and allows
you to ask Vauxhall’s team to send you locations of nearby attractions or you can ask them
for general advice or diagnostic information on the car.
And Vauxhall says that you can even call the OnStar service for a chat on your way home
at night, just in case you feel a little lonely or vulnerable.
Let me just jump out and show you some of the features you can use on the ‘My Vauxhall’
app.
So, firstly you can remotely lock your car from anywhere in the world.
You can also flash your lights, honk your horn and check things like tyre pressure.
And if your car gets stolen, you can request for the ignition to be cut off.
So it’s impressive on the tech side and, jump in the back, space is impressive as well,
with loads of head and leg room.
The boot has 370 litres, which is far better than the Focus and a little under the Golf,
but this large loading lip and hump when you fold the seats down will surely annoy family
car buyers.
From launch, all engines in the range are turbocharged, with almost ten different variants
to choose from, including 1.0-litre and a 1.4-litre turbo petrols.
But we have the 134bhp 1.6-litre whisper diesel – which is expected to be the best-seller.
This diesel is happier on the motorway and depending on what trim you go for, it will
emit as low as 99g/km and return a claimed average of around 70mpg.
You will have to work the six-speed manual with the diesel however when you venture onto
a hilly country road.
The Astra’s greatest improvements though are with its drive.
I spoke to Horst Bormann, the boffin behind the Astra’s chassis, and he told me about
how they honed it to offer a balance between the comfort of the Golf and the fun-factor
of the Focus.
Now, although the set-up is a little firm it will deal with lumps and bumps fairly easily.
But does the firmness pay off?
Yep.
Throw the Astra into a corner and it feels well planted, with very little roll and good
levels of grip, definitely a noticeable improvement over the last model.
Its steering feels much sweeter as well and although it lacks a little feedback, certainly
at lower speeds, it is genuinely fun to drive.
And I actually think the faster you drive it, the more engaging it becomes.
One last thing worth mentioning is the new auto-adjusting Matrix headlights, fitted as
an option to our model.
These basically shut off part of your high-beams so that you don’t blind other traffic but
can still have high-levels of visibility.
Rather entertaining to watch.
The new Astra starts from £15,295, meaning it’s slightly less than the outgoing model
and it sits in-between its Ford and VW rivals.
The OnStar system I mentioned earlier also comes with 12 months free, unlimited online
data.
So, it’s fun to drive, its tech-savvy, its good-looking and it’s fairly practical.
But the most significant word there is fun, because, let’s be honest, fun isn’t a
word you would usually associate with the Astra.
But Vauxhall has pulled it off and given those who are looking for a hatchback a real headscratcher.
But what do you think of the new Astra?
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