Of all the vehicles the Opel brand could bring to New Zealand, none resonates as much as the Astra, a car which already has a solid Antipodean reputation and now comes direct from Opel.
When Opel established itself as a brand earlier this year, it was heralded a disruptor brand, one which challenges convention and the market it moves in. And with the vehicles on offer at the time, the brand more than lived up to its self-styled reputation.
Carefully, the Mokka twins were soon joined by the Corsa, a well-respected model in Europe but new to our market and while not quite as edgy as the Mokka, still delivered on the brand’s message.
Now Opel introduces a third model with the Astra, a hatchback which Opel New Zealand markets as the brand’s hero, despite it being the most conventional car in Opel’s line up.
Yes, the Opel Astra is a straight-forward, three-cylinder, turbocharged petrol-powered hatchback and as such, one might ask how it achieves its hero status within the Opel brand?
A good question which is not so simply answered. In the first instance, the Astra’s 30-year plus nameplate is borne by Opel’s latest design philosophies, chassis development, along with its appointment and refinement of onboard specification and features.
Add to this the absolute latest in engine technology and combine it with Opel’s established bold and pure DNA and we’re getting close to understanding the Astra’s hero model status.
The absolute latest in engine technology? Yes, what lies under that sharklike and strikingly designed nose is a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol.
This one however, integrates a gasoline particle filter to deliver reduced emissions in line with the Euro6 standard, which brings laboratory testing closer to what we can expect in real world testing. Euro 6d emission figures came to the European market in 2021.
Ok, but what this means in the case of the Astra? How about a 1.2-litre petrol pulling 5.3 litres per 100km for 117gm of CO2 per km with a zero to 100km sprint speed of 9.7 seconds?
Impressive numbers made so much better when they are integrated with the handling the Astra’s EMP2-V3 platform provides.
A low centre of gravity and a well-balanced body afford a very confident and stable ride which is improved still further with the adoption of AGR-certified, (back-friendly and scientifically proven to be) sports styled front seats.
And that brings us neatly into the cabin of the Astra, where Opel DNA is very obvious, with the Pure Panel driver-centric display screen(s), complemented by a heads-up display, aluminium sports stye pedals and paddle shifters behind the heated flat bottomed steering wheel. It is also where the Opel Astra demonstrates that sometimes all that is gold does indeed glister.
From the driver’s seat of the Opel Astra hatchback, the car does not feel like a hatchback, and this is something we haven’t seen from Opel products to date.
The Mokka and the Corsa feel like the cars they are whereas the Astra feels more like a mid-sized sedan with punchy acceleration, athletic handling and an on-road confidence which can only be delivered via a well-engineered and precisely balanced chassis.
These are not really hatchback characteristics in fact, I would go so far as to say they are not even hot hatch characteristics; the Astra is more like a true driver’s car which happens to have the useful advantages of a hatchback, chiefly a 422 to 1339 litre carrying capacity.
As a halo product, the Astra has the most comprehensive safety specification level possible with a full complement of ADAS safety features with long range blind spot monitoring, semi-autonomous lane positioning assist and advanced active emergency braking with night function, pedestrian and cyclist detection among much more.
The Astra name is well known and yes, respected by New Zealand fleet users, but with this generation, we are accessing Astras from the brand which designed and built them.
Are the Blitz badge bearing Astras of today better than the Astras we have appreciated as fleet vehicles before? Categorically and most emphatically, yes!
