Review of the year - October 09

As new car launches go, pretty much anything wearing a Vauxhall badge is extremely important. The outgoing Astra was the biggest-selling British-built car in the UK, so the all-new model ranked as one of the most crucial arrivals of the year when it pitched up in October.

The Luton-based firm’s future was still in the balance when we drove to the home of Astra production – the Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire – to take one of the very first cars out of the factory gates. We didn’t know then that GM would decide to keep hold of its European firms, but were acutely aware all eyes would be on the newcomer.

Up against it (Issue 1,085) was our class favourite, the VW Golf, and its opposite number from Ford, the Focus. We tested the new 1.4-litre turbo Astra, and were impressed by its high-quality cabin and smooth ride comfort. It wasn’t enough to beat the excellent Golf, but it saw off its less powerful Ford rival. Vauxhall bosses weren’t entirely happy with our verdict, but that just shows the level of ambition within the company.

Our phone was soon ringing with an invite to drive the car again, this time at Vauxhall’s development centre at Millbrook in Bedfordshire – where its engineers had put the finishing touches to the car’s steering set-up. It gave us food for thought before we put a diesel model through its paces against more rivals in November.

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