Vauxhall Astra

Upmarket Astra targets Golf

Vauxhall focuses on quality in bid to turn hatch into class leader

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Sam Hardy

13th February 2007

Exclusive images in the current issue of Auto Express magazine (issue 947) give you the best look yet at the company's all-new Astra - and the popular family hatchback has one very ambitious mission: to tackle Volkswagen's top-quality Golf head-on.


	When it comes to luxury, it's clear that the sky is certainly not the limit.

When it comes to luxury, it's clear that the sky is certainly not the limit. Vauxhall parent firm General Motors is hatching a plan to push the Astra into battle with premium-brand models such as the BMW 1-Series and Audi's forthcoming A1 - revealed in Issue 946. And this is how the car will look. The next-generation Astra is sportier and sharper than ever before. Thanks to a low nose and rising tail, it has an athletic stance - one that's complemented by the bold but instantly recognisable front end.

The model seen in the mag is in five-door form, but the Astra will also come as a three-door with an even more rakish, coupé-like profile. As the current car has shown, having two distinctly different shapes allows Vauxhall to appeal to separate groups of buyers.

Bosses are conceiving the Astra as a world car, and its new platform - codenamed Delta and first seen at January's Detroit Motor Show in the guise of the Chevrolet Volt concept - will underpin a variety of GM models across the globe. This move is aimed at cutting costs and saving development time. Also using the platform will be Saab's forthcoming 9-1, Chevrolet's Lacetti replacement and, in the US, a new Saturn-badged hatch.

The flexible chassis will feature a complex multi-link independent rear suspension set-up, giving the Astra class-leading handling and making it a genuine driver's machine.

What's more, for the first time, the platform will be available with a four-wheel-drive system. This will be used for a flagship performance replacement for the current turbocharged VXR, delivering more than 250bhp. Indeed, models equipped with turbos will form the basis of the brand new Astra range.

As well as diesels, the newcomer will be offered with a host of small-capacity, boosted petrol engines just like the Volkswagen TSI line-up and Fiat's new T-JET range. These will help to meet tightening emissions standards, yet still provide strong performance and good fuel economy. Plus, combining these units with lithium-ion battery technology taken from the Chevrolet Volt show model will mean the Astra will be available in hybrid form for the first time.

Inside, the car's upmarket aspirations will be borne out by a luxurious cabin featuring high-quality materials. It will offer a raft of kit, including integrated sat-nav, hands-free telephone and audio technology as well as the Vectra's self-drive system.

Although development work is already well underway the new Astra will not arrive in UK showrooms until 2010.