The Opel Astra has been around since the early 1990s, when it was introduced to replace the German brand’s long-running and extremely popular Kadett. The first generation of the Opel Astra was built on GM’s T-body platform, and was made available in many different body shapes - hatchback, sedan, station wagon, convertible, and also as a utilitarian cargo van. In the coming years, the Astra’s popularity grew, not only because of its versatility but also as it was sold in a wide range of body types. Soon enough, the Opel Astra was offered in many countries around the world and among them all, the most prolific Astra were the hatchback models.
Presently in its fifth and most up-to-date generation, the new Opel Astra is based on General Motors’ D2XX architecture, though it’s now only offered in hatchback and station wagon avatars. In the UAE market, for example, the Opel Astra is only sold as a hatchback, with three trim levels for customers to choose from: - Enjoy, Dynamic and the fully-loaded Innovation. The Astra’s local competition comes from the likes of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, BMW 1-Series, and the Volkswagen Golf.
Exterior
The latest-gen Opel Astra hatchback is a pretty nice looking car, though the design clearly favors smooth contours and flowing lines over sharp angles or aggressively molded body panels. The pleasant front fascia of the Opel Astra features a distinctly creased hood, large sweptback headlamps with stylish LED DRL elements, wide chrome garnished grille, and finally, a sporty bumper with large fog lamp housings and a neat lower air dam complete the package. Following the side profile of the new Astra, attention is drawn to its 'breakthrough' C-pillar design that lends the roof a “floating” effect, while the crisp character line along the doors, gently arched fenders and chic 16-inch alloy wheels come together quite nicely.
The sporty looking rear of the new Opel Astra gets a heavily sculpted tailgate with a large brand logo, swanky LED wraparound tail lights, a subtle roof spoiler and a well-contoured bumper. As for its exterior dimensions, the new Astra measures in at 4.370 meters in length, 1.809 meters in width and 1.485 meters in height. Meanwhile, the distance between the front and rear axle measures 2.662 meters, and the boot can haul up to 370 liters of luggage with the rear bench in place.
Interior
Owing to its relatively large exterior dimensions (length, wheelbase, and width), the cabin of the new Opel Astra hatchback feels quite spacious. The seats feel supportive and comfortable, too, while road and tire noise aren’t too bothersome, either. The windows are fairly large for the most part, though taller passengers might find the sloping roof at the back a bit bothersome. Meanwhile, the overall design and layout of the dashboard, center console, gauge cluster and steering wheel are all alright, but nothing fancy or interesting, though. However, you do get soft-touch materials on some of the most visible areas, and the glossy black, satin silver and chrome elements help alleviate some of the blandness up front.
On the features front, the fully kitted-out Astra comes with automatic projector headlamps, front & rear fog lamps, keyless entry & go, automatic climate control, cruise control, electronic parking brake, rain-sensing wipers, 7-inch touch-infotainment display with navigation, 6-speaker audio rig with AUX, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, power sunroof and leather seat upholstery. Then there are also six airbags, anti-lock brakes, hill assist, collision detection, parking sensors with a reversing camera and a tire pressure monitor among others.
Engine and performance
Under the hood of the Opel Astra hatchback is a 1.4-liter turbocharged petrol engine that whips out 150hp and 230Nm of torque. It’s mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox that directs this grunt to the front wheels, and is also capable of achieving 5.4 L/100 km. This punchy four-banger can hurl this hatchback to a top whack of 210 km/h, whilst naught to 100 km/h takes just under 9 seconds.
Verdict
The Opel Astra is a fairly well built, neatly designed, safe and well performing family hatchback. However, it doesn’t come cheap, costing between AED 83,000 to AED 101,900 in the UAE.
