2008 Saturn Astra
Tuesday, February 6th, 2007
Saturn is currently preparing to debute the all-new Astra, a car that’s more-or-less identical to the European Opel Astra in every significant way. Rather than importing the car from Europe, which it will do at launch, to get the car more quickly, GM will build the car Stateside and massage some of the more expensive content out to make it a more cost-effective proposition for the U.S. market. What arrives on Saturn forecourts in the fall of 2007 will be much closer to its European sibling.
So what is the European Astra like, then? Pretty darn good, actually. At its European launch in 2004 it was praised for its sporty and funky styling and, with the exception of federal bumpers and Saturn grille, its basic appearance won’t be altered for American consumption. Fortunately for Saturn, the three-door hatchback (known in Europe as the GTC) has been styled to resemble a rakish coupe (it’s still a roomy five-seater, though), helping it to poach sales from the new Focus Coupe and Scion tC, while the five-door hatchback is slightly more conservatively styled to make it more appealing to family buyers.
Opel has also just unveiled a new four-door Astra sedan for Eastern Europe (they prefer sedans out East) and you can be sure that will make its way Stateside before long also, though Saturn declines to comment on that. The Astra wagon and hardtop convertible won’t be offered in the U.S. As you might expect from a GM product, the interior isn’t quite as exciting as the exterior and what little glitz the Euro-Astra has will probably have to be pulled to keep costs down. Even so, the Astra will remain as spacious as ever and will offer a great driving position and excellent visibility, too.
Mechanically, the Astra isn’t as sophisticated as its main rivals in Europe, with its basic torsion beam rear suspension, but the good news is engineers have worked wonders with it and in terms of ride and handling it’s not disgraced by the agile and refined European-model Focus and Golf. This bodes well or American customers too, because Saturn wants to keep that sporty European feel to help it win over younger buyers.
The Saturn Astra’s engines are likely to be versions of GM’s global Ecotec four. The U.S. engine is a 140-hp 1.8-liter Ecotec engine, which proved adequately powerful if somewhat lacking in smoothness at high revs. A five-speed manual will be standard on all Saturn Astras, with a four-speed automatic offered as an option. Opel, like most European carmakers, is shifting towards smaller, turbocharged engines in a bid to lower emissions and fuel consumption without affecting performance, so the company’s excellent 180-hp, 1.6-liter turbo is likely to be the pick of the revised European Astra range, which goes on sale in February.
Meanwhile, American enthusiasts are no doubt be hoping that the Astra Red Line will be little more than a re-badged version of the howling-mad, 240-hp, 2.0-liter turbo Astra OPC (Opel Performance Center). The Red Line coupe will probably use most of the OPC’s bodywork and chassis tweaks, but whether it will get the 260-hp, 2.0-liter turbo GM stuffs in the Solstice, remains up for conjecture.
The Astra’s chassis simply isn’t sophisticated enough to cope with all that power and torque and as a result, the OPC is a surprisingly frustrating and uninspiring car to drive. Turn off the stability control and you’ll find that when you’re not quenching torque-steer and wheel-spin, you’re doing battle with oversteer and understeer as it bounces and skips its way over uneven surfaces. Leave the traction control on and the dashboard lights light up like Vegas at night, especially if there’s a hint of moisture on the road.
Tags: 2008 saturn, 2008 astra, saturn astra, astra
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