Opel Astra 1.2 Turbo — the first sign

As Jerzy Bralczyk says, one swallow does not make spring, but already heralds it. Thus, the first is associated with positive changes - warming is approaching and the weather is becoming more pleasant. After two decades of unprofitability, such a swallow for Opel could be a hit under the wing of the French group PSA.

This is true. Imagine that you have been running a company for 20 years and it is still making losses. As General Motors, you are relieved to get rid of the crutch and still get 2,2 billion euros for it - although I do not think that this amount covers all losses. However, as a PSA, you can experience the thrill of insecurity…

Or not, because such transactions are not impulsive. PSA probably had a plan long before we knew about the spectacular merger.

Was the decline in sales part of the plan? No, but it was - in the first half of 2017, i.e. before the official takeover, Opel sold 609 thousand cars. In the first half of 2018 - after the takeover - already 572 thousand. parts.

Failure? Nothing out of this. PSA rolled up its sleeves and after 20 years Opel it turned out to be a plus for the first time. As a result, PSA shares rose by as much as 14%.

This is due to a reduction in cost - by as much as 30%. Such results are not achieved through fewer purchases or the choice of poor quality components. The new management has negotiated better rates with suppliers, slashed advertising spending and offered employee packages to encourage them to voluntarily leave.

However, another change that may be decisive for customers is the use of more PSA-manufactured parts.

We can already see this change in the updated Opel Astra.

Updated? How?!

I asked myself this question when I picked up the keys to a fragrant novelty. Asters. After all, nothing has changed here!

Therefore, we must ask ourselves to shed light on this issue. Opa. So it turns out that the grille and front bumper have changed a bit.

Restyling Opel Astra cannot be seen with the naked eye, something else is important. Even before the facelift, Astra was distinguished by excellent aerodynamics. After the facelift, a fully active curtain was introduced, which can be closed both at the top and at the bottom of the grille. Thus, the car manages air circulation and cooling. Additional plates are also used at the bottom to smooth out the airflow. The drag coefficient is now 0,26. The station wagon is even more streamlined, with a coefficient of 0,25.

We will no longer change the aerodynamics in the middle, so the changes are even less noticeable. These include an optional digital clock, a new Bose audio system, inductive phone charging, and a heated windshield. The security camera is also smaller.

However, this camera still feels big. The mirror frame is quite thick, but does not cover the body of the system camera. Most of my editorial colleagues didn't even notice it - it bothered me.

The shelf in front of the gear lever is a bit impractical. It’s good that it exists, but phones have already grown so much that, for example, the iPhone X cannot be squeezed in there. So it's better to choose a special phone holder that can hide this shelf, but at least allows you to use this space.

A big plus - invariably - should be AGR-certified seats, i.e. walk for a healthy back. They can even be ventilated.

I just don't know what happened to the rearview camera. At night, it is activated on the screen with a maximum brightness different from the set one, because of which it blinds to such an extent that it is difficult to see what is in the right mirror. However, we picked up a car with a mileage of 9 km - this happens in new cars, so I suspect that the service will quickly fix everything.

Better let's kill all the cool cars

Many people would not Opa very interesting, but only he had a very interesting variant for sale - a compact with a 1.6 hp 200 Turbo engine. for 92 thousand. PLN in the highest version of Elite. In this segment, in addition to Asters, we will not get such a powerful machine for such a price.

Now remove "except Asters“Because, to put it simply, PSA has plowed this engine option.

On the occasion of a facelift Opel Astra the engine range has been completely reorganized. Under the hood is a 1.2 Turbo three-cylinder engine in 110, 130 and 145 hp variants. Interestingly, there is also a 1.4 Turbo engine with 145 hp. - he lost only 5 hp with the introduction of the mandatory GPF filter. As for the diesel, we will see only one design - 1.5 Diesel, in 105 and 122 hp variants.

All cars are equipped with mechanical 6-speed gearboxes. There are two cars: 1.4 Turbo gets a CVT with imitation of 7 gears, with a more powerful diesel engine - a 9-speed automatic.

We tested the 130 hp version. with 6 speed manual transmission. These 225 Nm of maximum torque are available in a fairly narrow range of 2 to 3,5 rpm. rpm and you can feel it while driving. At higher speeds, the small three-cylinder engine is already choking, but it cannot be accused of lack of culture. It is perfectly muffled and even at 4. rpm it is hardly audible in the cabin.

Probably, a new gearbox was put to the new engine. To be honest, not very accurate. Sometimes three need to be pushed harder to get in, and I was never sure if the fifth and sixth actually came in. I think it was better before. Maybe it's just a matter of getting a car too new and it still hasn't arrived.

How does it ride Opel Astra? Pretty good. Accelerates quite efficiently, up to 100 km / h in less than 10 seconds, and consumes very little, according to the manufacturer, about 5,5 l / 100 km on average. It also makes turns very confidently.

The 200-horsepower Astra may not have been a salable crane, but it was an interesting option for those looking for a dynamic hatchback. Now with 1.2 Turbo three-cylinder engines, Astra it's "just" a hatchback - it may still have that aerodynamics and therefore low fuel consumption, but it's much more like other models available on the market.

Tested 3-cylinder engine accelerates Asters to 100 km/h in 9,9 seconds. The earlier 4-cylinder 1.4 Turbo did this in 9,5 seconds and had 20 Nm more torque.

It is unfortunate, but these are the challenges facing the automotive industry today.

New Opel Astra - a little less character

W new Astra we got new equipment, but at the expense of engines, less dynamic and a little more complex. They also have a lower work culture, but they are, I believe, cheaper to manufacture and, above all, meet the new standards, which should have been very difficult in the case of previous divisions.

However, the auto industry is up against a wall when it comes to costs. Manufacturers have to spend money on more efficient engines, as well as the development of electric and autonomous vehicles. Only by dividing these costs across multiple brands, as PSA does, can you look forward to greater returns in the future.

Now, however, PSA's intervention is minimal - it's still pretty much a General Motors car. However, this is rapidly changing as there are already talks of a successor coming in 2021 and built on the EMP2 platform.