Opel Astra 2013 review

The Astra has been the star of the House of Holden for many years, starting in 1984, when the Australian-made five-door model was also sold, with some modifications, as the Nissan Pulsar.

In 1996, this first Astra was replaced by an Opel-based model of the German division of General Motors, which, like the Holden Astra, was sold here in large numbers until it was replaced by the Daewoo in 2009, but later produced locally by the Holden Cruze.

Now the German car manufacturer is running its own race in the Australian market. Opel has reclaimed the name by presenting the latest Astra here in several petrol and diesel variants.

ENGINES

Leading the line is the $42,990-$2.0 1.6-litre Astra OPC three-door hatchback. The hero car, based on the Opel Astra GTC's XNUMX-litre turbo engine, is blazing a new sporty furrow for the European hatchback.

The list of chassis modifications has been designed to take into account the significant performance increase of the hot engine, which develops 206 kW of power and 400 Nm of torque.

When the legendary 20.8-kilometer Nürburgring Nordschleife race track - the "Green Hell" - passes by the main entrance to the Opel Performance Center, is it any wonder that OPC-labeled sports cars can be relied upon to drive wild? The Astra is no exception: 10,000 kilometers in racing conditions on the track, which equates to approximately 180,000 kilometers on the highway under its tires.

Styling

While the OPC owes much of its exterior styling to the GTC, the visual performance has been taken to the extreme, with specially shaped front and rear bumpers, side skirts, an aerodynamic roof spoiler and dual bumper-integrated tailpipes. Wheels are 19" alloy wheels with 245/40 ZR tires as standard. Twenty inch versions are available as an option.

Interior

Inside, the cabin is a cross between a smart city hatchback and a track-day toy. The Focus is a flat-bottomed steering wheel whose diameter has been reduced from 370mm to 360mm compared to other Astras, making the steering even more precise and direct. A short sports pole adds to the effect, while the aluminum-coated pedals feature rubber studs for better grip on the shoe.

The driver has no excuse for not getting comfortable: the quality Nappa leather seat with manually deployable leading edge cushion and electrically adjustable lumbar/lateral support offers 18 different seat settings to choose from.

Mounted 30mm lower than in the standard Astra hatchback, both front seats are designed to provide occupants with a closer sensory connection to the car's chassis. With passengers of average build up front, rear legroom is ample; Headroom is not very roomy.

Driving

Under hard acceleration, the Astra OPC launches into the exhaust accompaniment of packs of barking dogs preparing for the kill. The target speed of 100 km/h is reached in just six seconds.

Thanks to the removal of one of the GTC's three mufflers, there's a strong rumble at idle, coming from the parallelogram-shaped twin tailpipes built into the rear bumper.

The smart technology has reduced fuel consumption by 14% compared to the previous model, to 8.1 liters per 100 km in a combined city and highway driving cycle, as well as reducing emissions to 189 grams per kilometer. However, we used 13.7 liters per 100 kilometers when driving the test car in the city and 6.9 liters when driving on the highway.

To provide a level of drive and handling rarely seen in road vehicles, engineers worked their magic, the Astra OPC came under the spell of Opel's HiPerStrut (high performance strut) system to improve steering feel and help reduce torque. steering and adaptive damping system FlexRide.

The latter offers a choice of three chassis settings that the driver can select by pressing buttons on the dashboard. "Standard" provides all-round performance for a variety of road conditions, while "Sport" makes the dampers stiffer for less body roll and tighter body control.

"OPC" enhances throttle response and modifies damper settings to ensure that wheel-to-road contact is quickly restored after a bump, allowing the vehicle to land softly. This "sing and dance" system announces itself boldly to the driver by switching instrument lighting from white to red.

Astra OPC engineers have never been far from motorsports, having developed a racing limited slip differential to optimize traction when accelerating into corners or changing camber and terrain.

Even with increased LSD performance, a retuned traction control system, and electronic stability control, wheel slip was not completely eliminated on the test car in the wet. Good fun if you're careful, potentially dangerous if not...

Verdict

Simply sit down, fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride. We certainly did.