Seriously Astra-nomical

Yes, I am allowed to use overly corny headings every now and then, and this one actually fits.

You see, car manufactures are seriously being pressurised by ‘Greenies’ to cut their carbon emissions, even though out of interest sake, and to put it into a bit of perspective, the average human "exhaust emissions" - my mother says I can't use the word fart in a newspaper - amount to 8,5 tons of CO2 during their lifetime, and this figure excludes other gases such as Nitrogen, as well as the amount of CO2 we exhale.

The net result is some manufactures have decided to downsize. This means where you once had a 2,0-litre engine as your flagship, you’ll now have a 1,4 or a 1,6.

Okay, granted, normally these smaller units are turbocharged and having sampled one or two examples, I’m all for it.

And this brings me to the new Opel Astra, which is a turbocharged 1,4-litre petrol pushing out 103 kW and 200 Nm. Sadly though, the figures are only half the story, and you have to actually experience it to understand. Think of this engine as a Jack Russel – small, but oh so eager to please.

From a design perspective the front has been tapered off quite a bit and now has a very low-slung aggressive appearance. Overall, the new car appears more squat, a dash more butch than before, and I like it.

The interior is pretty top notch too. Everything fits together; there are no horrid scratchy plastics present. There’s a decent amount of standard equipment. I’d love to now tell you how great all this equipment is, but the honest truth is I don’t actually know. During my limited stint with the Astra, I decided to rather drive it than play with the radio, because it is a genuinely fun car to drive. I can tell you that an Auxiliary input is standard.

The steering is pretty sharp and offers a decent amount of feedback. The chassis feels beautifully balanced and offers ample grip when going into corners a ‘bit’ too fast. The suspension is another plus point. It is firm enough to minimise body-roll when you seriously chuck it around, but still absorbs most road imperfections – it doesn’t crash through potholes, and those are becoming pretty hard to miss.

The brakes offer really good bite too and are assisted by ABS and EBD. Other safety equipment found in the Astra include driver and passenger airbags as well as side and curtain airbags.

The Astra comes with a 5 year/90 000 km service plan as well as a 5 year/120 000 km warranty.

The Astra is a beautifully balanced car. Boy racer when you want it to be and family hatch when you don’t. I can see why it’s a 2011 SA Car of the Year finalist. Now it’s your turn…