2010 Vauxhall Astra First Drive

The 2010 Vauxhall Astra couldn't have had a tougher gestation. Developed as GM hurtled toward bankruptcy and launched just as Opel is being sold, it nevertheless carries hopes of a brighter future.

The Astra is hugely important in Europe. This car is likely to become the U.K.'s number-one seller in the next 12 months, where one in four cars sold are from this compact class.

The 2010 Vauxhall Astra is targeted directly at the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf. Vauxhall is hoping to appeal not just to its core audience of somewhat older drivers age 45-60 but also to a younger, 30-something clientele, who are normally drawn to the VW Golf.

To do it, the 2010 Vauxhall Astra must deliver style, technology and a fine drive.

Forging an Identity
One of GM's key problems in Europe has been a lack of identity. Ford offers an overtly sporting drive and increasingly adventurous styling, while VW delivers steady evolution and an appeal that spans the whole range of socioeconomic classes. Defining a Vauxhall is more difficult, but the company hopes the Astra will seduce with its style.

To do so, the 2010 Vauxhall Astra takes its cues from the larger, all-wheel-drive Vauxhall Insignia, which was voted the 2009 European Car of the Year, but the Astra delivers them in a more compact package. To our eyes, it looks best from the rear, where it benefits from neat taillight detailing and a track that is wider than its predecessors. Only the five-door version is available for now, but a rakish three-door, a wagon and, most likely, a coupe/cabriolet will follow in the next couple of years.

The new Astra doesn't have the timeless chic of the Golf, but it does succeed in making the Euro Focus look dated. Ford won't launch the next-generation Focus for another year, giving GM a useful headstart. Of all its rivals, only the VW can also claim to be in any way new.

A Premium Touch
GM is keen to position Vauxhall and the Astra as a sub-premium alternative, and inside the cabin you can just about believe it. The design of the Astra's interior borrows heavily from the Insignia, and the sweep of the fascia, the chrome-ringed dials and the heavy-handed three-spoke steering wheel are instantly familiar.

The quality's good — remarkable by the standard of U.S. GM cars — and if you plunder the options list, you can have everything from Bluetooth phone connectivity and satellite navigation to ambient lighting and cruise control. The interior is compromised by questionable ergonomics, though. The center console's packed with more than 40 buttons and is far from intuitive to use.

Visibility is also impaired by a hefty A-pillar, which becomes a significant problem when it comes to seeing around bends on the driver side. It's doubly frustrating because the driving position is otherwise excellent, and the tilt-telescoping steering wheel will help create a driving position that can suit everyone.

By European standards, the 2010 Vauxhall Astra is a midsize car, but to U.S. eyes, it's a proper compact. At 174 inches overall, it's 9 inches longer than a Golf and 2 inches longer than a European Ford Focus. There's no shortage of headroom in the rear, although knee room is tight if the driver is vertically gifted (as is your obedient servant).

Driving Dynamics To Rival Ford
Vauxhall's chassis engineers freely admit that the Astra is less overtly sporting than the Ford Focus, aiming to split the difference between the Focus and the refined Golf. To this end, the engineers have developed a novel rear suspension system. In place of the traditional multilink setup, the Astra employs a more compact compound-crank rear axle with a Watt's link. In theory, this provides similar lateral control during hard cornering, while helping maximize passenger and trunk space.

The other novelty is the optional FlexRide system, a chassis technology the Astra shares with the larger Insignia. Dashboard buttons allow you to control the throttle mapping, damper settings and steering assistance according to three preset modes: Standard, Sport and Touring. The FlexRide system is intriguing, as the three settings are distinctly different, but it still seems like a gimmick in this car. The Astra's standard suspension can be had in either a sport or comfort calibration, and we'd choose the sport, which offers better body control than comfort, but without any significant degradation in the ride quality.

The steering is electrically powered with the motor on the rack, instead of the steering column, a measure that really improves on-center steering response because it moves the weight away from the steering wheel itself. For the U.K., Vauxhall has reworked the system, reducing the assistance to suit the tastes of British drivers. What it hasn't done, though, is provide much in the way of steering feel, a familiar problem with electrically powered systems. The hydraulically assisted steering of the Focus is much better in comparison.

There's no denying that the Astra will be the more relaxing companion on longer journeys.

In fact, the Ford is also the more agile and entertaining car overall. It may be nearing the end of its life, but the Focus is still a fine drive, even if you opt for the most basic version. The trade-off, though, is a firmer ride. There's no denying that the Astra will be the more relaxing companion on longer journeys, as its ability to absorb the bumps at high speed is nothing less than excellent.

Power Is Optional
In Europe, at least 50 percent of the Astras sold will be diesel. At launch, there are three turbodiesels: a 1.7-liter CDTi in either 108-horsepower form or 123-hp configuration, and a 2.0-liter CDTi with 158 hp. We were only offered the opportunity to drive the 108-hp engine. Despite its 192 pound-feet of torque, the engine delivers only modest performance in the 2010 Vauxhall Astra — zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes 11.8 seconds — and the powertrain is less refined than that of the equivalent VW TDi engine.

The gasoline engines start with an 86-hp 1.4-liter inline-4 and end with a 178-hp 1.6-liter Ecotec turbo, which we drove at the launch event. It offers 169 lb-ft of torque and gets the Astra to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.9 seconds, but there is significant turbo lag and it could never be described as anything more than mildly sporting. The hot Astra VXR is unlikely to appear for a couple of years, so more performance isn't arriving anytime soon.

Are We Missing Anything?
Saturn introduced the Astra into the U.S. for 2008 with some fanfare, but the car never found much of a following, either because no one thought to look for such a car at a Saturn dealership or because it was a bit too expensive. There's no more Saturn, of course, but the new Vauxhall Astra is not a cheap car, so it's doubtful that it could have been a success in the U.S. in any case. Its price in the U.K. ranges between $24,900 and $37,000, and this is competitive with the European Ford Focus (which is more like a Mazda 3 than the Focus we know), but more expensive than the Volkswagen Golf. When you consider that Ford is bringing the cut-price Fiesta to the U.S. to undercut its own Focus, we think the Astra's pricing probably wouldn't work in the U.S. right now anyway.

The 2010 Vauxhall Astra is a good car. It's seriously deficient in no area and offers sensible improvements over the old model. Unfortunately, it does not have any truly outstanding qualities, either.

This car still suffers from an identity crisis. If you want a sporting compact in Europe, you buy a Ford Focus; if you want something solid, refined and timeless, you buy a Volkswagen Golf. This highly competent new Astra no doubt will be a sales success, but if GM in Europe is to build a really successful future, it needs to start developing a distinctive character — not only for the Astra but for all its cars.

Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.