Test Drive: Saturn Astra's a bit pricey, but it sure is fun to drive
— -- What a great time for General Motors to have a sweet-driving, decent-looking small car like the Saturn Astra. It's a barely Americanized German Opel Astra and went on sale in the USA in January.
Saturn and Opel are both General Motors brands, and it cuts costs for GM to spread a car over multiple brands and markets. The art is to alter the versions enough to fit regional preferences without spending too much to tailor the car for each market. Bit of a tightrope.
The result in the Astra is a vehicle not quite aimed at Yank tastes and one that's a bit pricey. It gives you roughly the same space as a Ford Focus, its dead-on rival and one of the best-selling small cars. But Astra has slightly less power and gas mileage and a window-sticker price from hundreds to as much as $1,000 more. Astra starts at about $16,000-plus; nearly $23,000 loaded.
Here are some small things noticeable on the test car — a well-equipped, four-door, hatchback Astra XR with manual transmission — that could irritate you after the new-car smell wears off:
•Astra's main cup holder is so far back on the center console it's behind the driver. Even if you don't drink much while driving, the test car's console was so small that the cup holder needs to be handier for cellphones and other normal kit.
•Hip features such as satellite radio, an iPod jack and anything rivaling Ford's Sync central voice-command system are not available on Astra.
•Seats are a little stiff and lumpy, though finding a good seating position — a separate matter — is easy.
•The clock's a 24-hour, military-style readout (4:30 p.m. is 16:30, for example). That's hardly a deal-breaker, maybe even better in some eyes, but it's another reminder that Americans weren't top-of-mind during development. Among the few changes to the mechanically identical '09 model coming this fall will be a 12-hour clock like most Americans use.
•Astra's extra weight cuts a few miles per gallon off its fuel-economy ratings vs. the Focus that's 250 to 300 pounds lighter. Extra heft might help in a crash, though, depending on how and where it's deployed.
So why bother, you ask? Why not just snatch up that Focus, or Mazda3 or Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe?
Because Astra drives oh-so-nicely. That's the Euro factor that could make you forget niggling annoyances.
Though the engine is slightly smaller and less powerful than the Focus' and must motivate more weight, it has a sweeter feel and loves to zip up to the red line. It has a feeling of quickness, although the speedometer reading wasn't impressive at the end of the full-blast on-ramp sprint in the Test Drive routine.
The manual transmission in the hatchback test car let you know via slight mechanical resistance each time you slipped the lever into gear. It was not the clichéd "hot-knife-through-butter" feel some drivers crave, but the gearbox was easy and fun to shift and there was no danger of slipping into the wrong gear.
The light-touch clutch made the car easy to start from rest, even uphill, and minimized the strain of stop-and-go driving.
Steering, oh joy. Very well-centered. No need to make small corrections to keep the car pointed straight ahead. But ask it for a dart, a swerve or a simple turn, and the car responded with such fine snap that you wanted to go down the road yanking the wheel back and forth just to feel the crisp response.
If your physique fits the front seats and you don't need more than kid-size leg or knee space in back, the interior is pleasant. Rubber-ringed control knobs feel better than plastic. The seemingly hard steering wheel is just soft enough to be grippy. No-nonsense horizontal air vents in the center of the dashboard have a visually satisfying, industrial look that blends well with the lines and angles of other trim — a small touch, but something you lay eyes on every time you climb in.
The hatchback test car had a trip computer — labeled BC for "board computer," which one assumes is Euro-speak — that tracked all key items and could display them simultaneously. You could see, for instance, your fuel economy, number of gallons used, average speed and miles driven (at least GM made the concession to switch from kilometers to miles). All are in big, bright numbers for a fast peripheral read without taking your eyes off the road. Very useful.
And here's one: The doors opened stiffly, much like on some Audis. That might sound like a pain, but the advantage is that the doors stay put in the part-open position instead of falling back to squish kid fingers or flopping full-open to ding your other car in the garage.
Look strictly at the numbers and you'd drop Astra a ways down on your small-car shopping list. But if engaging driving feel is more important than a couple of mpg's, console space or the numbers on the clock, you might find Astra a delightful surprise.
And, seeing that Saturn's selling only about 1,000 Astras a month so far, it'll be distinctive, as well.
2008 SATURN ASTRA
What? Small, front-wheel-drive, Opel Astra hatchback with a new schnoz and rump and other minor changes and sold in USA as a Saturn. Two-door or four-door.
When? On sale since January.
Where? Made at Antwerp, Belgium.
Why? GM has anointed Saturn its Euro-flavor brand and needed a European small car.
How? GM's German brand Opel had a perfectly good Astra that wouldn't take much to Americanize, more or less.
How much? Base four-door XE starts at $16,495 with $620 shipping. Loaded models are almost $23,000.
How many? Just 3,477 in first five months this year, Autodata says.
How powerful? Not very, but acts as if it is. Frisky 1.8-liter four-cylinder rated 138 horsepower at 6,300 rpm, 125 pounds-feet of torque at 3,800. Five-speed manual standard, four-speed automatic optional.
How fancy? Equipment level varies widely by model. Details: www.saturn.com.
How big? Slightly shorter, wider than a Ford Focus and up to 300 pounds heavier. It's 170.5 inches long, 69 inches wide, 55.8 inches (two-door) or 57.4 inches (four-door) tall, on a 102.9-inch wheelbase.
Weight listed as 2,833 pounds (two-door) or 2,921 pounds (four-door). Passenger space listed as 89 cubic feet (two-door) or 92.4 cubic feet (four-door). Cargo space in two-door: 12 cubic feet behind the rear seat, 37.8 cubic feet when seat's folded. Four door: 12.2 cubic feet, 44.7 cubic feet.
Rated to tow up to 1,388 pounds, carry up to 1,058 pounds.
Turning circle listed as 34.4 feet.
How thirsty? All models rated 24 miles per gallon in town, 27 mpg combined. Automatic transmission rated 30 mpg highway, manual 32.
Trip computer in manual transmission, four-door test car showed 22.6 mpg in suburban driving.
Tank holds 11.9 gallons, regular specified.
Overall:Lovely to drive, but pricey and lacks some features.