one of the biggest problems with car guys who dedicate themselves to a brand is that they love to make commentary on cars they have not driven. i try to not do that, so i test drive different types of cars whenever the opportunity presents itself.

yesterday i had a chance to drive a saturn astra xr 3 door and i came away VERY impressed.

I have always liked the look of these, and the driving experience was quite pleasant.

the car i drove was an automatic (a four speed at that ) and it had this cool feature that allowed it to shift into nuetral while stopped. (you could feel it go back into gear when you accelerated though, so this would probably become annoying after time.)

i'll get the bad out of the way first:

1. The powertrain.

while it makes about the same horsepower as the r18 in the new civics, it simply cannot touch its mileage rating(highway) or more importantly, its smoothness. it is torquier though, or it at least feels like it. its techincally making a couple lbs of torque less, but it hits its peak earlier.
the engines refinement seemed like a little rougher version of the fits.

it was not particularly quick either, obviously, but it felt punchier than my fit at least. (for those who dont know, i have an 07 gd3 sport a/t). had they used the 2.2 litre four from the cobalt, it would have been gravy, but probably still no smoother. rumor has it that the astra was rushed over here from belgium (its an opel over there and bascially only features a badge change to become a saturn) and the only a/t they offer is with this 1.8, so there you go. another problem would be that unless you are willing to go through the trouble of importing an astra gsi engine (200 hp turbo 2.0) you are bascially out of luck for performance mods. (with the exception of brake/suspension/wheel upgrades.)

2. no aux jack.

again, a side effect of the rebadge, similar to our fits lack of a passenger vanity mirror or lack of a dead pedal, but a bigger deal to those with ipods.

and now the good.

1. THE HANDLING.
man. this car boogies. granted it probably had to do with the huge 215/45/r18 pirelli summer tires, but this car gripped like no other. (edmunds clocked this same model at pulling .88g's. fantastic for a car in this price range.) NO body lean in the corners. at all. whatsoever. this is a car that makes up for its power deficit with its handling in the same vein that the fit does, but to a MUCH greater extent. we fit owners love to tout our high slalom times (well at least gd3 guys, edmunds got the gd3 to do over 67mph, which is fantastic), but this astra takes it a step further: over 69mph through the slalom. thats even more than a mazdaspeed 3, which is signifcantly more, but offers more in the way of straight ahead grunt. (a lot.)

2. the steering: perfect perfect steering feel. even better than the fits and better than the rabbit i used to own. had this car had the punch of my old rabbit, it would be the perfect (as opposed to NEARLY perfect) mix between the two. The wheel had a pleasant heft to it and had tons of feedback without being harsh.

3. STABILITY STABILITY STABILTY. this car was solid as a rock. a little on the portly side (almost 300lbs heavier than the fit) but about as heavy as a loaded ex civic sedan or coupe, which still does not have the same level of confidence (i owned one of those too.) it reminded me so much of my rabbit, but turned up a notch in the sport department. almost like a gti with a much less competent engine. this car is so stinking solid its ridiculous. and quiet too, even with the 18's and summer rubber. (granted this would get louder over time as they are rated at 200 treadwear. not good. the ones equipped with 17's were equiped with hpas hankooks, and were suprisingly wider, 225 instead of 215. they would have offered less grip, but longer wear and been quieter.)

4. the interior

gasp! never though i would gush about a gm interior, but given that gm just owns the company that designed it, its a whole other ball park. the interior was as nice as my rabbits, and in some ways, even nicer. def nicer than the fits (with the exception of the gauge cluster, which had the classic german boring-ness and the center console which looked a little 80's, but still cool.) and probably nicer than the last mazda 3 hatch i drove. the dash was made of a beautiful soft touch plastic, i coudl push my finger about a couple of centimeters into it, it was so supple. the interior quality reminded me a lot of the mkIV golf/jetta, with the appearance of the newer mk5's.

overall i came away very impressed. the car needs more guts, obviously, but the same can be said of my fit and it lacks the handling prowress (compared to the astra) and highspeed stability.

these are going for NOTHING right now, the msrp of the one i drove was a little less than 20k, and it was on sale for 13k, no hassling. granted that doesnt do well for resale values but depending on your situation, you could still be ahead of the game and score a car that is going down as the best car gm ever sold here in the states, mostly because it isnt really an american car at all. (this is last year of production too, no more 09's.)

 

One word "GM"

 

 

I don't know but that interior does not do it for me. But to each his own. Exterior looks descent though.

 

thanks for posting the pics man.

the interior is a little drab, yes, but most german cars have this sort of simple approach. its the quality of the materials that stands out though.

 

interior reminds me of my old protege5...

saturn's still alive? i thought they got cancelled.

 

Friend of mine at work has one of these. I dig it's looks, but it's available space leaves something to be desired.

 

I love this little car. Looks really sharp and I actually like the interior (aside from the lack of cupholders and odd markings on the center stack). I think at 13k it is a great deal. Good car for such little money. I would go for it if I didn't have my mind set on a Fit.

 

yeah im gona be honest- i was thinking about the astra when i was buying a car....but i just liked the fit a lot and i didnt want to buy a car and have car jealousy later.

but the astra looks sharp. what ended up turning me off was when i drove the aura (saturn) and assumed that the handling/powertrain were going to be similar to the astra. "handles like an american car" makes sense after driving aura- doesnt touch the fit handling and the fit is definitely more responsive than the aura (i have a mt fit)

i know im comparing apples to oranges, but i was assuming that a saturn was a saturn. regardless- i think the astra is a good buy at 13k

 

Is the automatic model equipped with the traction drive CVT?.... I heard that it was being used on Opel an Saturn models..... Everyone that I've known that bought a Saturn was very pleased with the car and dealership.

 

nope. they are using a good ole 4 speed slush box. in all honesty the car didnt really feel any faster than the fit, just torquier and quiet at speed. and much more stable and sure footed.

 

ah i see. shucks thats a shame, you missed out on a good test drive and one of the best handling front drivers in existance.

its just that engine and transmission combo. eck. well, its not horrible but it could be better.

but man does it hug the curves...

 

I had an Astra while in Germany, and I really liked it a lot. Mine had the 1.6-liter (not the US 1.8), but it was a nice little vehicle. I'm told not much at all got changed from the Euro-spec Opel to the U.S.-spec Saturn, either.

If I were in the market, I would've definitely looked at one if I could've gotten one for a good price. Frankly, there were (are?) a bit overpriced.

 

Any comments on the build quality? Opels had a nasty reputation for that, according to the UK motoring websites I frequent (they're rebadged as Vauxhalls there).

 

I had an astra rental before. Didn't like the way it felt on corners for a car of its caliber

 

They were a lot of trouble in the early 70s but I knew people that could turn a wrench that liked them..... If the Brits say they have bad build quality they must have some real problems.... I have owned British cars and motorcycles made in the 60s and early 70s and the quality was comparable to the motor scooters coming over from China today.... The Brits are blatantly honest.

 

When I bought my Fit back in March, I was really really close to buying a 3-door Astra instead. The car was really cool, and it handled great and felt like it was built from a solid billet of metal.

The Astra seemed like cool unique car that tugged at my emotions because of its distinct design, sharp handling, and rarity (don't see many 3-doors at all). But I kept coming back to the Fit because it was the more practical choice in terms of everyday usability, mileage, and long term investment while still being nearly as much fun to drive.

The thing that ultimately got me off of wanting the Astra ended up being the 18" wheel thing. The dealer here couldn't find me a 3-door that didn't have the 18" wheel package, and being in Michigan, having giant summer tires just didn't seem practical. They tried to put together some packages that would swap out the summer tires for all-seasons or find me a separate set of 17" steelies with all-seasons, but I live in a small apartment and have no place to store a big set of wheels. Plus the dealer was up front saying that around here, even if you're careful, you're likely to get some damage to the rims and a blowout at some point because the roads are so stinking bad.

In the end, the practicality of the Fit won the battle over the coolness of the Astra.

 

GM = GROSSE MARDE here in Quebec.

 

The Astra sure does have eye appeal and it sounds competent in handling, but you can't beat a 5 door hatch back for all around versatility..... My wife recently got a Forester and we still go to Sam's in the Fit because it is easier to load and unload. We also enjoy the scenic route with all of the hills and curves more in the Fit, though the Forester isn't all that bad at all.

 

only thing that got changed were the badges.

some folks on the astra forums rebadge em too, looks cool with the lightning bolt logo.