5 Reasons why the Opel Astra deserved Car of the Year 2017

By Chad Lückhoff

 

Five reasons reasons why you should consider an Opel Astra next. 

The Opel Astra – Here to stay

The latest generation Opel Astra has been with us for over two years, but that doesn't mean that it's outdated. In fact, the Opel Astra can still be regarded as a worthy opponent for the rest of the hatchback brigade roaming the streets. I would be so bold as to say that only now are a few of the contenders catching up to the Astra – not only on the technology front but in the overall drive. That still means that the Astra is hot property, and I'm not the only one that thinks so.

The South African Guild of Motoring Journalists awarded the Opel Astra with the coveted WesBank South African Car of the Year award in 2017, and it's easy to see why. The Astra packs a lot of punch for not a whole lot of money.

Here are five reasons why we like the Opel Astra and why it deserved that COTY title.

High-end Tech

The Astra, and in particular the 1.6T Sport model, is crammed with the sort of technology that you'd only expect to find on a much larger, much more expensive hatch or saloon car.

We'll start with the IntelliLux LED Matrix headlights that offer active and adaptive high beam control, allowing you to drive on your brights without dazzling oncoming traffic. This headlight system also monitors the surroundings and adjust the light intensity accordingly, so you'll have dimmer lights in and around the city where there's already a lot of light, but full power out in the back roads where visibility is key. They also offer turn lighting and energy saving modes.

In the Astra you'll also find a Forward Collision Alert to alert you when approaching a stationary or slow-moving obstruction, a Following Distance indicator, Active Emergency Braking, Traffic Sign Assistant that will read and memorise the traffic signs, Lane Keep Assist with active steering as well as Blind Spot Alert. When it comes time to park, the Astra will do that for you or you can use the rear view camera to do it yourself.

The IntelliLink infotainment, which is available with navigation, has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with Mirror Link so that you can cast your phone's screen to the unit.

Best of both worlds (sporty and comfortable)

The engineers at Opel worked extremely hard to get the ergonomics of the cabin dialled in. The seating position drops lower than in most C-segment hatches and can be raised up rather high as well. This not only improves the driving position but also allows for taller drivers to feel more at home, with additional headroom available. The seats are figure hugging and supportive in all the right places, while the suspension does a wonderful job of soaking up the bumps, despite the fact that it's running on low profile tyres (which can be felt, but not in a bad way).

Open the taps though, and the turbocharged 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder engine springs to life, sending you towards the horizon impressively fast – it's a good thing that it has forward collision alert. This mill makes 147 kW (The same as the MkV Golf GTI) and 300 Nm torque on overboost. It will do the 0 -100 km/h sprint in 7 seconds flat and go on to a top speed of 235 km/h. And this isn't even an OPC version!

The McPherson strut suspension and torsion beam rear have been calibrated to within an inch of perfection and the Astra handles superbly well. The revisions to the steering make the Astra light to drive, but it manages to feedback enough of the road to keep eager drivers engaged.

Practical and economical

Despite these rather impressive performance figures, the Astra isn't as thirsty as one would imagine. Sure, there will be a small capacity, 3-cylinder that will outperform it in the economy stakes, but with a combined cycle figure of 6.1l/100km, the Astra isn't the thirstiest out there. If economy is your bag, you can have the Astra with a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder as well – that one will give you 4.3l/100km average.

Boot space comes in at a respectable 370 litres and with the rear seats folded down, you get a total of 1210 litres to use for whatever you need to cart around.

The 5-door body arrangement means that there's no clambering over folded down front seats in order to access the back, just swing open a door. Practical as any, then.

Forward thinking

When GM pulled out of the country, Opel fans across the nation were distraught. Their favourite brand had upped and left them, seemingly not caring about their customers and family. But they need not have worried as there was a contingency plan. Unitrans took over the distribution of Opel products and we've seen a spate of releases since the GM exit. Opel Germany further invested R1 billion into the local efforts, cementing the brand in the local motoring landscape.

What does this have to do with the Astra? Well, it shows that there's nothing to be worried about when considering buying one – there is a dealer network and parts supply chain to make sure that your Opel is cared for.

Value for money

Despite all the technology, comfort and performance contained within the Astra, the pricing is still more than respectable – one could argue that it's a bargain.

We tested the Opel Astra 1.6T Sport which retails for R444 667 including emissions tax and a 5-year / 120 000km warranty. The only optional extra is the navigation, otherwise, the rest is all bundled into the price. That's where the competition gets thrown on the back foot.