Quick comparison: Opel Astra hatch vs. VW Golf

By Ané Theron

Does your new-car budget for a stylish hatchback stretch to almost 400k? Well, consider yourself lucky: You can afford a brand new Opel Astra or a Volkswagen Golf for well under that amount.  Let’s see which one offers the best value for money.

Contender no. 1: Opel Astra Hatch 1.4T AT Enjoy, R380 183

The Opel Astra Hatch was the winner of the 2017 WesBank South African Car of the Year, so this means the Astra shines brightly in all areas such as design, spec level, handling, performance, and safety. The automatic Astra Hatch 1.4T Enjoy comes loaded with all kinds of. It's neither an entry-level model nor is it the flagship Astra; it is number five from the top in the lineup of eight cars.

Contender no. 2: VW Golf 1.4 TSI Comfortline (7-speed DSG), R382 500

The evergreen Volkswagen Golf is as desirable as ever and offers plenty of appeal, with the welcome effect of making its owner slightly more attractive to the opposite gender, especially the ladies. The Golf has become a bit of a style icon, and even though it’s outsold by the Tiguan (SUV) in SA, it is still seen as the benchmark where dynamic hatchbacks are concerned.

The Golf we’re comparing to the Astra, is the 1.4-litre Comfortline model. Unfortunately, you still have to fork out quite a bit of extra cash to gain some comfort features in the Golf that are standard in the Astra, but let’s see if the most important equipment is present.

Interior

The Astra’s well-appointed, quality cabin offers a modern, clean design, with Opel’s advanced R4.0 IntelliLink System with 7-inch Touchscreen (and Bluetooth/USB/MP3/AUX Input) neatly integrated into the dashboard. Apart from looking upmarket, it’s easy to use and offers screen-mirroring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. None of this costs you anything extra.

The Golf comes equipped with VW's Composition Colour Radio/CD system (standard on the Trend- and Comfortline) which is a little basic, but spend an extra R16 500 and you'll have a system that not just rivals the Astra's, it will have satnav to boot. The sound is channelled through eight loudspeakers. (Along with the SD card and AUX-IN interfaces, it also offers a USB port, and a Bluetooth connection for mobile phones.)

The drive, performance, and fuel economy

The Astra is also a whole lot of fun to drive, with light, but direct steering that is engaging enough for spirited drivers. It's speed sensitive, so it becomes firmer as your speed increases. The material-covered seats offer good support and the overall ride offers a very good balance between comfort and dynamism. According to Opel, fuel economy is rated at 5.5 litres per 100 km on the combined cycle, and performance is brisk enough with 110kW and 245 Nm torque. In real-world driving conditions, you'll probably look at about 7-8 litres per 100 km on the combined cycle. The 0-100 km sprint is completed in 8.9 seconds.

The Golf, being a Golf, handles superbly. Despite its lower output figures of 92kW and 200Nm, it still reaches the 100km/h mark in 9.1 seconds. It may be ever-so-slightly slower, but it just feels a little more sophisticated to drive. Fuel consumption in the Golf looks slightly better with an average of around 5-6 litres per 100 km. Both cars come with a stop/start engine for better fuel economy.

Space

The Astra's also quite a bit larger than the VW with more room in the rear for passengers, but it has the smaller boot of the two (at 370 litres), which houses a space saver spare, vs. the Golf's 380-litre boot with its full-sized spare wheel.

Safety

Safety specification is very comprehensive in both cars, but the Astra wins the battle with standard semi-autonomous spec. Apart from ABS, EBD, BA, traction and stability control and six airbags, the automatic Enjoy variant gets the Driver Assistance Pack as standard, and this includes Forward Collision Alert, Following Distance Monitor, Lane Keep Assist, Collision Mitigation braking and traffic sign recognition. This is technology that is usually reserved for the premium brands.

If you have extra cash to blow on speccing more extras in your Golf, you can have VW's Adaptive Cruise Control with autonomous emergency braking (including a speed limiter) for R5050.  Park Distance Control (front and rear) will cost you another R4750. The Golf has seven airbags vs. the Astra's seven, and also gets traction and stability control. Both cars have front fog lamps but the Golf has rear fog lamps too, as well as a tyre pressure monitoring system. The Golf also has cornering lights and a driver alert system, and an electromechanical parking brake with hold function, while the Astra gets hill-start assist, which is, essentially, the same thing.

Due to the Astra's infotainment system having Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, you can ask Siri or Alexa for assistance. The Golf comes equipped with voice control as well.

Both cars have cruise control with a speed limiter, electric & heated side mirrors, rain-sensing wipers, and an auto dimming rear-view mirror.

Verdict

Both of these cars are brilliant, and choosing one is extremely difficult. If you have money to throw at a few optional extras, we'd say go for the highly refined Golf. But if value for money is your main objective, the audacious Astra is the one. The warranty for both cars is 5 years/120 000 km with a 90 000 km service plan.

Click here to read why the Opel Astra deserved Car of the Year 2017.