Astra looks good with a boot
The Essentia, with a hint of muscle. |
The Astra sedan (or Notchback, as GMSA refers to it) will be available in four specification levels with the choice of a 1.4-litre or a 1.6-litre engine and a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.
The new sedan is a suave and sexy looker that will appeal to a wide audience, not only because of its neatly-sculpted lines but also for its excellent specifications, high levels of safety and its big Father Christmas bag of convenience and infotainment toys.
The new sedan has the same sporty front end as the Astra hatchback with the addition of a high shoulder line which gives it a hint of muscle, along with slim side windows, sloping roof, and sporty alloys.
Eye candy all of its own
Unlike many other hatches-with-a-boot-pasted-to-its-rear-end sedans, the boot of the Astra actually adds eye candy all of its own. It is neatly shaped and its integrated boot spoiler works well with the chrome exhaust outlet and neat tail lights to give strong hints of sportiness.
The Essentia’s boot space is generous. |
I drove three versions of the new sedan on a road trip from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and besides its handsome looks one of the aspects of the sedan that really impressed was its classy array of standard equipment. Take a deep breath and we will run through some of them: ABS brakes with EBD, front, seat and curtain airbags, ISOFIX child seat anchorage, high level brake light, aircon, climate control, power windows, tinted windows, rain sensor wipers, daylight running lights, hill start assist, cruise control, rear park assist, heated front seats, 60/40 split rear seats, fog lamps, radio with RDS functionality, CD frontloader/MP3/Aux input, USB port, Bluetooth, onboard computer, information display, ergonomic driver’s seat, audio controls on the steering wheel and lots more.
The interiors are leather or cloth, depending on the model (as are a few other smaller luxuries) but the main difference between the cars in the range are under the bonnets.
Great for the young family
The first model I drove was the entry level 1.4 Essentia that produces 103kW and 200Nm which are transmitted to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. It felt sharp enough without being really zippy and with its comfortable cabin, large boot and comfortable ride it should appeal to young families wanting the practicality of a sedan.
Next up I took the wheel of the 1.4 Essentia which was identical to the manual version except for the transmission and although more and more people are opting for auto boxes, particularly those who are punished daily by having to the commuter run, the auto version felt a little sleepy compared to the manual.
The Essentia’s living quarters… a classy array of standard equipment. |
The transmission is smooth enough but the car felt a tad sluggish and at times as though it was labouring a bit and as if the gearing was too high. The car takes time to pick up speed and there is no immediate kick-down response when you overtake. Of the two identically-powered Essentia models I would definitely opt for the manual version.
But the best of the sedan bunch is undoubtedly the turbo-fed 1.6 Cosmo six-speed manual. This keen-to-trot engine churns out a healthy 132kW and 230Nm but in a nice steady flow with hardly any turbo-steer.
Well worth the price
Although all three cars have the same underpinnings the extra lively horses under the bonnet of the 1.6 Cosmo seems a perfect match for the Opel’s handling and grip… guaranteed to give the daddies a chance for some early morning fun on the way to the golf club.
I fed it some strong doses of fossil-fuel on the run between George and Oudtshoorn and the Cosmo was happy to play. Steering is neutral and nicely weighed and the grip is good enough to hold the line through the corners and even at a fair trot the sedan felt confident and well-planted, thanks mainly to its sportier chassis, lowered ride height and bigger 18-inch alloys.
The best of the sedan bunch is undoubtedly the turbo-fed 1.6 Cosmo six-speed manual. |
Although it is the most expensive of the three sedans I reckon it is well worth the price. The Cosmo is nowhere near being in the same league as Opel’s Super Boss race circuit champ but it did stir memories of the fun we had with those delightfully rapid Opel sedans back in the day.
Not that the Cosmo is constipated at all for it does the 0-100km/h sprint in 8.7 seconds and only runs out of energy at about 223km/h to hint at how much fun it would be if Opel decides to bring in a sportier version of the Astra sedan with an OPC badge stuck on its bum. Now that could be real fun!
Bags of space
The sedan’s living quarters are comfortable and smart and I particularly fancy the leather seats and red ambient cabin lighting of the Cosmo as well as the dash lay-out with dials all independently housed and aimed directly at the driver. The only slight downer is the rather small gap between the seats for rear passenger legs.
However, the sedans have a generous 460-litres of luggage space with the seats up which makes it good for four-up travelling and family holidays. With the seats folded forward the boot space stretches to 1,010-litres.
Another plus is that the sedans are fairly light on juice with average fuel consumption varying from 5.9-litres to 6.8-litres/100km. Priced between R250,900 and R284,500 the new sedans should become quite popular and I won’t be surprised if their sales figures equal or even overtake that of the hatchback.
The Cosmo does the 0-100km/h sprint in 8.7 seconds. |
Opel currently has a strong presence in the market so it comes as no real surprise that it has also added some extra cosmetics and other extras to some of their key models, including the Astra hatchback range which comprises five-door hatches, GTC three-door models and the flagship Astra OPC.
The popular Corsa range has also been strengthened with the addition of an all-new turbocharged 1.4-litre model that offers stepped-up performance and a smaller environmental footprint.
A shrinking market
Its low-selling Meriva has been reduced to just one model, a 1.4 Turbo Enjoy which now brags with some extra goodies to make it a bit more attractive (This segment of the market is small and shrinking with the Meriva’s sales of just 20 a month making up about one-third of the total monthly average sales in this segment).
The most exciting news though is the arrival of the eagerly-awaited Corsa OPC Nürburgring Edition which has had local petrol-heads in a froth since the first news leaked out of its impending arrival. With only 65 scheduled for South Africa this little flyer is guaranteed to become a sought-after collector’s item, particularly as 40 of them were sold before even being landed in South Africa.
It’s Fun time… With the Corsa, of coursa! Be warned though, this is a feisty beast to saddle up. |
In the Nürburgring Edition’s arsenal are go-quicker kit such as lower ride height, newly developed spring and damper units by Bilstein and a lightweight front braking system from specialists Brembo.
The control algorithms for the chassis support systems, ABS, Traction Control (TC) and the Electronic Stability Control (ESC), were all recalibrated by the engineers at the Opel Performance Centre to match the car’s new configuration.
Like Napoleon … a hot little Corsican
The hot Corsa’s additional power is delivered by modified engine management and turbocharger systems, and a sports exhaust with reduced back pressure. As a result, the maximum output of the 1.6-litre OPC turbo engine increases from the standard vehicle’s 141kW to 154kW, giving a specific power rating of 96.2kW/litre which is exceptional in this engine class.
Be warned though, this is a feisty beast to saddle up. It’s rapid and the ride is go-kart like which means it can be thumpy and bumpy and you feel it in your hands, back and bum if the road is even slightly uneven. It’s lots of fun to drive but if you run out of experience it will shake you out of the saddle very quickly. Definitely designed for the track, not for the home to office crawl!
The Corsa’s living quarters. |
The maximum torque of the base engine has been boosted to 250Nm and this goes up to 280Nm when the turbocharger’s ‘overboost’ function is activated. The increase in output combined with the overboost function on the turbocharger gives it a zippy 0-100km/h sprint time of just 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 230km/h.
I drove this little sizzler during a short and (unfortunately fairly straight) section of road but that was enough to envy the 65 lucky local buyers because they are going to have a lot more than a bucket load of fun with this little pocket rocket!
The rest of us will have to settle for one of the upgrades – or one of the new Astra sedans which is actually quite a pleasant thought.
The sedan range and prices (which include a five-year/ 120,000km warranty and a five-year/ 90,000km service plan) are:
Astra 1.4 Turbo Essentia sedan – R250,900
Astra 1.4 Turbo Essentia AT sedan – R261,300
Astra 1.6 Turbo Cosmo sedan – R284,500