Car CAR
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June 27, 2000
HARD AND HIGH TO THE STARS
Holden's brilliant small car lives up to its lofty name
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The author of the Latin phrase "Per Ardua ad astra" is unknown, but translated as "Hard and high to the stars" it became the motto of the Royal Flying Corps in 1913 and remains as that of the RAF. It fits well with Holden's Astra, for the Opel-sourced sedan is the biggest star of the small car galaxy. Everything seems right about it - performance, price, quality and above all, strength. It feels like it's carved from the solid. The doors "whoomp" shut, there's nary a squeak, rattle or rubbing noise, and even wind rustle and tyre roar are damped-out. It has that Germanic feel of being built like a Mercedes-Benz. The sedan joins the earlier-released hatch, and at 100 metres away from the front it looks virtually the same. The main difference is in the tail, which adds 142 millimetres to the overall length and contributes to a far bigger boot than any of its rivals. Otherwise the wedge styling, bold front with shallow wraparound headlamps and the wheel arch flares give it stand-out looks. Inside the quality matches the deep, lustrous paint. The seats are a little on the firm side, but generous side bolsters give excellent support and brightly patterned cloth facings on the seats and in the doors defeat the grey plastic look we get in so many small cars these days. The small steering wheel adjusts for height and reach - unusual at this price - and together with a height-adjustable driver's seat puts you right in your place. The finned "roller" air vents and big rotary switches are familiar to anyone who's ever been in an Opel, but the airconditioning controls lack accuracy - I couldn't get warm feet and cold air to the face at the same time, inexcusable in a Eurocar. And the aircon is an optional extra.
In the top centre of the dash is a recessed nacelle delivering easily-read data on time, date, outside temperature and radio station call sign (I've never been able to understand why time and date - surely average fuel consumption and distance-to-empty would be more useful). The sound system in the CD version (the City is three grand cheaper) is a six-speaker unit with single CD slot and does a good job, despite the tiny roof-mounted Euro-style antenna. Other standard equuipment includes electric (heated) mirrors, remote central locking with immobiliser, speed-sensitive intermittent wipers, cruise control - albeit with the same fiddly wand end switchery as Commodore - dual front airbags, rear centre armrest and 60/40 split-fold rear seat. Storage is terrific, with big bins in all doors, lots of trays and boxes for itty-bitty stuff, six cup-holders and a dual glovebox with a pen holder in the bottom one. The Astra weighs in at 1155 kilograms, but gets up and fairly belts along. The engine is immensely responsive if suffering a bit from a droning sound that rises and falls with the throttle, is full of torque and the slick gearbox is well-matched in ratios. Reverse is left of first with a lift-the-collar on the stick, and thus is a bit niggly, but you get used to it. Steering is pin-sharp, and the suspension - tuned by Lotus Engineering - delivers a very supple ride. With a wheel at each corner attitude the car points extremely well, has very good grip and doesn't get unsettled by bumps. I liked the car a lot, particularly the very solid feel. Sure, it has some competent rivals - in fact, this is probably the most seriously competitive of all passenger car segments - but it also has a lot more character than most. It really should be compared in that feeling of European strength and quality with the Peugeot 306, Citroen Xsara and Volkswagen Golf - but they're thousands of dollars dearer, which tells you something. ¡@ Ford
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