Wheels: Torque it up for Astra reboot

Though it's still about 18 months before Holden shuts its Australian assembly lines, the company is already making major moves to ensure it remains a leading force in sales.One of Holden's biggest moves is the re-importation of Astra models designed and built by Opel in Europe.

Though a German company, Opel has been controlled by General Motors for almost 90 years.

Close design cooperation between Holden and Opel has worked well for Holden for decades - particularly in the Commodore field, where the original models were effectively Opels with Aussie engines and beefed-up suspension.

Holden Astras sold by the tens of thousands for many years until the decision was made in 2010 to cease imports and instead bring in lower-cost small-to-medium cars from GM factories in South Korea.

A bid to revive the Astra nameplate was aborted in 2012, with Australian imports now carrying Opel Astra badges.

Opels had a higher price to give the impression they were prestige European imports.

Just 10 months later, Opel disappeared backwards, slashing prices of Astras to pre-Holden levels to clear the last of the stocks.

Now the Astra is back and is again proudly badged as a Holden.

Cleverly, the marketing people have chosen to only import the sports coupe variants, sold as Astra GTC and GTC Sport with a 1.6L turbo-petrol engine and the hot Astra VXR with a 2L turbo-petrol.

Styling is very important in any sports coupe and a low nose and tall tail, joined by doors with bold swage lines that form a semi-elliptical shape, make a definite statement.

This overall Astra shape is more than five years old yet still looks bang up-to-date. An all-new model is tipped in 12-18 months.

Inside is a large instrument panel with large speedo and tacho, as well as other gauges also in a sporting circular design.

The 1.6L turbo engine has a useful 125kW power and 260Nm torque if you buy an automatic.

That lifts to 147kW power and 280Nm torque with the six-speed manual.

Way up in power is the Astra VXR, with genuine hot hatch numbers of 206kW of power and an impressive 400Nm of torque, the latter running between 2400rpm and 4800rpm - the sort of engine that thrives on revs but is happy to trundle in traffic below 2400rpm.

Obviously chasing genuine revheads, Astra VXR comes only with a six-speed manual gearbox.

That sort of power and torque demands a genuine sporty 'chassis' for the VXR, with 20-inch wheels and Opel's FlexRide system letting drivers choose three ride settings - standard, sport and the track-oriented 'VXR'.

The latter gives faster steering and throttle inputs. Brembo front brakes are in the package.

We spent serious driving time at the Holden Performance Driving Centre at Norwell on the Gold Coast and the Astra VXR is a 'real' hot hatch, with huge amounts of road grip and a near neutral stance unless pushed extremely hard.

Braking could be left well beyond the marks set by our driving instructors without a sign of fade.

This is the sort of car that 'talks' to you through the steering wheel and seat of your pants. We love it.

As the final tuning of the Astra VXR was done at the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife track in Germany, our findings at the considerably smaller and simpler Norwell PDC came as no surprise.

Astra GTC has 18-inch alloy wheels and the Holden MyLink infotainment system with seven-inch colour screen display with satellite navigation and Pandora, Stitcher and TuneIn Radio apps.

GTC Sport gains 19-inch alloys, a body kit, alloy pedals and leather-trim seats. As befits a hot hatch, Astra VXR has an over-the-top sports body kit, alloy pedals and bespoke VXR steering wheel.

Holden's new Astra is an exceptional sports coupe with everything expected from a thoroughbred European machine - style, performance, handling and comfort. For the keen driver, VXR is the one but there's a lot to be said for the GTCs.

Will a five-door hatch join these three-door coupes Down Under? Holden refuses to comment on future products.

For the time being, the Astra is sold as a convertible and the coupe described here.

This time, it loses it Astra tag and is called Holden Cascada.