Astra with best deal appeal

05/02/13

By Peter Hayward
Driving Force

VAUXHALL’S range of diesels, as so many company car drivers will tell you, has improved beyond all recognition in the last few years.

And not least of these is the 1.7 turbo I recently drove in the latest Astra hatch. It’s now as good as what were considered the best oil burners from the likes of Citroen and VW.

It is smooth and quiet, and has enough low speed pulling power to give easy and swift acceleration in the lower five of six gears.

As with most cars, if you want comfort always avoid the models with sports suspension. If you do, the Astra rides smoothly over all surfaces and yet still delivers strong and very safe handling and roadholding.

Road and wind noise are better suppressed than in some bigger cars, although the engine does have a couple of points where resonance causes a bit of extra noise.

All in all, this engine, with the good value Tech Line trim, is the pick of the range.

Interior

There is plenty of space for four or occasionally five, even with the swooping rear roofline that helps make the Astra look so good.

The seats are comfortable and have excellent adjustment for all, and the boot is a useful size.

Techline trim brings alloys, sat-nav, Bluetooth and a DAB radio on top of  start/stop, stability control, six airbags and an alarm.

FAST FACTS                        

Vauxhall Astra ecoFLEX Tech Line      

Price: £20,000

Mechanical: 130bhp, 1,686cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 6-speed manual gearbox

Max speed: 126mph

0-62mph: 10.4 seconds

Combined mpg: 76

Insurance group: 17

CO2 emissions: 99g/km

BIK rating: 13%

Warranty: Lifetime for first owner only

Main rival: Mazda 3