Holden Astra Reviewed: A star to light the way

Packed with potential, Holden’s imported hatch brings European quality — but can’t match Korean prices.

WITH the new-age Astra, Holden is putting its small-car focus squarely back on Europe.

That’s great news for shoppers in that segment.

The car has the potential to lead Holden out of Commodore country when manufacturing ends later this year. The Red Lion brand in the 1980s had the European import Astra (and the handy but overpriced Vectra) and the latest Astra looks good and has impressive quality.

It feels more like a Volkswagen Golf than a Kia Cerato. Once you move up from the price-fighter entry model, it’s a car that deserves a look.

There are a couple of catches, however. The Astra hatch arrived late last year with prices that were too high, the sedan is still more than a month away from showrooms and the hero car — with a 1.6-litre/ automatic driveline tweaked just for Australia — also has yet to arrive.

Looking at the sales results illustrates the predicament.

The Astra sold little more than 200 examples in the first month of local sales and in February barely doubled the tally, against 3143 for the Mazda3 class leader.

“Are we selling as many as we wanted? No,” says Holden spokesman Sean Poppitt. “But we are building the volume and the 1.6 auto was always planned as the volume car. It’s on sale at the end of April.”

Poppitt says Holden also plans for the Astra sedan to do the heavy lifting, not the hatch. The maker’s strategy was to stagger the launches from December to reintroduce people to the car.

To combat the early buyer resistance, Holden has gone aggressive on the showroom bait, with a $23,990 drive-away deal for the base model and a five-year warranty package that’s become typical for challenger brands.

The sedan is likely to be $500-$1000 less than the equivalent hatch. It still won’t go head-to-head with the Koreans but should be more attractive to those who buy on price.

Why is the Astra doing it so tough? In the ultra-competitive small-car scene, the quality and $19,990 drive-away deals for the Kia Cerato and Hyundai i30 are hard to match, then there is confusion over the Astra range and what it means.

The name has been around for ages. First seen on a rebadged Nissan Pulsar, it reappeared on the launch car when Opel tried and failed to become a stand-alone brand here.

Holden Astra hatch 2017

Then there was our underwhelming first run with the Astra, complete with cheapie plastic steering wheel on the base car, during our Car of the Year run-off in December.

Enough history, because the Astra deserves a fair assessment for The Tick.

We’re in the top-end RS-V, which has a 1.6-litre turbo engine and six-speed auto, a classy looking dash with an eight-inch infotainment display and Apple Carplay. Its five-star ANCAP safety package includes auto safety braking.

The RS-V is the hero, going head-to-head with the Mazda3 but still below the Golf GTi, and there is plenty of clever kit — intelligent LED headlamps that can maintain high-beam without dazzling oncoming drivers come in a $3990 option package that includes radar cruise control and a sunroof.

ON THE ROAD

I have been hard on the Astra but that’s because I expect a lot from a modern European car.

The RS-V does the job, not perfectly, but more than well enough.

I like the roomy cabin and the solid feel that says “Europe“ rather than “Korea” (that could change once we get the new Hyundai i30 later in the year).

The auto aircon is a classy addition and I’m getting to love the CarPlay connection. There are the essential reversing camera, lane-departure warning, semiautomatic parking, 18-inch alloys, leather seats and satnav.

It’s the sort of package you expect when the drive-away deal goes over $30,000 for a small car. It meets the brief for semi-luxury driving, one of the key objectives for Holden.

The RS-V also gets along pretty well with good turbo surge from the engine, although it will not rival a Golf GTI.

It’s quieter and more relaxed in the cabin than a Mazda3, though not as sharp as a Kia or Hyundai in the handling. Even so, the compliant ride copes with the worst road conditions I can find, it also stops very well and the active safety gear does the job unobtrusively.

Where it doesn’t live up to expectations is in steering response and cornering balance and these make the difference between good and very good.

THE TICK

My first exposure to the new-age Astra left me frustrated and disappointed. Perhaps I had expected too much from the starting-price car but, now I’ve had time with the RS-V, I’m happier about the return of a proper European small car to Holden showrooms.

The RS-V is still too pricey for me but it is a classy package that will appeal to buyers — and that means it gets The Tick.

Holden Astra hatch 2017

AT A GLANCE 

HOLDEN ASTRA RS-V HATCHBACK

PRICE From $30,740

WARRANTY

3 years/100,00km

CAPPED PRICE SERVICING $916 for 3 years/60,000km

SERVICE INTERVALS 9 months/15,000km

SAFETY 5 stars

ENGINE 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo, 147kW/300Nm

TRANSMISSION 6-speed auto; FWD

THIRST 6.3L/100km

DIMENSIONS 4386mm (L), 1809mm (W), 1003mm (H), 2662mm (WB)

WEIGHT From 1363kg

SPARE Space-saver