Vauxhall and Opel today whisk the covers off the new Astra family hatchback. It’s the sixth-generation Astra and these first photographs suggest it’s adopting a slew of Insignia styling cues – but squashed down into a smaller, 4.4-metre long footprint. It might be shorter than the Insignia, but the new Astra is 10cm longer than today’s hatch.
It’s not just a new face; the new Astra also packs Vauxhall/Opel’s new Delta platform under the skin. That’s the box of tricks that underpins the Chevrolet Cruze, so the Astra gets front-wheel drive, a notably stiffer chassis with the latest electronic networks and a non-independent rear suspension.
New Vauxhall Astra: the key changes
The new Astra has been pummelled and stretched on the designers’ easel, resulting in a 71mm hike between the front and rear axles. The track is wider, too. Vauxhall/Opel claim the new dimensions expands the interior space available for five passengers and addresses the pinched boot that restricts practicality of today’s Astra.
The five-door pictured will be launched first, followed by a Sport Tourer estate in 2010, then the sporty, low-slung three-door Sport Hatch revealed in the official GM sketch of the red car above. CAR can reveal that the coupe-cab CC model is on hold for now.
‘We’re continuing with the same premium design cues as the Insignia, inside and out of the car,’ said Mark Adams, GM Europe’s vice president of design. ‘However, the main design themes, like the wing-shaped light signatures and the blade, needed an individual execution to avoid “cloning” the model ranges. That’s why you see twin wings in the rear lights and a reversed blade on its flanks.
‘I asked my team to design a five-door Astra that was somewhere between the outgoing three- and five-door in visual drama – but with more space than today’s five-door.’
What's the new Astra like inside?
No formal photos have been issued yet, but we know it'll get the wraparound 'wing' effect seen inside the Insignia. Our crafty spies have previously poked their lenses inside a test car – proving the mini-me Insignia cabin bound for the Astra, and pictured above.
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