-This is the new Opel Astra, set for an in-the-metal debut at the Frankfurt auto show this September. It replaces the current five-door hatchback, which is sold in Europe under the Opel and Vauxhall brands and in China as the Buick Excelle XT.
The outgoing model still serves as the basis for the three-door Astra GTC, the U.S.-bound Cascada convertible, and the Buick Verano four-door sedan. Stephanie Brinley, an analyst at IHS Automotive, doesn’t see a variation of the Astra hatchback for Buick: “Buick will be better served in the U.S. with other products than by adding the hatchback Astra,” she ventures.
-However, the lighter and improved platform under the new Astra five-door—dubbed D2XX—will underpin the next generation of GM’s compact sedans, including the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze and Volt, as well as, critically for Buick, the next Verano and eventually the next Cascada. (The next Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain should also adopt the new architecture.) The next Verano was sorta, kinda previewd by the Chinese-market Excelle GT in April.
-Switching to the new platform will be a good thing. The new Astra is shorter and lower than the outgoing model, which had virtually outgrown its class. And it is claimed to be as much as 440 pounds lighter, although it remains to be seen how much of that savings will actually carry over to the real world. The new Astra is fitted with a portfolio of highly efficient three- and four-cylinders from GM’s new engine family that produce up to 197 horsepower. More powerful engines will be added later.
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-Visually, Europe’s new Astra represents an improvement over the bloated current model. Despite pedestrian-protection requirements, it manages to sport a low nose, and the C-pillar styling, while quite derivative of some recent Nissan designs, is interesting and attractive. Inside, the Astra gets a wing-shaped dashboard that sheds a lot of the current model’s clutter.
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Lighter, more compact, and ostensibly offering improved handling versus the current model, the new Astra is the latest evidence that GM wants to match or better the flexibility and performance of VW and its MQB platform.
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