2011 Opel Astra Turbo

Opel Astra Turbo



‘Sharply executed’

I drove home last night in a new Opel Astra 1.6 Turbo. The sun was setting, the sky was blue, the air was clean, the roads were quiet and the car was an utter delight. It snarled when I wanted it to snarl, it cruised when I wanted it to cruise, it had a lovely steering “feel” and a perfectly judged ride.

As a driver’s car, it was a world apart from its predecessor.

“I could have one of these,” I thought as I pulled into my yard. But of course I can’t, because I am a man and the Opel Astra is so completely girlie that I’m surprised it isn’t supplied with a bra and high heels. It really is Jane Austen with windscreen wipers.

Or is it? as a result of this question I’ve researched tirelessly for several minutes on the internet and I’ve concluded that actually it is possible for an alpha male to buy an all new Opel Astra. It suits our inbuilt need for style and our completely unthreatening and rather lovely personalities. And it corners well, too.

This is a very good looking car. So sexy in fact that you’ll want to get inside it and shut the door as quickly as possible, just so you can turn the key. Once inside it’s even better.


Beneath the sharply executed skin lies the now- familiar high-tech combination of decent leather, chrome outlined dials, red background lighting, six speed manuel transmission. With the interior a clever blend of chrome plastics and leather with solid black trim, the Astra Turbo is a great example of contemporary German design. An Opel branded steering wheel with buttons on the front operate cruise control and audio functions, while the centre stack houses the typical array of automatic climate control with additional controls for passenger comfort. A newly shaped front see’s a new design for the fog lamps and new Xenon Head Lights. This coupled with 17’’ Alloys and the juicy Blue metallic paint of my test car set off the entire body for an aggressive stance.






In keeping with the Opel’s unlikely role of sexy cruiser and bruising high-performance vehicle, you can switch from ‘Sport’ to ‘Tour’ and ‘Normal’ modes, which reduce the shift speed accordingly.


With four decent seats, there’s space to carry family or friends (although not perhaps as much rear leg room as you’d expect), while Opel’s influence on the dynamics makes it an entertaining steer when you’re driving solo. If that ticks your boxes, the New Opel Astra Turbo is a compelling proposition.