Review: 2008 Saturn Astra XR
07-08-08, 01:16 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Review: 2008 Saturn Astra XR
A Review of the 2008 Saturn Astra XR
http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicle...r/overview.jsp
In a Nutshell: Nice try, and it has some merits, but I'll take the orignal Saturns.
I usually do reviews by special request (requests from either on or off CL), or without a formal request, if there seems to be a lot of interest and chat about a certain vehicle. But, now and then, I simply do one for my own curiosity or interest. Such is the case with the 2008 Astra, Saturn's new entry-level vehicle that replaces the soundly forgettable Ion and the not-so-forgettable S-Series cars before that.
Though Saturn, in recent years (actually starting in 1999) has branched out into larger mid-sized cars, minivans, 2-seat roadsters, and SUVs of various sizes, the company's forte has always been building unusual and distinctive small cars. Saturn started up the same year Lexus and Infiniti did (1990), with a new line of American-designed, American-built (Spring Hill, TN) compact cars with unique thermoplastic side body panels that eliminated dents, rust, and corrosion. Easy-to-replace, spin-off automatic transmission filters and drain plugs made transmission service quick, simple, and inexpensive. The cars, in service, proved virtually as reliable as the Hondas and Toyotas of the period.......most unusual for newly-introduced, American-designed vehicles.
New ground was also broken with Saturn's sales and customer-service policies as well, designed to simplify the process and make it much more customer-friendly, as unscrupulous sales and service practices in the auto industry were a major source of customer complaints. All new Saturn vehicles sold at list....no exceptions, no mark-ups, and no discounts. This eliminated the notorious haggling and Middle-Eastern-Bazzar atmosphere of price negotiations, greatly simplified the paperwork, and made it much easier for customers to purchase a new car who did not want to go through a bunch of sales-elated hassles. New Saturns could be special-ordered with the exact colors, options, and accessories customers wanted, not having to settle only for cars in stock. Options were sold separately and individually, so customers did not have to accept expensive bundle-packages to get the equipment they wanted. The Saturn factory at Spring Hill gave preference to special-order customers so their new cars would be delivered ASAP, without having to wait while the factory filled routine dealership and rental-car bulk orders. (In fact, I was a special-order Saturn customer myself). Used Saturns, if sold at Saturn dealerships (known as "retailers", not dealerships), also sold at list (Bluebook), with no haggling, although trade-in values and financing did sometimes involve some negotiation. And, perhaps best of all, a 30-day money-back policy allowed an unsatisfied customer to return a new Saturn within 30 days or 1000 miles, with no significant damage ($150 damage, I think, was the limit) and a clear title (if the title was ready by then), for a FULL refund of the purchase price (minus the sales tax money, of course, which went to the state). No reasons had to be given, and dealer zone reps didn't get involved. Even if the customer decided he/she just didn't like the color and wanted something else...........yes, a full refund. Salespeople wore special colored Saturn T-shirts instead of the usual buisness suits and ties. And, to top it off, like with Lexus and Infiniti, every car that went through a Saturn service bay, for any reason, was hand-washed (I, of course, washed and dried my own Saturn, even at the dealership (oops, retailer!).....washing my own car is an unbreakable tradition with me).
Ah, yes....the good old days at Saturn. I remember them well. Unfortunately, much of that is just a distant memory now, although some of it, like the 30-day money-back guarantee, remains (Only now, instead of a refund, you get an exchange for a another new comparably-equipped new car instead). And the list-price selling policy also remains, but now there are factory rebates as well. But, otherwise, Saturn has gradually been absorbed into the GM and auto-industry mainstream, and it shows. Most of its special uniqueness is gone...it is just another GM division now. Some of that is due to the demise of Oldsmobile, as GM seems to be using Saturn to fill that void.
Well, so much for Saturn's history. Let's get to the specific matter at hand.....their newest small car. The Astra replaces the Saturn Ion 4-door sedan and 4-door "coupe" with the 2 small rear half-doors like the Mazda RX-8. I never liked the Ion, for many reasons.....I won't go into all of them in detail here. Though the Ion kept the nice plastic side body panels like the former S-series had, in most other things, IMO, the car was a POS and a public embarassment to Saturn, GM, the employees on the assembly line who had to build it, and the customers who (IMO) wasted their money on it. Even the rival Chevrolet Cavalier, a dull, cheaply-made, rental-car-stark vehicle built on the same platform as the Ion, was, IMO, a more desirable car, especially in the interior and dash. The Ion was not necessarily unreliable, but it was poorly-designed, used extremely cheap interior materials, and had awkward center-mounted gauges. Even GM execs now admit the car was a mistake.
Well, the Ion is gone now (may it rest in peace) and the new Astra takes its place for 2008. I first saw the Astra live at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show in January, and, despite the fact that it is quite different from the original Saturn S-cars of the 1990s that I liked so much, and does away with many former Saturn features, I liked it, at least in the static display. Just looking it over on the floor (Saturn, courteously, had their new Astras unlocked), I was impressed with the door and sheet metal solidness, general fit-and-finish, underhood layout, and interior quality, although I wasn't wild about the center-dash control layout/design (more on that below). I decided then that I would probably review one sometime this year for my own curiosity (your own CL review requests, of course, came first), as I had owned small Saturns before and could possibly, if unlikely, see myself in an Astra, although I'm now a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the Subaru AWD systems, and the Astra does not offer AWD.
Like some (not all) other new Saturn products, the Astra is a re-badged, Americanized version of a German-designed Opel platform (Opel being GM's German division). But the Astra, even more so than the other new Saturns, is about as throughly Opel.....and European.....as it is possible to get and still have DOT/EPA certification for sale in the U.S. This car is more European than the Euro currency itself.....I'm surprised it even sells here for American dollars. The 1.8L engine is built in Hungary. The transmissions come from Austria. Many of the rest of the parts are sourced from Germany and other European countries. Then these components are all shipped to Belgium for final assembly there. Finally, the completed car is sold in two versions (as twins) under the British Vauxhall Astra and German Opel Astra nameplates. The Astra is currently the second-most-popular car in Europe, trailing only the ubiquitous VW Golf (Rabbit). A third version, of course, is the Americanized Saturn Astra (Saturn and GM decided to keep the Astra name for the U.S.), differing significantly from the European gas-engined Opel and Vauxhall versions only in minor details of safety and emissions gear.
Three versions of the Astra are offered in the American market........a 5-door version of the lower-line XE, and 3 or 5-door versions of the upper-level XR. One engine is offered...a 138 HP four driving the front wheels, and two transmissions, a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic. Base prices range from $16,495 for a base XE to $18,995 for a 3-door XR (yes, the XR 3-door costs more than the 5-door).....a significant price hike from previous Saturn small cars (I can remember when base Saturn SL models started at $10,000 or less). But the price, to some extent, appears to be justified....the fit-and-finish and overall design of these new cars simply blows the old Ion right out of the water.
There are two possible flies in the ointment, though. One, unlike its former small cars, Saturn restricts the Astra to hatchback designs.....no sedan or coupe is offered (Dodge now markets its Caliber small car the same way). This may or may not sit well with many Americans, who are now showing more acceptance of hatchbacks, but who traditionally have prefered sedans....old habits sometimes change slowly. Two, despite the nice fit-and-finish and surface material quality of the new Astra, it must be remembered that Opel-designed products, in general, have a history of worse-than-average reliability. The Opel-designed Cadillac Catera was a major source of grief to many of its owners, and other current Opel-designed products marketed and sold by Saturn, according to Consumer Reports, have had reliability problems. So, time will tell if the Americanized Astra will prove reliable or not. In the meantime, however, I find the car desirable in several ways.
OK, lets have a look at the car in detail.............
Model Reviewed: 2008 Saturn Astra XR 5-door.
Base Price: $18,045 (includes freight)
Major Options:
Premium Trim Package: $995
Automatic Transmission: $1325
Advanced Audio Package: $595
Dual-Panel Power Sunroof: $1200
Destination/Freight: N/C
List Price as Reviewed: $22,160
Drivetrain: FWD, transversely-mounted, ECOTEC 1.8L in-line 4 cylinder, 138 HP @ 6300 RPM; Torque, 125 ft.-lbs. @ 3800 RPM,
4-speed automatic transmission with Winter mode.
EPA Mileage Ratings: 24 city, 30 Highway
Exterior Color: Twilight Blue
Interior: Gray Leather
PLUSSES:
Opel/Vauxhall version the second-best selling car in Europe.
Versatile hatchback/wagon body style.
Smooth automatic transmission.
Good ride/handling trade-off.
Superb steering feel (by FWD standards).
Nicely done exterior body quality.
Gas filler door now has a lock.
Speedometer/tach now back behind the steering wheel where they belong.
Forward/back transmission shifter action eliminates the annoying zig-zag.
Good underhood access.
Nice hood struts.
Double-paneled hood.
Nice cloth interior trim.
Drivers' seat adjusts well for tall people.
5 year/100,000 mile GM powertrain warranty.
30-day exchange guarantee.
MINUSES:
Say good-bye to the nice dent/rust-proof plastic side body panels.
Price substantially higher then previous S-series and Ion models.
Unknown (and questionable) long-term reliability.
Center-stack dash button layout could be improved.
Only six exterior color choices.
Sedan body style not available for those who dislike hatchbacks.
Somewhat sluggish response with automatic transmission.
Poorly-shaped outside mirrors.
Cheap sun visors.
Unimpressive leather seats.
Iffy quality control.
Transmission Shifter lacks Sport-Shift option.
Poorly-placed brake pedal.
Plain-Jane dash trim/plastic.
EXTERIOR:
The Astra, as you walk up to it, is quite unlike anything Saturn has done before. Its general shape and size strongly reminds one of the hatchback Nissan Versa, though the grille is somewhat different. Overall, exterior quality is quite good...and was one of the things I first noticed about the car at the D.C. Auto Show. Doors and sheet metal panels are solidly made, and close with a precise, no-rattle, solid "thunk". Paint quality is distinctly better than the usual stuff on entry-level cars from American manufacturers (don't forget, this car is made in Belgium), but, naturally, falls a little short of Lexus/Infiniti/Acura paint jobs. Unfortunately, only six exterior colors are offered....an obvious sop to cost-cutting....and four of those six, IMO, are not attractive colors. All of the exterior trim is classy and well-done, and red/chrome Saturn logos appear to be mounted on real chrome trim bars, not just chromed plastic (couldn't tell for sure). The alloy wheels on my test-car were a handsome double-five spoke design. One glitch, though. On the cloth-seat Astra I looked at, the rear latch for the liftgate was not working correctly. It would not solidly catch and lock when you closed it....an apparent factory assembly goof. Other than that, no problems outside, though the trapezoid-shaped side mirrors, while durable and well-made, tended to limit the side and rear vision a little.
UNDERHOOD:
Open the hood, and you are greeted with two nice struts instead of the more usual prop-rod in cars in this class. The hood lacks an insulation pad, but appears to be made of double-panel sheet metal thickness instead of one....it closes with enough solidness to shake the whole front end. Inside, the ubquitous ECOTEC 1.8L transverse-mounted four (this engine is used in a number of compact GM cars) fits in nicely, and allows room to reach at least some of the components in front of it, including the oxygen sensor. The battery is right up front, without a cover, where it can be easily reached. GM seems to have gotten rid of at least some of its old side-terminal batteries...the Astra has conventional top-terminals. Dipsticks and fluid reservoirs are no problem....all within easy reach. The engine has a large, plastic "ECOTEC" cover on it, but only the components at the very top of the engine are hidden.
INTERIOR:
Inside, the car is not quite as impressive as on the exterior, especially the Leather, Premium-Trim version I test-drove. The seats had lumbar support, and, with the adjustable manual pump-lever on the side, lowered far enough for me to fit well under the double-panel sunroof housing with no problems. But the leather seat cushions, IMO, are not only unimpressive to look at and feel the texture of, but, in addition, were flat and hard as a park bench......I felt like I was ready to reach my hand out through the window and feed the pigeons. I know this car is not supposed to be a pillow-soft Buick, but supportive seats don't have to be this firm....they can have a little give. The cloth-seat version I sat in to compare not only was slightly softer (not much) but the cloth also looked and felt much nicer than the leather....and there are nice cloth fabric inserts on the door panels as well. My advice? Save some $$$$$$ and get the cloth.
I also did not care much for the way the center-dash radio and climate-control buttons are arranged and marked.....another early impression of mine from the D.C. Auto Show (as NAV is not offered on the Astra, there is no alternative layout). The 6 radio-memory buttons are all off to one side, the station-tuning buttons are poorly marked, and the hot-cold thermostat **** is not marked with blue and red markings like on most cars......twist it when the A/C or vent is on, and you get a blast of hot air in the face (just like listening to a political debate).
Another apparant factory assembly goof turned up on the turn-signal stalk of the car I test-drove. I noticed that the stalk wasn't flashing the high-beams or turn-signals like it normally should. I jiggled it a little....then it worked OK for a minute and crapped out again. I jiggled it some more, and the rubber boot/seal on it then loosened, and the whole stalk just fell right off the steering column into my lap. It was easy to replace.....all you have to do is push the stalk and built-in electrical connection right back into its hole and socket.....but that is only a Band-Aid fix. It has to be solidly re-mounted properly to start with. The stalk, however, even when working properly, has an unusual feature. Instead of the usual lane-change feature where you lightly depress the stalk and the turn-signals flash until you let it up, the turn signals flash three times and stop. They flash three times again if you repeat.
Other than that, there isn't too much to complain about inside. While I personally prefer wood or wood-tone trim (which is not available on the Astra), the painted-silver plastic dash and door panel trim was not done too badly (I've see lots worse, particularly on some newer Toyotas and Dodges). The automatic transmission shifter has a nice, precise, slick action, and, despite lacking a Sport-Shift automanual feature, at it least has a nice straight forward-back motion...few things inside a car, IMO, are more irritating than those zig-zag shift patterns. The hand brake lever between the seats, likewise, is smooth, slick, and easy to pull. There is plenty of legroom up front and, if you get the seat low enough, plenty of headroom as well. In back, dimensions are not quite so generous, but headroom under the sunroof housing is adequate for those under about 6' 2". Legroom in back depends on where you have the front seat....move it forward and there is plenty; bring it all the way back and there is only enough for small children.
Overall, the cloth interior, IMO, is much preferable to the leather one, for both comfort and plushness.
CARGO AREA/TRUNK:
Lift the rather solid rear hatch and, due to the shortness of the rear cargo area, the luggage/cargo area is not huge, but fine for all normal packages, luggage, and grocery bags. The twin rear wheel wheels intrude on some of the side space, but again it is not huge. As in most small hatchbacks, the split-rear seats fold down to extend the cargo area (I forgot to notice if there was a remote release for them under the trunk lid like some upscale cars have.......probably not). The cargo bed was trimmed in matching gray carpeting. Under the floor's pull-up panel (awkward to pull up due to the lack of a built-in handle) lies a compact, donut spare tire/wheel.......no complaints, since a real spare tire/wheel is not expected in cars of this class. Also, as in most small hatchbacks, the board/fabric cargo-security cover flips up and down with the rear hatch (held on by two cords/loops), and, of course, can be removed for carrying large objects. I've already described the defect in the cloth-seat car which did not allow the rear hatch to close and lock properly.
ON THE ROAD:
Start up the 1.8L four with a conventional metal key/transponder and side-column ignition switch, and it settles into a relatively smooth, quiet idle....GM has gotten a lot of the former noise, vibration, and harshness out of this engine, though you still know you are not in a Lexus LS460. Still, the engine doesn't bear the name ECOTEC for nothing.........it is primarily designed for economy, not performance, and its 125 ft.-lbs. of torque, connected to the relatively inflexible 4-speed automatic, propels the car forward with somewhat less than Formula One performance, especially with the A/C running. The payoff, of course, is an honest 30 MPG highway.....on regular fuel......even under the newer, more stringent EPA mileage ratings.
The automatic transmission, despite the relative inefficiency of the 4 gears and its sluggishness with the relatively low-powered engine, is nonetheless one of the car's better features. It is quiet, shifts smoothly and unobtrusively most of the time, and has the slick-operating, no-nonsense shift lever I've already described. In addition, even with its relative inefficiency, its city and highway mileage ratings are virtually identical to those of the 5-speed manual.
While the Astra is not meant to be either a luxury or sports car, its ride/handling combination and trade-off is, nonetheless, a pretty good one. This seems to be a result of several factors. First, you have the acknowledged German chassis enginering. Second, the recommended tire pressures (32 front, 32 rear) is not too high by today's standards, allowing some bump absorbtion. Third, the tires are not excessively low-profile (55-series unless you get the Sport Handling Package with the 45-series). And, Fourth, the car sits high enough to have some suspension travel. Steering feel, by FWD standards, is outstanding....the car, in some ways, feels like a FWD BMW....sort of like the FWD Mazdas of years ago with their "Kansei Engineering" and VW with its "Farvergnugen". Steering action/response is super-smooth but firm, with a slight amount of understeer and body roll. Ride comfort, likewise, is reasonably good by small-car standards. Noise level is also good by small-car standards...it seemed to me to be virtually as quiet as the Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla, generally the two noise-control kings among small cars. Road and wind noise are both muted well.
Brakes are a mixed bag. The brakes themselves are fairly well-done, with a reasonably firm pedal (not quite to BMW standards), little fade or sponginess, and smooth, even response. But they lack strong stopping power, and the brake-pedal placement, for my big size 15 clown shoe, is terrible. The pedal is too high, too close to the gas pedal, and too thick.........a perfect mechanism for causing big feet to snag and get hung-up under it. I had more problems with my feet and these pedals than with any car I've driven since the toylike Lotus Elise last August. With the Astra, it is not necessarily dangerous, but just something you have to be continually aware of and take into consideration where and how you rest your right foot, that's all. Some people brake with their left foot in auto-transmision cars, and I can too to some extent, but not with as much co-ordination as my right foot.
THE VERDICT:
As I mentioned in the opening section, I generally liked the Astra when I first saw it at the D.C. Auto Show, at least on the static display. Now that I've reviewed and test-driven it, do I still feel the same way? Yes.....and no. The car, overall, is a definite improvement over the poorly-designed Ion that preceeded it. Its body sheet metal, door/hood/trunklid solidness, steering feel, chassis dynamics, transmission smoothness, shifter feel, cloth upholstery/trim, and interior headroom are all well-done. It is pleasant to drive on winding roads where you can appreciate the steering dynamics....and even on straight roads, it cruises rather nicely. It uses regular fuel. The fore-aft shifter is nicer than the zig-zag designs. The engine is smooth and quiet at normal RPMs. And, while somewhat more expensive than the cars that preceeded it, it is still inexpensive enough that its purchase or lease price won't bust your bank account. Yes, the over-$22,000 list of my test car was a little steep for a car of this size (and remember that many Saturns sell for full, no-haggle list unless rebates are available), but it is still not a classic budget-buster, and lower prices can be had if one is willing to forgo some rather expensive options. I, for one, would gladly give up the Leather Premium Trim Package.
Other things, though, are less impressive. In spite of the nicely firm brake pedal, both the pedal placement and general brake response need a little work. The leather seats need more give to them and some nicer-grade leather. The engine-automatic-transmission combo, while not dangerously sluggish, could use a few more horses. The shifter could use a manual shift-gate, as the low power level invites frequent downshifts. The center-stack button/control display needs a redesign. The old plastic body panels, IMO, will be sadly lamented. And, judging by what I saw today, the inspectors may (?) be taking too many coffee breaks in the factory quality-control department.
So, overall, a nice effort by Saturn to replace the Ion with something more contemporary. It's a nice small car if you can put up with its few idiosyncrancies. But, as for me and my opinion............bring back the REAL Saturns from the 1990s.
http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicle...r/overview.jsp
In a Nutshell: Nice try, and it has some merits, but I'll take the orignal Saturns.
I usually do reviews by special request (requests from either on or off CL), or without a formal request, if there seems to be a lot of interest and chat about a certain vehicle. But, now and then, I simply do one for my own curiosity or interest. Such is the case with the 2008 Astra, Saturn's new entry-level vehicle that replaces the soundly forgettable Ion and the not-so-forgettable S-Series cars before that.
Though Saturn, in recent years (actually starting in 1999) has branched out into larger mid-sized cars, minivans, 2-seat roadsters, and SUVs of various sizes, the company's forte has always been building unusual and distinctive small cars. Saturn started up the same year Lexus and Infiniti did (1990), with a new line of American-designed, American-built (Spring Hill, TN) compact cars with unique thermoplastic side body panels that eliminated dents, rust, and corrosion. Easy-to-replace, spin-off automatic transmission filters and drain plugs made transmission service quick, simple, and inexpensive. The cars, in service, proved virtually as reliable as the Hondas and Toyotas of the period.......most unusual for newly-introduced, American-designed vehicles.
New ground was also broken with Saturn's sales and customer-service policies as well, designed to simplify the process and make it much more customer-friendly, as unscrupulous sales and service practices in the auto industry were a major source of customer complaints. All new Saturn vehicles sold at list....no exceptions, no mark-ups, and no discounts. This eliminated the notorious haggling and Middle-Eastern-Bazzar atmosphere of price negotiations, greatly simplified the paperwork, and made it much easier for customers to purchase a new car who did not want to go through a bunch of sales-elated hassles. New Saturns could be special-ordered with the exact colors, options, and accessories customers wanted, not having to settle only for cars in stock. Options were sold separately and individually, so customers did not have to accept expensive bundle-packages to get the equipment they wanted. The Saturn factory at Spring Hill gave preference to special-order customers so their new cars would be delivered ASAP, without having to wait while the factory filled routine dealership and rental-car bulk orders. (In fact, I was a special-order Saturn customer myself). Used Saturns, if sold at Saturn dealerships (known as "retailers", not dealerships), also sold at list (Bluebook), with no haggling, although trade-in values and financing did sometimes involve some negotiation. And, perhaps best of all, a 30-day money-back policy allowed an unsatisfied customer to return a new Saturn within 30 days or 1000 miles, with no significant damage ($150 damage, I think, was the limit) and a clear title (if the title was ready by then), for a FULL refund of the purchase price (minus the sales tax money, of course, which went to the state). No reasons had to be given, and dealer zone reps didn't get involved. Even if the customer decided he/she just didn't like the color and wanted something else...........yes, a full refund. Salespeople wore special colored Saturn T-shirts instead of the usual buisness suits and ties. And, to top it off, like with Lexus and Infiniti, every car that went through a Saturn service bay, for any reason, was hand-washed (I, of course, washed and dried my own Saturn, even at the dealership (oops, retailer!).....washing my own car is an unbreakable tradition with me).
Ah, yes....the good old days at Saturn. I remember them well. Unfortunately, much of that is just a distant memory now, although some of it, like the 30-day money-back guarantee, remains (Only now, instead of a refund, you get an exchange for a another new comparably-equipped new car instead). And the list-price selling policy also remains, but now there are factory rebates as well. But, otherwise, Saturn has gradually been absorbed into the GM and auto-industry mainstream, and it shows. Most of its special uniqueness is gone...it is just another GM division now. Some of that is due to the demise of Oldsmobile, as GM seems to be using Saturn to fill that void.
Well, so much for Saturn's history. Let's get to the specific matter at hand.....their newest small car. The Astra replaces the Saturn Ion 4-door sedan and 4-door "coupe" with the 2 small rear half-doors like the Mazda RX-8. I never liked the Ion, for many reasons.....I won't go into all of them in detail here. Though the Ion kept the nice plastic side body panels like the former S-series had, in most other things, IMO, the car was a POS and a public embarassment to Saturn, GM, the employees on the assembly line who had to build it, and the customers who (IMO) wasted their money on it. Even the rival Chevrolet Cavalier, a dull, cheaply-made, rental-car-stark vehicle built on the same platform as the Ion, was, IMO, a more desirable car, especially in the interior and dash. The Ion was not necessarily unreliable, but it was poorly-designed, used extremely cheap interior materials, and had awkward center-mounted gauges. Even GM execs now admit the car was a mistake.
Well, the Ion is gone now (may it rest in peace) and the new Astra takes its place for 2008. I first saw the Astra live at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show in January, and, despite the fact that it is quite different from the original Saturn S-cars of the 1990s that I liked so much, and does away with many former Saturn features, I liked it, at least in the static display. Just looking it over on the floor (Saturn, courteously, had their new Astras unlocked), I was impressed with the door and sheet metal solidness, general fit-and-finish, underhood layout, and interior quality, although I wasn't wild about the center-dash control layout/design (more on that below). I decided then that I would probably review one sometime this year for my own curiosity (your own CL review requests, of course, came first), as I had owned small Saturns before and could possibly, if unlikely, see myself in an Astra, although I'm now a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the Subaru AWD systems, and the Astra does not offer AWD.
Like some (not all) other new Saturn products, the Astra is a re-badged, Americanized version of a German-designed Opel platform (Opel being GM's German division). But the Astra, even more so than the other new Saturns, is about as throughly Opel.....and European.....as it is possible to get and still have DOT/EPA certification for sale in the U.S. This car is more European than the Euro currency itself.....I'm surprised it even sells here for American dollars. The 1.8L engine is built in Hungary. The transmissions come from Austria. Many of the rest of the parts are sourced from Germany and other European countries. Then these components are all shipped to Belgium for final assembly there. Finally, the completed car is sold in two versions (as twins) under the British Vauxhall Astra and German Opel Astra nameplates. The Astra is currently the second-most-popular car in Europe, trailing only the ubiquitous VW Golf (Rabbit). A third version, of course, is the Americanized Saturn Astra (Saturn and GM decided to keep the Astra name for the U.S.), differing significantly from the European gas-engined Opel and Vauxhall versions only in minor details of safety and emissions gear.
Three versions of the Astra are offered in the American market........a 5-door version of the lower-line XE, and 3 or 5-door versions of the upper-level XR. One engine is offered...a 138 HP four driving the front wheels, and two transmissions, a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic. Base prices range from $16,495 for a base XE to $18,995 for a 3-door XR (yes, the XR 3-door costs more than the 5-door).....a significant price hike from previous Saturn small cars (I can remember when base Saturn SL models started at $10,000 or less). But the price, to some extent, appears to be justified....the fit-and-finish and overall design of these new cars simply blows the old Ion right out of the water.
There are two possible flies in the ointment, though. One, unlike its former small cars, Saturn restricts the Astra to hatchback designs.....no sedan or coupe is offered (Dodge now markets its Caliber small car the same way). This may or may not sit well with many Americans, who are now showing more acceptance of hatchbacks, but who traditionally have prefered sedans....old habits sometimes change slowly. Two, despite the nice fit-and-finish and surface material quality of the new Astra, it must be remembered that Opel-designed products, in general, have a history of worse-than-average reliability. The Opel-designed Cadillac Catera was a major source of grief to many of its owners, and other current Opel-designed products marketed and sold by Saturn, according to Consumer Reports, have had reliability problems. So, time will tell if the Americanized Astra will prove reliable or not. In the meantime, however, I find the car desirable in several ways.
OK, lets have a look at the car in detail.............
Model Reviewed: 2008 Saturn Astra XR 5-door.
Base Price: $18,045 (includes freight)
Major Options:
Premium Trim Package: $995
Automatic Transmission: $1325
Advanced Audio Package: $595
Dual-Panel Power Sunroof: $1200
Destination/Freight: N/C
List Price as Reviewed: $22,160
Drivetrain: FWD, transversely-mounted, ECOTEC 1.8L in-line 4 cylinder, 138 HP @ 6300 RPM; Torque, 125 ft.-lbs. @ 3800 RPM,
4-speed automatic transmission with Winter mode.
EPA Mileage Ratings: 24 city, 30 Highway
Exterior Color: Twilight Blue
Interior: Gray Leather
PLUSSES:
Opel/Vauxhall version the second-best selling car in Europe.
Versatile hatchback/wagon body style.
Smooth automatic transmission.
Good ride/handling trade-off.
Superb steering feel (by FWD standards).
Nicely done exterior body quality.
Gas filler door now has a lock.
Speedometer/tach now back behind the steering wheel where they belong.
Forward/back transmission shifter action eliminates the annoying zig-zag.
Good underhood access.
Nice hood struts.
Double-paneled hood.
Nice cloth interior trim.
Drivers' seat adjusts well for tall people.
5 year/100,000 mile GM powertrain warranty.
30-day exchange guarantee.
MINUSES:
Say good-bye to the nice dent/rust-proof plastic side body panels.
Price substantially higher then previous S-series and Ion models.
Unknown (and questionable) long-term reliability.
Center-stack dash button layout could be improved.
Only six exterior color choices.
Sedan body style not available for those who dislike hatchbacks.
Somewhat sluggish response with automatic transmission.
Poorly-shaped outside mirrors.
Cheap sun visors.
Unimpressive leather seats.
Iffy quality control.
Transmission Shifter lacks Sport-Shift option.
Poorly-placed brake pedal.
Plain-Jane dash trim/plastic.
EXTERIOR:
The Astra, as you walk up to it, is quite unlike anything Saturn has done before. Its general shape and size strongly reminds one of the hatchback Nissan Versa, though the grille is somewhat different. Overall, exterior quality is quite good...and was one of the things I first noticed about the car at the D.C. Auto Show. Doors and sheet metal panels are solidly made, and close with a precise, no-rattle, solid "thunk". Paint quality is distinctly better than the usual stuff on entry-level cars from American manufacturers (don't forget, this car is made in Belgium), but, naturally, falls a little short of Lexus/Infiniti/Acura paint jobs. Unfortunately, only six exterior colors are offered....an obvious sop to cost-cutting....and four of those six, IMO, are not attractive colors. All of the exterior trim is classy and well-done, and red/chrome Saturn logos appear to be mounted on real chrome trim bars, not just chromed plastic (couldn't tell for sure). The alloy wheels on my test-car were a handsome double-five spoke design. One glitch, though. On the cloth-seat Astra I looked at, the rear latch for the liftgate was not working correctly. It would not solidly catch and lock when you closed it....an apparent factory assembly goof. Other than that, no problems outside, though the trapezoid-shaped side mirrors, while durable and well-made, tended to limit the side and rear vision a little.
UNDERHOOD:
Open the hood, and you are greeted with two nice struts instead of the more usual prop-rod in cars in this class. The hood lacks an insulation pad, but appears to be made of double-panel sheet metal thickness instead of one....it closes with enough solidness to shake the whole front end. Inside, the ubquitous ECOTEC 1.8L transverse-mounted four (this engine is used in a number of compact GM cars) fits in nicely, and allows room to reach at least some of the components in front of it, including the oxygen sensor. The battery is right up front, without a cover, where it can be easily reached. GM seems to have gotten rid of at least some of its old side-terminal batteries...the Astra has conventional top-terminals. Dipsticks and fluid reservoirs are no problem....all within easy reach. The engine has a large, plastic "ECOTEC" cover on it, but only the components at the very top of the engine are hidden.
INTERIOR:
Inside, the car is not quite as impressive as on the exterior, especially the Leather, Premium-Trim version I test-drove. The seats had lumbar support, and, with the adjustable manual pump-lever on the side, lowered far enough for me to fit well under the double-panel sunroof housing with no problems. But the leather seat cushions, IMO, are not only unimpressive to look at and feel the texture of, but, in addition, were flat and hard as a park bench......I felt like I was ready to reach my hand out through the window and feed the pigeons. I know this car is not supposed to be a pillow-soft Buick, but supportive seats don't have to be this firm....they can have a little give. The cloth-seat version I sat in to compare not only was slightly softer (not much) but the cloth also looked and felt much nicer than the leather....and there are nice cloth fabric inserts on the door panels as well. My advice? Save some $$$$$$ and get the cloth.
I also did not care much for the way the center-dash radio and climate-control buttons are arranged and marked.....another early impression of mine from the D.C. Auto Show (as NAV is not offered on the Astra, there is no alternative layout). The 6 radio-memory buttons are all off to one side, the station-tuning buttons are poorly marked, and the hot-cold thermostat **** is not marked with blue and red markings like on most cars......twist it when the A/C or vent is on, and you get a blast of hot air in the face (just like listening to a political debate).
Another apparant factory assembly goof turned up on the turn-signal stalk of the car I test-drove. I noticed that the stalk wasn't flashing the high-beams or turn-signals like it normally should. I jiggled it a little....then it worked OK for a minute and crapped out again. I jiggled it some more, and the rubber boot/seal on it then loosened, and the whole stalk just fell right off the steering column into my lap. It was easy to replace.....all you have to do is push the stalk and built-in electrical connection right back into its hole and socket.....but that is only a Band-Aid fix. It has to be solidly re-mounted properly to start with. The stalk, however, even when working properly, has an unusual feature. Instead of the usual lane-change feature where you lightly depress the stalk and the turn-signals flash until you let it up, the turn signals flash three times and stop. They flash three times again if you repeat.
Other than that, there isn't too much to complain about inside. While I personally prefer wood or wood-tone trim (which is not available on the Astra), the painted-silver plastic dash and door panel trim was not done too badly (I've see lots worse, particularly on some newer Toyotas and Dodges). The automatic transmission shifter has a nice, precise, slick action, and, despite lacking a Sport-Shift automanual feature, at it least has a nice straight forward-back motion...few things inside a car, IMO, are more irritating than those zig-zag shift patterns. The hand brake lever between the seats, likewise, is smooth, slick, and easy to pull. There is plenty of legroom up front and, if you get the seat low enough, plenty of headroom as well. In back, dimensions are not quite so generous, but headroom under the sunroof housing is adequate for those under about 6' 2". Legroom in back depends on where you have the front seat....move it forward and there is plenty; bring it all the way back and there is only enough for small children.
Overall, the cloth interior, IMO, is much preferable to the leather one, for both comfort and plushness.
CARGO AREA/TRUNK:
Lift the rather solid rear hatch and, due to the shortness of the rear cargo area, the luggage/cargo area is not huge, but fine for all normal packages, luggage, and grocery bags. The twin rear wheel wheels intrude on some of the side space, but again it is not huge. As in most small hatchbacks, the split-rear seats fold down to extend the cargo area (I forgot to notice if there was a remote release for them under the trunk lid like some upscale cars have.......probably not). The cargo bed was trimmed in matching gray carpeting. Under the floor's pull-up panel (awkward to pull up due to the lack of a built-in handle) lies a compact, donut spare tire/wheel.......no complaints, since a real spare tire/wheel is not expected in cars of this class. Also, as in most small hatchbacks, the board/fabric cargo-security cover flips up and down with the rear hatch (held on by two cords/loops), and, of course, can be removed for carrying large objects. I've already described the defect in the cloth-seat car which did not allow the rear hatch to close and lock properly.
ON THE ROAD:
Start up the 1.8L four with a conventional metal key/transponder and side-column ignition switch, and it settles into a relatively smooth, quiet idle....GM has gotten a lot of the former noise, vibration, and harshness out of this engine, though you still know you are not in a Lexus LS460. Still, the engine doesn't bear the name ECOTEC for nothing.........it is primarily designed for economy, not performance, and its 125 ft.-lbs. of torque, connected to the relatively inflexible 4-speed automatic, propels the car forward with somewhat less than Formula One performance, especially with the A/C running. The payoff, of course, is an honest 30 MPG highway.....on regular fuel......even under the newer, more stringent EPA mileage ratings.
The automatic transmission, despite the relative inefficiency of the 4 gears and its sluggishness with the relatively low-powered engine, is nonetheless one of the car's better features. It is quiet, shifts smoothly and unobtrusively most of the time, and has the slick-operating, no-nonsense shift lever I've already described. In addition, even with its relative inefficiency, its city and highway mileage ratings are virtually identical to those of the 5-speed manual.
While the Astra is not meant to be either a luxury or sports car, its ride/handling combination and trade-off is, nonetheless, a pretty good one. This seems to be a result of several factors. First, you have the acknowledged German chassis enginering. Second, the recommended tire pressures (32 front, 32 rear) is not too high by today's standards, allowing some bump absorbtion. Third, the tires are not excessively low-profile (55-series unless you get the Sport Handling Package with the 45-series). And, Fourth, the car sits high enough to have some suspension travel. Steering feel, by FWD standards, is outstanding....the car, in some ways, feels like a FWD BMW....sort of like the FWD Mazdas of years ago with their "Kansei Engineering" and VW with its "Farvergnugen". Steering action/response is super-smooth but firm, with a slight amount of understeer and body roll. Ride comfort, likewise, is reasonably good by small-car standards. Noise level is also good by small-car standards...it seemed to me to be virtually as quiet as the Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla, generally the two noise-control kings among small cars. Road and wind noise are both muted well.
Brakes are a mixed bag. The brakes themselves are fairly well-done, with a reasonably firm pedal (not quite to BMW standards), little fade or sponginess, and smooth, even response. But they lack strong stopping power, and the brake-pedal placement, for my big size 15 clown shoe, is terrible. The pedal is too high, too close to the gas pedal, and too thick.........a perfect mechanism for causing big feet to snag and get hung-up under it. I had more problems with my feet and these pedals than with any car I've driven since the toylike Lotus Elise last August. With the Astra, it is not necessarily dangerous, but just something you have to be continually aware of and take into consideration where and how you rest your right foot, that's all. Some people brake with their left foot in auto-transmision cars, and I can too to some extent, but not with as much co-ordination as my right foot.
THE VERDICT:
As I mentioned in the opening section, I generally liked the Astra when I first saw it at the D.C. Auto Show, at least on the static display. Now that I've reviewed and test-driven it, do I still feel the same way? Yes.....and no. The car, overall, is a definite improvement over the poorly-designed Ion that preceeded it. Its body sheet metal, door/hood/trunklid solidness, steering feel, chassis dynamics, transmission smoothness, shifter feel, cloth upholstery/trim, and interior headroom are all well-done. It is pleasant to drive on winding roads where you can appreciate the steering dynamics....and even on straight roads, it cruises rather nicely. It uses regular fuel. The fore-aft shifter is nicer than the zig-zag designs. The engine is smooth and quiet at normal RPMs. And, while somewhat more expensive than the cars that preceeded it, it is still inexpensive enough that its purchase or lease price won't bust your bank account. Yes, the over-$22,000 list of my test car was a little steep for a car of this size (and remember that many Saturns sell for full, no-haggle list unless rebates are available), but it is still not a classic budget-buster, and lower prices can be had if one is willing to forgo some rather expensive options. I, for one, would gladly give up the Leather Premium Trim Package.
Other things, though, are less impressive. In spite of the nicely firm brake pedal, both the pedal placement and general brake response need a little work. The leather seats need more give to them and some nicer-grade leather. The engine-automatic-transmission combo, while not dangerously sluggish, could use a few more horses. The shifter could use a manual shift-gate, as the low power level invites frequent downshifts. The center-stack button/control display needs a redesign. The old plastic body panels, IMO, will be sadly lamented. And, judging by what I saw today, the inspectors may (?) be taking too many coffee breaks in the factory quality-control department.
So, overall, a nice effort by Saturn to replace the Ion with something more contemporary. It's a nice small car if you can put up with its few idiosyncrancies. But, as for me and my opinion............bring back the REAL Saturns from the 1990s.
Last edited by mmarshall; 07-08-08 at 05:59 PM.
07-08-08, 01:32 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
07-08-08, 02:53 PM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 7,468
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
07-08-08, 02:59 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
The defective stalk and rear hatch lock I mentioned were on new Astras, though, not Ions.
Trending Topics
07-08-08, 03:30 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
07-08-08, 06:06 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Horrible interior, and what's with the itty bitty screen with trim around it that's larger than the screen?
07-08-08, 06:15 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
That's for the trip computer and the stereo readouts. It is yellow-orange digits on a gray/black background (NAV is not offered on this car).
I still fail to see how it is worse than the Ion's interior, though I agree that the center-dash button layout and markings could be improved...I mentioned that in the write-up.
Last edited by mmarshall; 07-08-08 at 06:19 PM.
07-08-08, 06:20 PM
#11
Guest
Posts: n/a
The AStra. If it was badged a Honda, they would sell billions. Its badged a Saturn and people dismiss it.
Good review Mike, I think its fair. Only 6 color choices, that is ridiculous. I personally like the new direction Saturn is going but the American public just overlooks it and goes to the usual suspects. I mean this thing looks good for one and not the usual jellybean/monster crap we have seen from the Japanese as of late.
Good review Mike, I think its fair. Only 6 color choices, that is ridiculous. I personally like the new direction Saturn is going but the American public just overlooks it and goes to the usual suspects. I mean this thing looks good for one and not the usual jellybean/monster crap we have seen from the Japanese as of late.
07-08-08, 07:51 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Good review Mike
Only 6 color choices, that is ridiculous.
I personally like the new direction Saturn is going but the American public just overlooks it and goes to the usual suspects. I mean this thing looks good for one and not the usual jellybean/monster crap we have seen from the Japanese as of late.
07-09-08, 01:38 PM
#15
Lexus Champion
I sat in an Astra at the Saturn dealer while my friend signed the papers on his 08 Aura. I liked the way it looked on the outside but the interior just didn't live up to my standards, even for a econo class car like this one. Then again the Saturn Sky is even more like that - gorgeous exterior, awesome powertrain in the turbo model, yet the interior design features a dash board that makes me want to run the other way. I just couldn't live with it.
Granted the Sky was designed before GM started really hitting home runs with its interior design. Not sure about the Astra.
Granted the Sky was designed before GM started really hitting home runs with its interior design. Not sure about the Astra.