hi I'm Joe wiesenfelder with cars.com
we got our first ride in the saturn
astra 2008 model brought in from GM's
opal subsidiary in Europe
now the reason it's called the Astra
here is it's called the Astra there
it's a very popular car there it does
well they figured why not keep the same
name
I think the after is one of the best new
designs in Saturn's new design direction
looks kind of nice in front the chrome
is an overdone and the headlight
clusters are pretty well done to the
clear lens is here there's a little bit
of chrome but it's not overdone
there are two body styles our test car
here is a four-door hatchback or a
five-door is also a two-door hatchback
the idea behind importing the Astra was
it's a higher quality vehicle than a lot
of entry-level cars are in this country
is definitely better than the chevy
cobalt and saturn ion which is going to
replace their soft surfaces though it
doesn't look so much like a saturn on
the inside
this looks a little bit I know Darth
Vader if you ask me
there are other signs of the European
origins the tachometer is labeled and
hundreds rather than thousand so you see
10 and 20 where you're accustomed to one
and two
then there are these symbols on the
steering wheel controls they don't look
familiar but turns out they control the
trip computer and aspects of the stereo
the seats are more European and style
their firm and supportive which is good
the driver's seat has a manual height
adjustment that's good but the knob for
the backrest is hard to reach
they even though our test vehicles are
upholstered in cloth
they also have a seat heaters our test
car has a relatively large skylight
it's over the backseat to it doesn't
open but it still makes the backseat
brighter and it also seems more open
back there
the power shade is nice too but it's not
completely dark and it doesn't block
sound the way the solid sliding panels
do a car might not be too familiar but
the engine is this is the echo tech
four-cylinder that GM users pretty much
across the world
138 horsepower it'll be great for fuel
economy but Americans tend to like a
little bit more kick
this is a five-speed manual I'd like to
see a six-speed that would give you a
little bit more power and it probably
would make for more efficiency to the
cargo space is definitely usable
it's actually pretty small behind the
back seat even compared to the trunks on
some sedans
but once you fold the back seat forward
it's than comparable to other hatchbacks
like the volkswagen golf in the subaru
impreza I couldn't help but notice that
the anchors on the back roads which are
for securing child seats would easily
get in the way and maybe even damage
your car go because usually these things
are recessed overall I think bringing
the Astron was a good idea
the quality is good it's proven
technology and it has some upscale
features that you wouldn't get an entry
level compact car
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