The elegant four-door Astra sedan, officially unveiled in Malta last Wednesday by local agents United Automobile at a breakfast launch at the Corinthia Palace Hotel, Attard, Opel expands its bestselling Astra range to seven models.
The new variant complements the five-door hatch, station wagon, three-door GTC, OPC, cabrio-coupé TwinTop and van variants. Based on the station wagon's long wheelbase, the new Astra sedan combines great driving with high safety reserves. Its four engines from 90 to 140 horsepower will be an important addition to the line-up, particularly in the strong, thriving markets in Europe.
In just five years, from 2002 to 2007, Opel maker GM's market share in central and eastern Europe has more than doubled from 4.35 to 8.9 per cent. With the launch of the new Astra sedan, further share growth is anticipated.
Overall, the addition of the notchback model will give the highly successful Astra line-up, of which 517,000 were sold across Europe in 2006, further expansion this year.
Elements such as the sharply drawn 'eyebrows' above the fog lamps and the eye-catching V-shaped front serve as a blueprint for future Opel models. The headlamp housings in stylish chrome look also convey the additional sense of quality. The new roof line flows elegantly into the tailgate, which turns slightly upward at the end to form an integrated spoiler for optimised aerodynamics.
At 4.59 metres long, 1.75 metres wide and 1.46 metres high, the Astra sedan is a fully grown family sedan with a trunk to match. It offers a luggage compartment volume of 490 litres, which expands to a maximum of 870 litres. The luggage compartment offers a maximum width of 1,170 mm and a maximum length of 995 mm, which can be expanded to 1,721 mm.
The new-edition Astra's interior boasts surfaces with an even more high-quality look and feel. Distinctive design elements in the cockpit include the prominent centre console, additional chrome rings for the air conditioning and radio controls, as well as new trim for the doors and instrument panel, which also boasts three-dimensional instruments. The new Astra model is available in three equipment lines: Essentia, Enjoy and Cosmo. The Essentia already boasts important safety features as standard, including front and side airbags, as well as ABS and ISOFIX child seat anchors in the rear. Comfortable and practical standard details include central locking, front power windows, height-adjustable driver's seat and the 60:40 split rear bench seat back. The Enjoy offers even more extensive standard equipment, including air conditioning, heated power mirrors and CD-Radio CD 30.
The top-of-the-line Cosmo model boasts additional high-quality equipment features such as 16-inch alloy wheels, two-colour door trim, centre console in piano black with the décor mouldings on matt chrome, and a leather steering wheel with piano black caps.
The newest addition to the Astra family can be further personalised with a selection of four equipment packages: visibility and light; winter pack, seat comfort pack; leather seats and electronic climate control (ECC) with air quality sensor (AQS).
The extensive range of infotainment systems is typical of the Astra, with equipment that includes a navigation system or MP3 capability. A mobile phone console with bluetooth interface and voice control is also available, as well as a twin audio system that provides separate entertainment for the rear seats.
Four state-of-the-art ECOTEC gasoline and diesel engines are available for the four-door Astra: two gasoline engines (1.6 ECOTEC/115 hp, 1.8 ECOTEC/140 hp) and two diesel engines (1.3 CDTI/90 hp, 1.7 CDTI/100 hp). The transmission range includes five-speed and six-speed manual gearboxes, four-speed automatic, as well as an enhanced automated easytronic manual transmission.
The new Astra Notchback 1.6-litre 115hp petrol Essentia retails at €23,200 (Lm9,960), the Enjoy at €26,000 (just over Lm11,000). The 1.7 CDTI diesel versions start from €26,800 (Lm11, 500).
For more information visit the United Automobiles showroom in Ta' Xbiex or www.unitedautomobile.com.mt.