Facelifted Opel Astra confirmed for Oz

Opel has revealed a midlife makeover – or mid-cycle enhancement (MCE), in Opel-speak – for its top-selling Astra small car range, and has confirmed production will be fast-tracked to coincide with the German brand’s introduction here in September.

GM will launch the Opel line-up in Australia next month, before sales officially commence in September. Motoring.com.au understands Opel Australia’s national dealer network will comprise about 17 retail outlets, only around four of which will be existing Holden dealers.

As in Europe, the Astra will be Opel’s volume-selling model, although Opel Australia remains committed only to releasing the five-door hatchback and wagon and three-door GTC Coupe body styles here.

While the new four-door Astra sedan is unlikely to be made available in Australia, high-performance OPC versions of the Corsa, Astra and Insignia are almost certain to hit local showrooms eventually.

The revised Astra range is headlined by a new 143kW/400Nm 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel engine, plus subtle exterior and interior design changes, new wheels and a number of new features, but Opel Australia will not reveal pricing or specifications until closer to the VW Golf rival’s local launch.

The new Astra BiTurbo CDTi matches the torque output of Opel’s 206kW/400Nm direct-injection turbo-petrol engine in the existing Astra OPC, but the latter remains the quickest and most powerful Astra with a 0-100km/h sprint in six seconds.

However, the new twin-turbo diesel from the Insignia will be available – at least in Europe – in the Astra hatch, wagon and coupe.
Opel has also upgraded the Astra’s 103kW 1.4-litre turbo-petrol four, which now gains an overboost function that temporarily gives the vehicle an extra 10 per cent burst of torque, from 200 to 220Nm. An LPG version of the 1.4T engine is also available in Germany.

While Europeans will also have access to 81kW and 96kW 1.7 CDTI ecoFLEX versions of the Astra, delivering fuel consumption as low as 3.7L/100km, Opel said that next year it will also introduce a 1.6-litre turbocharged SIDI (Spark Ignition Direct Injection) ECOTEC petrol engine offering up to 147kW.

Filtering down from Zafira people-mover and Insignia flagship will be a range of premium driver aids, including the second-generation Opel Eye front camera with enhanced traffic sign assistant (TSA II), lane departure warning (LDW), following distance indication (FDI) and forward collision alert (FCA).

Other new Astra assistance systems include a rear view camera, advanced park assist - which identifies spaces and aids with parking – side blind spot alert, adaptive forward lighting (AFL+) with bi-Xenon headlights and a radar-based adaptive cruise control (ACC) system with automatic collision imminent braking (CIB), which operates between 50 and 180km/h.

“The timing for our local launch could not be more ideal, in allowing us the opportunity to bring the freshest Astra face to market from the outset,” said Opel Australia Managing Director, Bill Mott.

“It’s a clear sign of the importance placed on both the Astra in our model line-up, and our local launch overall, that production for Australia has been expedited to allow us to launch the updated Astra at the same time as Germany.”

The Astra accounts for a third of all Opels sold globally, with the fourth generation having attracted more than 641,000 buyers, making it the third best selling model in Europe’s largest single vehicle segment, which comprises a quarter of the total auto market.

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