Holden Astra SRi Turbo 2003 Review

What we liked
>> Razor sharp dynamics
>> Wonderfully strong brakes
>> Responsive, torquey engine

Not so much
>> High-pitched beep when the key's
      in and a door's open
>> Average gear change quality
>> Tyre noise on rough roads

OVERVIEW
In 1999 the newly appointed chairman of Holden limited, Peter Hanenberger, said he wanted a performance model atop every one of the company's passenger car lines. The Astra SRi Turbo and Astra Turbo Convertible, launched in May 2003, are the final stage in his strategy to inject passion into each of Holden's models.

The 3-door Astra SRi Turbo and 2-door Astra Turbo convertible join an already 22-strong Astra line-up. Both models are equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine producing 147kW and 250Nm. Power is fed to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox; automatic is not an option.

Price for the turbo twins is $36,990 for the hatch and $49,990 for the convertible. While the latter looks pretty steep initially, it is only a few grand more than the 108kW naturally aspirated soft top, which is currently Australia's best selling convertible.

FEATURES
The turbocharged Astras are differentiated externally by their blacked-out grilles, dark tinted headlamps and sports bumper with integrated fog lamps and air ducts. A wing adorns the hatch's boot lid, and both models wear unique five spoke, 17in alloy wheels dressed with high performance Dunlop tyres. A polished stainless steel tailpipe peeks from beneath the rear bumper, the central B-pillar is blacked out, and body colouring on the side skirt and door handles complete the makeover. Of course, a turbo badge on the rump is dead giveaway.

The sporting theme continues inside the Turbos, with matt chrome rings and red indicator needles on the instrument dials, grippy leather sports seats with built-in heaters, alloy pedals and a three-spoke steering wheel. The leather theme also adorns the doors.

Both turbocharged models add a trip computer, premium sound system and 'express' front windows to the equipment list which includes electric windows and mirrors, remote central locking, CD player, cruise control and steering wheel-mounted stereo controls. Climate control air conditioning is standard on both Turbo models.

COMFORT
The driver's seat is height, slide and tilt adjustable, which compliments the tilt and reach adjustable steering wheel to make a comfortable driving position easily achievable. There enough pockets and storage bins in the front for drinks, keys, mobile phones etc, and there's always the glove box.

Room in the front seats is sufficient, though the passenger's knee can linger close to the gearshift. Rear head and legroom in the hatch is tight, as is access via the tilting front seat. Boot space is par for the course, and can accommodate three mid-sized briefcases lying down with room to spare on top. The boot area in the convertible is compromised by a partition for the folding roof, both models are equipped with a fold-down ski-hatch in the rear seats. The hatchback's rear seat split fold 60:40.

SAFETY
Astra turbo's active safety features includes a fairly unobtrusive traction control system which can be disabled on the hatch only. The higher performance brakes, disc all round and 28mm bigger than the standard Astra at the front, are antilock equipped. Astra Turbo's electronic stability program integrates traction control and antilock braking to reduce wheelspin or slip and ensure the vehicle maintains stability at all possible times.

Passive safety is also strong, with dual front airbags, convertible only side airbags, height adjustable front seatbelts (hatch only) with pretensioners and force limiters. The pedals break away in a crash to reduce the chance and severity of lower leg injuries.

MECHANICAL
Holden's turbocharged twins are powered by the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 147kW at a heady 5600rpm and 250Nm of torque and 1950rpm. Both are front wheel drive and come only with a five-speed manual gearbox.

The coupe model tips the scales at 1282kg, the soft top weighs significantly more at 1429kg -- the convertible's missing roof requires more chassis cross-members and reinforcing in other areas to escape scuttle-shake, the rattley bane of all lidless cars.

Both have traction control, switchable only in the coupe. Four wheel dics brakes are standard and equipped with antilock. Astra turbos both have ESP (Electronic Stability Program) which can brake individual wheels to reduce skidding.

Both cars have a firm, sporty suspension, harder on the coupe and more compliant on the convertible -- to suit the slightly different focus of each. Renowned engineering firm Lotus had the final say on the handling character of Astra turbo. Both cars ride on low-profile 17inch performance tyres around thick five-spoked alloy wheels.

COMPETITORS
Astra Turbo launches at a time when hot hatch action is, well, hot. Ford added the Focus ST170 to its line-up in April, and the 140kW, Celica-powered Toyota Corolla Sportivo is just around the corner. Astra hatch has a slight ($10) price advantage, and a sizeable power advantage over the Focus. At the time of writing price on the Sportivo hadn't been released.

Minor players in the hot hatch field include the Renault Clio RS and Peugeot 206GTi, both of which are cheaper, smaller and less powerful than the Astra. Subaru's Impreza WRX is another possible consideration, though its all-wheel drive chassis and more powerful 2.0-litre engine come with a $7000 price disadvantage.

The Astra Turbo convertible really has a market segment all to itself, and is likely to steal sales off its naturally aspirated sibling. Other convertibles from Renault (Megane) and Peugeot (206CC) are cheaper and smaller than the Astra. The Mazda MX-5 and Toyota MR2 are cheaper, the Alfa Spider is dearer, and all are two-seat only. The Peugeot 306 Cabriolet is the only vehicle of comparable size and price, though it falls miles short on power.

ON THE ROAD
If driving's your game, then the Astra turbo hatch is the pick of the performance pair. It weighs only 1282kg which gives the 147kW hatch a healthy power to weight ratio, and stimulating straight line performance. The turbo's suspension has been tuned by Lotus engineering, and features stiffer front and rear dampers than the standard model, which translates into a firmer ride with more precise, responsive handling.

The Astra Turbo gets marginal increases in front and rear track, due mostly to the wider tyres which provide very impressive grip and feedback on road conditions and grip. We test drove the Astra Turbo on wet mountain roads in Tasmania, and never once found them wanting or unsure.

The manual gearbox, hooked to a taller final drive ratio, does not shine in the Turbo, its gear changes are too slow and a tad clumsy for a car with such performance potential, and third gear is monstrously long, though the engine's thumping torque delivery takes care of this. Peak torque of 250Nm is available from just 1950rpm right through to 6000rpm. The Astra turbo revs to 6800rpm in first and second, and 6400rpm in the other three gears. Top speed is a claimed - no we didn't test it - 240km/h.

Holden claims the Turbo hatch and convertible will consume 8.5 litres of fuel for every 100km of city travelling, 6.2 and 6.4 litres respectively in the country. We saw much higher figures than that at our Tasmanian introduction, even when driven smoothly, and will publish our own figures after completing a seven day test.

The convertible does not excel quite as much as its hatchback cousin, the loss of a major structural component in the roof takes the edge off the impressive chassis we experienced in the 3-door. Given the hatchback's focus is as much about fast fun in the sun as it is about fun driving, we don't think the car's ever so slightly dulled performance will matter with buyers.

The extra 150kg takes the polish off engine and straight-line performance, and contributes to the convertible's less impressive handling abilities, which are still the better of its four seat competition. Cornering turn in is not as sharp and the punch out of corners is not as aggressive as the hatch.

BOTTOM LINE: Cabin and comfort may be dated, blistering performance is anything but.

There's no denying a love of performance in this road tester's bones. Anything with the power to pulverise the bitumen is already halfway to my heart, and would have to do something seriously wrong to get the thumbs down. Don't mind which wheels are driving, or the number of cylinders pumping away, as long as a smile results.

The Holden Astra SRi qualifies. Its rather spritely 1282kg chassis is amply propelled by 147kW of turbocharged four-cylinder engine -- a combination that's blisteringly efficient and effective. The front-drive car does come with traction control -- switchable -- though big 17inch wheels and tyres provide enough grip in the dry to rule out any real need.

On the right twisty road the Astra's speed and poise is good enough to hound cars thrice the price. The Astra's sporty suspension delivers handling that is pebble perfect across even second rate roads. Faith in the car's steering accuracy and response is well placed, allowing the driver to concentrate further ahead, placing entry and exit lines just so.

Acceleration is strong and urgent, and has that addictive turbocharged surge. The engine's healthy dose of torque picks up strongly even from low revs, regardless of whether you've chosen the best gear or not. For the record, fuel economy wandered around 10-11 litres of Premium Unleaded for every 100km traveled -- far better than expected of a turbo car.

Braking performance never intruded on the fun, which means they were neither brilliant nor bad. Competent and constant as expected, though the ABS threshold was exceeded a number of times on the downhill run.

This exceptional dynamic package knocks ride quality around, and the Astra's firm suspension can be a real kidney shaker. Those shopping for performance will undoubtedly live with the compromise, which is somewhat more harsh than comparable Corolla Sportivos or Focus ST170s.

You get the idea we're impressed? Rightly so. Which makes it truly heartbreaking that Holden could put such an un-ergonomic seatback behind the driver. Lumps and bumps in all the wrong areas, hard where it should be soft and vice versa, it makes the Astra SRi a very uncomfortable proposition. And lumbar support which is far-too intrusive even on the mildest setting -- on long journeys a mild case of backache is almost a cert.

Interior room is fine, enough in the back for two adults, though getting in and out of the cheap seats via the front doors is tight -- to be expected from a coupe. Bootspace under the hatch is good, and the luggage cover hides your goods from prying eyes. The interior decor, however, is dated, drab and uninspiring

Sad, really, that a seat should be the downfall of the Astra's 7-day test. Everything else is truly awe inspiring. And worthy of the price of admission. Sit in the seat, and if your back resembles the Sydney Harbour Bridge, then Holden's performance hatch is absolutely perfect for you.

BOTTOM LINE: Flawed but fast and still the pick of the small droptops

Smart and sassy from the outside thanks to subtle body kit and fat wheels and tyres, the Astra Convertible Turbo sure looks the piece. Alas beauty is but skin deep and it suffers from an interior that's at least a generation outdated.

While some of the details of the droptop's office differ from the coupe (such as the HVAC controls and stereo), and the Alfa-like red leather accents brighten up the all-black pit that's the fixed head Turbo, the overall effect is more than a little disjointed. It's an impression amplified by extra switches scattered around the dash for added goodies such as fog lamps and heated seats.

Again the seats attracted the ire of our crash test dummies -- seems that their dimensions are fashioned after an Ally McBeal escapee rather than the average Aussie. Also mentioned was the 'close' nature of the cabin when the roof was up. With abbreviated rear quarter windows and a small rear light, backseaters get but one view of the world - out the front.

The interior really is at odds with the rest of vehicle. The performance, while not as manic as the 147kg-lighter coupe, is engaging with urgent acceleration replaced by muscular in-gear urge.

Steering is instructive and torque steer is surprisingly well contained. Loved the thick rimmed, sculptured tiller too.

There's little if any of the flexi-flyer scuttle shake that has afflicted convertibles and cabrios since day dot, however, not all was sweetness and light regards the cloth top. For one it's noisy (up as well as down) on the highway and in traffic, and also rather slow to react to instructions. Indeed, try as we might (we even read the instructions!) we couldn't get the dash-operated switch to work at all, and had to resort to using the key fob option to go topless.

Once down, buffeting was well controlled until speeds were elevated. On a crisp but clear Melbourne winter evening the heater and heated front seats completed the equation. BTW, the optional wind deflector stayed in its mountings in the boot for our time with the car - it can't only be used with rear seat passengers.

On the subject of the boot, capacity is substantially handicapped by the fold-away lid (up or down), but any buyer will take this into his/her calculations.

Whether it will be a 'his' or a 'her' buying the Astra airhead is a bit of a guess. Throwing political correctness aside, the Turbo Convertible's performance levels are high enough to satisfy those with elevated testosterone levels, yet in so many other ways is a very stylish, almost feminine machine. So much so, it's easy to imagine there's a Country Road or Perri Cutten edition just around the corner.