Opel Astra gets new flagship twin-turbo diesel

GM Europe has announced the latest Opel Astra, which arrives in Australia as a Holden later this year, will become available with a new range-topping twin-turbo 1.6-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that delivers 118kW of power and 350Nm of torque.

The new BiTurbo CDTI engine, which incorporates sequential two-stage turbocharging, could migrate not only to GM's Trax and Captiva SUVs, but to the new Opel Insignia -- Holden's imported replacement for the Commodore in 2018.

In the latest Astra, which weighs up to 200kg lighter than the old model, Opel claims it’s capable of averaging fuel consumption of around 4.0L/100km while emitting just 106g/km of CO2.

Opel says it worked hard on throttle response and refinement with its powerful new small diesel and that torque peak of 350Nm is delivered from just 1500rpm, hinting that it will be well-suited for a bigger SUV.

It’s not known if we’ll get the most powerful diesel Astra in Australia when the hatchback arrives here around October, but in Europe the most powerful diesel doesn’t come cheap, with prices for the 1.6 BiTurbo starting from around $40,000.