23 Apr 04
In the mean time, however, the 170bhp Astra 2.0 Turbo is hardly a boring runaround. Though its performance figures are, on paper, a little lacklustre, in practice, this reflects the time the turbocharger takes to come on boost. Initially, it's a bit dull-witted - but persist, and there are immense reserves of power to call upon. Thus most of the acceleration happens mid-range; this car is torquey, rather than nippy, and has plenty of pull at high speeds as well. It's geared to be reasonably comfortable and economical (31mpg), and even with the SRi's lowered suspension, rides well over bumpy, poorly-surfaced and demanding British roads.
The car we tested was fitted with Vauxhall's so-called IDS Plus - Interactive Driving System - option, which integrates Continuous Damping Control (CDC) with the ESP (electronic stability programme), traction control and ABS anti-lock brakes. In addition to this, it has the rather gimmicky SportSwitch, which allows the driver to select sportier damper, steering and throttle settings, as well as to adjust the steering ratios for a quicker response. We're not entirely convinced of the benefit of this, suspecting that most drivers will select a setting and then never touch the switch again, but it does show that Vauxhall, always behind the game in the hot hatch match, is taking this souping-up business seriously these days rather than leaving the job to the Max Power modifiers and aftermarket tuners.
IDS Plus is not that discernable when charging along at (legal) road speeds, but then that's not necessarily a bad thing: control systems should be subtle and unobtrusive. The SportSwitch doesn't really do anything spectacular, either. What does shine through, however, is the fact that Vauxhall/Opel's engineers and test drivers have simply spent hour after hour hammering round and round circuits such as Germany's Nurburgring - as seen when our spy photographers caught Astra prototypes in action. The wider track has improved high-speed stability no end, and whilst the electro-hydraulic power steering is still not quite as communicative as that of the Focus, it gives a lot more feedback than it did. It's clear that the new Astra is a car created by people who like driving - who really like driving - and that in itself seems quite a novelty for a mainstream Vauxhall. All this bodes well for the 200bhp and 220bhp models. No gadgets or clever gizmos necessary: just make a car that handles nicely in the first place. This time, Vauxhall has succeeded in that mission, and given the detailed work we knew was underway, we're not surprised.
