Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £14,865 to £21,490
Well-equipped, smart design, good quality, pleasing petrol engines, agile chassis
Diesels a bit noisy, steering a little numb
A big advance on the last-generation model and the most competitive Astra yet - it's not quite a Golf-beater but it's almost there
No EuroNCAP independent crash tests yet, but it's likely that Vauxhall/Opel has pulled out the stops to make sure it'll get a good rating.
All models get twin front and side airbags, and ABS to prevent an accident in the first place, while curtain airbags are standard further up the range. Vauxhall claims that the Astra has larger front and side airbags, as well as improved head airbags on Club trim levels and upward. And in another neat touch, the Astra's hazard flashers activate automatically and the doors unlock when an airbag or seatbelt pretensioner is triggered. Stability control, fitted to some models, is very advanced too, one of the best systems on the market.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Vauxhall Astra
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