Opel Astra GTC

Opel's cool Astra GTC represents a rare combination of good looks and great value...

What's New
Opel has been churning out staid and quietly affordable German fare for quite some time now, but recently, with the introduction of the new Astra family of cars, the product range has had plenty of spicing up. The latest model to join the local line-up is this, the exceedingly good-looking Astra Grand Turismo Compact, or GTC.

Opel has worked wonders with the Astra's neat design language to produce what looks like a coupe but is technically a hatchback. Just about every body panel rearward of the windscreen appears to be unique to the GTC, while the front gets a fairly comprehensive tweak. The nose now sports a redesigned grille, and the v-shaped taper that describes the five-door hatchback is far more pronounced in the GTC.

The GTC's flanks are still adorned with the muscular shoulder lines that feature so prominently on the other Astra variants, but these are complemented to far more flattering effect by the GTC's rear quarterlights and aggressive roofline. The rear side windows taper dramatically,making it seem as if the GTC would give taller rear seat passengers a hard time. In reality this isn't the case.

The interior is very roomy, and passengers relegated to the rear shouldn't have problems with insufficient leg or shoulder room. The cabin feels well put together and there's plenty of kit, including a trip computer, integrated stereo with satellite controls on the steering wheel, as well as electronic climate control.

How it Performs
The GTC is powered by a 125bhp 1.8-litre in-line four-cylinder engine and there is a turbocharged 2.0-litre variant available for those want a bit more power. The latter is only available with a manual gearbox though, so only really keen drivers need apply. On the road, the GTC proves to be a more than competent steer. Body control is excellent and the suspension, while tuned to deliver sporty stiffness, never becomes overly harsh, even on a less than smooth surface.

Your steering inputs are faithfully transmitted to the front wheels, and the GTC turns into corners like it's on proverbial rails. In fact, you find that you're wont to drive so much more enthusiastically that the relative lack of grunt and the lazy nature of the four-speed automatic gearbox very quickly dampens any boy racer sentiments.

The engine is smooth, though, and, relatively free from any high rev raucousness. The gearbox has a special feature that disengages drive when you come to a standstill at traffic lights, and imperceptibly reengages when you move off. At least it does most of the time. If you drive like a normal person the gearbox goes about its business without you noticing, but gun it away from the lights and you're rewarded with jerky progress as the gearbox tries to engage as quickly as possible.

That said, we feel the automatic is a better choice for stop-start city driving than the semi-automatic gearbox found in the Astra 1.6 hatchback.

How it Stacks Up
The GTC handles well, it's nicely put together, there are decent levels of standard kit and most importantly, it looks great. If you're looking for a coupe, but can't bear to part with the cash necessary to blag yourself an expensive model from a top marque, then the Astra gets you 90 percent of the way there, and not for a huge outlay either.

Technical Specifications

MODEL Opel Astra GTC ENGINE Engine: 1,796cc 16V in-line 4 Max Power: 125bhp at 5,600rpm Max Torque: 170Nm at 3,800rpm TRANSMISSION 4-speed automatic TOP SPEED 190 kmh 0-100km/h 11.7s