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2017 Holden Astra for Australia Has OPC Line Kit and 200 HP 1.6 Turbo

Holden Astra for Australia? Wow, so unexpected. But wait, there's so much more going on here than a simple change of badges.
2017 Holden Astra for Australia Has OPC Line Kit and 200 PS 1.6 Turbo 8 photos
Photo: Holden
2017 Holden Astra for Australia Has OPC Line Kit and 200 PS 1.6 Turbo2017 Holden Astra for Australia Has OPC Line Kit and 200 PS 1.6 Turbo2017 Holden Astra for Australia Has OPC Line Kit and 200 PS 1.6 Turbo2017 Holden Astra for Australia Has OPC Line Kit and 200 PS 1.6 Turbo2017 Holden Astra for Australia Has OPC Line Kit and 200 PS 1.6 Turbo2017 Holden Astra for Australia Has OPC Line Kit and 200 PS 1.6 Turbo2017 Holden Astra for Australia Has OPC Line Kit and 200 PS 1.6 Turbo
First of all, the Astra took about a year to make the trip to Australia, and the time must have been spent on testing.

But the first thing that struck us is the fact that it has the OPC Line body kit installed as standard. You can tell by the huge, though admittedly fake air intakes on the sides of the front bumper. Some trim levels also get twin exhaust and side skirts.

And while the European buyers get full access to an array of slow diesels and archaic gasoline engines, the Holden Astra is all about power. Honestly, I don't think I've been so excited to convert kilowatts into regular horsepower for a long time.

The top end Astra RS and RS-V (name has nothing to do with hot hatchbacks) pack the 1.6-liter turbo with 200 PS (147 PS) and 280 Nm of torque (300 Nm on overboost). Some hot hatch fans might remember those as the exact output figures of a Mk5 Golf GTI with its 2.0 TSI engine.

The RS model is expected to be sold with both a six-speed manual and six-speed automatic. But Opel's autos suck... so be a man and buy a stick. Acceleration times of 7.8 seconds place this at the top of the regular compact car pecking order.

The list of standard kit is pretty impressive. For AU$30,574, the Astra RS has lane departure warning, blind spot alert, and a semi-automated parking system. The RS-V is a lot more expensive and adds luxury features like heated leather seats, LED taillights and an 8-inch display with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and navigation.

But the cheapest 2017 Astra that Australians will be able to buy is the basic AU$25,300 R model that has a less powerful 1.4-liter, although it's still good for 110 kW (150 PS) and 230 Nm of torque. It has plenty of convenience features too, such as a reversing camera and sensors, alloy wheels and a 7-inch display.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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