Whoever said GM's European division doesn't have life flowing through its system any more hasn't looked at this car. Back in 2012, we tested the very sexy but not perfect Opel Astra GTC. The looks were in the right place but the 1.6 Turbo engine wasn't as good as the 180 hp would lead us to believe.
But now, the Astra GTC has a brand new 1.6-liter turbo engine from the SIDI family, and it delivers no less than 200 hp (147 kW) and more importantly a hefty 300 Nm of torque.
This makes the car not only faster, Vauxhall claiming 0 to 60 in 7.3 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph (230 km/h), but also more efficient. Thanks to a number of measures, especially direct fuel injection, fuel economy is 13% better. On the combined UK cycle, the Astra GTC 200 will achieve 51 mpg, which is equivalent to 5.5 liters of fuel per 100 km.
Prices in Britain have already been announced at £20,995 on-the-road. The closest rival we could think of is the VW Scirocco, which requires you to part with £26,760 when offering a 2.0 TSI rated at 210 hp.
This makes the car not only faster, Vauxhall claiming 0 to 60 in 7.3 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph (230 km/h), but also more efficient. Thanks to a number of measures, especially direct fuel injection, fuel economy is 13% better. On the combined UK cycle, the Astra GTC 200 will achieve 51 mpg, which is equivalent to 5.5 liters of fuel per 100 km.
Prices in Britain have already been announced at £20,995 on-the-road. The closest rival we could think of is the VW Scirocco, which requires you to part with £26,760 when offering a 2.0 TSI rated at 210 hp.