Driving the Saturn Astra

Here in San Francisco Saturn held a combined retailer/consumer product event for the Astra. Retailers were allowed to drive the Astra during the day and consumers got their turn at night.

In the intro area there were a number of Astras along with competitors from Mazda and VW. The cars were hooked up to an outside electrical source so that you could play with all the controls and see how they lit up. There was a very brief introduction and then off to the driving course.

The only manual transmission available for testing was the five door, which was kind of strange given the sporting ambitions of the three door. No matter, the manual is where it's at. The engine never gets too harsh as it is rev'd out and the manual snicks through the gears nicely. It might be true that some cars offer more direct feel when it comes to shifting, but in day to day use I think the Astra is just fine. Handling around the slick, very short course was commendable. I didn't get to try the Astra on the freeway and that's unfortunate. Around the circuit the Astra was a lot of fun with the manual. The automatic was pokey and not nearly as enjoyable. That's about all I can tell you about the driving experience. If I get the chance to take an Astra out for an extended spin then we'll have something else to talk about.

The cabin has nice, soft touch plastics and all the controls feel substantial. Some reviewers have not cared for the amber driver information display in the center of the dash, but I rather liked it. It gives you something else to play around with while you sit in your new car in the driveway. All the controls illuminate well at night and it was easy for me to find a comfortable driving position. The five door model offers the option of a massive sunroof. Something that I couldn't fully enjoy as it was dark and rainy outside.

From what marketing was able to tell me there were be limited events for the Astra until they arrive in full force. There are the ride and drive events, so be sure to check that out. I was told that the events are starting to book up so if you want to sample the goods you'd better hop to it. I asked about how they are going to publicize their car and they responded that the Internet will play a big roll. Edmunds.com and Facebook are two big names that the rep dropped. There will also be a specially kitted out Astra representing at SEMA.

In my brief exposure to the car what can I tell you? The Astra is not the Mazda 3, a car that I regard as the leader in this class. It just doesn't have the same level of sportiness about it. But you can just as easily flip that around and say that the Mazda3 is no Astra. What you get with the Astra is a genuine European hatchback. No foolin. Is that important? I think so, yes. If you value driving something a little different. Unique. Special.

Understandably Saturn didn't want to talk about the next Astra, especially on the first day of its publicity tour for the car but know this: The Belgium built Astra will only be with us for a short time. In a few years the next Astra will be built here in the States and sadly I suspect will lose some of its unique European traits (and premium content) to better match US tastes and price points. If you're looking for the true Euro experience, the time is now.

You can find out more about the ride and drive here. You can check out the Astra microsite here. To see the panoramic windshield (which doesn't look to be coming to the states) on the Euro Astra, check out my visit to a Vauxhall dealer here.