Test Drive: Saturn Astra

[Eye of the Tiger]

Your Volvo doesn't cost as much as an Astra.

This costs more than an Astra:



So what's your point?

[93JC]

I was going to test drive the Astra, but now I'm not so sure.   

Oh come on, you HAVE to go test drive it yourself. Don't let other people dictate your choices.

Or are you judging the Astra's performance in comparison to V8 Mustangs or Turbo-Nutter-Special Imprezas?

The [Honda] Fit I drove a couple days ago felt just as if not more powerful than the Astra.

Once again, I know it felt a lot slower than it was, but it was still slow. Other than that everything else was awesome.

[Pommes-T]

You guys are right: Cars in Europe are slower. But you are wrong if you think people drove like that too. After driving about 3000 miles in the USA I can assure you that this is WAY slower than in germany. And even here you don't have to panic in a 55hp car!
What are you afraid of anyways? That there's a 600hp Hummer behind you who drives over your car after accelerating from a traffic light? 

If you really think you needed more than 140hp in a COMPACT to feel safe in a car, you must be pretty damn chickenhearted! 

[Submariner]

No.  I have a new alternator and a new battery though! 



It cost more than an Astra way back in the day.

0-60 times were also a bit different too.

[the Teuton]

I actually agree with Pommes.

That being said, I still want more power than what I have in my compact car.  After you drive a compact that can hit 60 mph in under 5 seconds, everything else just kinda seems inconsequential.

[CJ]

After driving the my car, the Camry feels like a sports car.  The Accord?  Don't get me started.

[280Z Turbo]

It cost more than an Astra way back in the day.

I don't care. That doesn't mean your car was good.

People expect a lot more out of cars nowadays. You have to keep up with the competition or else nobody will buy your shit.

[MX793]

You guys are right: Cars in Europe are slower. But you are wrong if you think people drove like that too. After driving about 3000 miles in the USA I can assure you that this is WAY slower than in germany. And even here you don't have to panic in a 55hp car!
What are you afraid of anyways? That there's a 600hp Hummer behind you who drives over your car after accelerating from a traffic light? 

If you really think you needed more than 140hp in a COMPACT to feel safe in a car, you must be pretty damn chickenhearted! 

There are a lot of 55 mph 2-lane country highways in the US with no acceleration/merge ramps.  If traffic is fairly heavy and you are trying to make a turn onto one of these roads from a side street, you need to be able to get up to speed in a hurry or you may very well get clobbered by a soccer mom in a 3 ton Hummer who's not paying careful enough attention.

Then there are also the older highways that have insufficiently short acceleration ramps and heavy traffic.  These will find you in a situation where you will need the extra power to be able to dart into an opening in traffic as soon as you see it.  If you come to the end of the ramp and haven't found anyplace to merge in, then you have to come to a complete stop, which makes it even harder to merge if you're driving a slow car.

[93JC]

I got up to 60 mph from a dead stop in the Astra in such a situation without getting clobbered. It's not that slow.

[USA_Idol]

I got up to 60 mph from a dead stop in the Astra in such a situation without getting clobbered. It's not that slow.

I think I'm more turned off by the sub-par fuel economy numbers for that car. I want a car that gets higher fuel economy than my Focus, not lower. 

Eh.  I'll probably still give it a test drive, anyway. 

[The Pirate]

What are the fuel economy stats for the Astra, anyway?

[93JC]

For reference, according to NRCan:
(city/hwy, in L/100 km)

Corolla (man) - 7.1/5.3
Civic (man) - 7.4/5.4
Corolla (auto) - 7.8/5.6
Versa (CVT) - 7.5/6.0
Matrix/Vibe (man) - 7.9/5.9
Civic (auto) - 8.2/5.7
Versa (man) - 7.9/6.3
Focus (man) - 8.5/5.7
Elantra (auto) - 8.2/6.0
Sentra 2.0 (CVT) - 8.2/6.0
Focus (auto) - 8.4/5.9
Elantra (man) - 8.4/6.0
Matrix/Vibe (auto) - 8.2/6.3
3 2.0 (man) - 8.4/6.1
Astra (auto) - 8.5/6.1
Sentra (man) - 8.3/6.4
Versa (auto) - 8.5/6.2
Spectra (auto) - 8.6/6.2
Astra (man) - 8.4/6.6
CSX (man) - 8.7/6.4
Cobalt/G5 2.2 (man) - 9.2/5.9
Caliber 1.8 - 8.5/6.8
Spectra (man) - 8.9/6.5
3 2.0 (auto) - 9.1/6.4
Cobalt/G5 2.2 (auto) - 9.2/6.4
B200 (man) - 9.2/6.7
CSX (auto) - 9.5/6.5
Caliber 2.0 - 9.0/7.3
B200 (CVT) - 9.2/7.2
Lancer (CVT) - 9.6/6.9
Lancer (man) - 9.7/7.0
City Golf/Jetta (man) - 9.8/7.0
City Golf/Jetta (auto) - 9.9/6.9
Rabbit (auto) - 10.6/7.0
Rabbit (man) - 10.8/6.9
Impreza (auto) - 10.4/7.5
Impreza (man) - 10.6/7.3

I wouldn't call it "sub-par".

[CJ]

I'd call it mid-pack.

[ifcar]

There's a lot missing from that list above the Astra.

[93JC]

There, did I get everybody?

[Eye of the Tiger]

There, did I get everybody?

No, I didn't get one yet.

[ifcar]

If not, you're much closer than before. And where are you setting "par" for economy car fuel consumption? I set it above 30 mpg highway.

[Colonel Cadillac]

If I can drive my huge Volvo with only 114 HP on the highway with no complaints, an Astra should be fine. 

Huge Volvo? It's not really that big and it doesn't weigh all that much either.

[CJ]

I think it's huge because I drive it everyday.  It's bigger than our Accord and Camry.

[Soup DeVille]

You guys seriously need to grow a pair. If I can drive a 40hp Suzuki SJ410 on a 70mph interstate, you can drive an Astra.

Is that one pair between them? Sounds sort of kinky.

But, I agree. Most Camries don't do 0-60 in 6 seconds, and the ones that can rarely if ever do so in normal traffic. 10 seconds is perfectly fine for normal driving. 14 seconds may be pushing it.

I used to regularly drive a vehicle that took anywhere from 1:30 to 3:00 minutes to get up to 60, and could navigate most traffic with little problem.

[93JC]

If not, you're much closer than before. And where are you setting "par" for economy car fuel consumption? I set it above 30 mpg highway.

After throwing them all into a spreadsheet:
(city/hwy, in L/100 km - city/hwy, in mpusg)

Corolla (man) - 7.1/5.3 - 33/44
Civic (man) - 7.4/5.4 - 32/44
Versa (CVT) - 7.5/6.0 - 31/39
Corolla (auto) - 7.8/5.6 - 30/42
Matrix/Vibe (man) - 7.9/5.9 - 30/40
Civic (auto) - 8.2/5.7 - 29/41
Versa (man) - 7.9/6.3 - 30/37
Elantra (auto) - 8.2/6.0 - 29/39
Sentra 2.0 (CVT) - 8.2/6.0 - 29/39
Focus (man) - 8.5/5.7 - 28/41
Focus (auto) - 8.4/5.9 - 28/40
Matrix/Vibe (auto) - 8.2/6.3 - 29/37
Elantra (man) - 8.4/6.0 - 28/39
3 2.0 (man) - 8.4/6.1 - 28/39
Astra (auto) - 8.5/6.1 - 28/39
Sentra 2.0 (man) - 8.3/6.4 - 28/37
Versa (auto) - 8.5/6.2 - 28/38
Spectra (auto) - 8.6/6.2 - 27/38
Astra (man) - 8.4/6.6 - 28/36 AVERAGE NOT INCL. RABBIT & IMPREZA
CSX (man) - 8.7/6.4 - 27/37
Cobalt/G5 2.2 (man) - 9.2/5.9 - 26/40
Caliber 1.8 - 8.5/6.8 - 28/35
AVERAGE
Spectra (man) - 8.9/6.5 - 26/36
3 2.0 (auto) - 9.1/6.4 - 26/37
Cobalt/G5 2.2 (auto) - 9.2/6.4 - 26/37
B200 (man) - 9.2/6.7 - 26/35
CSX (auto) - 9.5/6.5 - 25/36
Caliber 2.0 - 9.0/7.3 - 26/32
B200 (CVT) - 9.2/7.2 - 36/33
Lancer (CVT) - 9.6/6.9 - 25/34
Lancer (man) - 9.7/7.0 - 24/34
City Golf/Jetta (man) - 9.8/7.0 - 24/34
City Golf/Jetta (auto) - 9.9/6.9 - 24/34
Rabbit (auto) - 10.6/7.0 - 22/34
Impreza (auto) - 10.4/7.5 - 22/34
Rabbit (man) - 10.8/6.9 - 23/31
Impreza (man) - 10.6/7.3 - 22/32

The average came out the same as the Astra with a manual, if you don't include the Impreza and Rabbit which are much worse than the rest.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Is that one pair between them? Sounds sort of kinky.

But, I agree. Most Camries don't do 0-60 in 6 seconds, and the ones that can rarely if ever do so in normal traffic. 10 seconds is perfectly fine for normal driving. 14 seconds may be pushing it.

I used to regularly drive a vehicle that took anywhere from 1:30 to 3:00 minutes to get up to 60, and could navigate most traffic with little problem.

If you're talking about a big-o truck, then you really did't have anything do worry about, did you?

[ifcar]

Did I say below average or below par? There's a distinct difference.

[93JC]

So where's par to the nearest centilitre per 100 km? 

[Soup DeVille]

If you're talking about a big-o truck, then you really did't have anything do worry about, did you?

No, I never had to worry about idiot teenagers trying to kill themselves by darting inside me as I made a turn, or people cutting me off and slamming on their brakes, or being way too oblivious to notice the 80 tons of steel trying to merge onto the highway...

No, never had anything to worry about at all.

[Soup DeVille]

Did I say below average or below par? There's a distinct difference.

Are we talking about USGA or PGA handicapping rules here?

[Eye of the Tiger]

No, I never had to worry about idiot teenagers trying to kill themselves by darting inside me as I made a turn, or people cutting me off and slamming on their brakes, or being way too oblivious to notice the 80 tons of steel trying to merge onto the highway...

No, never had anything to worry about at all.

I'm more worried about the Suzuki Samurai running wide open at 67 mph that can't do a damn thing about the 80-ton truck on its tail.

[Soup DeVille]

I'm more worried about the Suzuki Samurai running wide open at 67 mph that can't do a damn thing about the 80-ton truck on its tail.

He'll slow down.

Probably.

I've driven tiny little slow cars too. I know what you're saying.

But, he'll slow down.

[Eye of the Tiger]

He'll slow down.

Probably.

I've driven tiny little slow cars too. I know what you're saying.

But, he'll slow down.

Sometimes. Or he'll pass, if the left lane hogs ever get their acts together.

[Soup DeVille]

Sometimes. Or he'll pass, if the left lane hogs ever get their acts together.

What he's probably been trying to do is avoiding to have to downshift, and has misjudged how slow you were going, or assumed that you were accelerating. He probably didn't intentionally mean to tailgate you in the first place, but is still trying to stay in the same gear.

Trucks will roll for an awfully long time: whole shitloads of momentum there.

Then again, there are asshole incompetent truckers too.