All it needs now is a more powerful engine and a Red Line version.

Leaps and bounds ahead of the ION but I’m going to predict it will have trouble even keeping up to its predecessors sales numbers because it’s a hatchback. Meanwhile over in the Chevy camp, they’re about to go into battle with a new Daewoo/Cobalt that probably won’t be half the car this is in terms of driving dynamics but will probably sell like Eskimo Pies in the desert. Go figure.

there are a few Differences in the North American Astra vers the Globle one, one is the tail lights, and the removal of the amber turn signels, and rear foglight, and switch. and the bumpers are longer then the European version… not to mention they should have brought the Astra wagon.

Happier in a Caliber? Ouch.

Saturn’s biggest problem is getting people into the showrooms to look at their cars.
The rental lots, particularly National’s, are flooded with Saturns of all types. Which is great for me, as someone who rents a vehicle almost every week, as the new Saturns are about 200 times better than what you’d get when you rented 3-5 years ago (Classic, Alero, old Impala, etc). I’ve been immensely impressed with them and it’s baffling why they don’t sell better than they do.
Only real reason I can see is that GM just can’t understand Saturn’s niche in the market and the problem is more overproduction than underdemand. I liken it almost to Mazda within the greater FoMoCo — for all the critical and consumer acclaim, for as great a seller as the Mazda3 is, and despite the fact that Mazda is posting some of the biggest growth numbers in the industry, Ford will still sell more Focus’ in about a quarter as Mazda will sell Mazda3s in a full year.
There’s large portion of the market that doesn’t want “European”-esque handling dynamics in their vehicles. They don’t care to pay a small premium for a better interior. And there’s the fact that there’s huge swaths of the nation that have minimal dealership coverage of these smaller automakers.

how about a 260hp 2.0 turbo Red Line for $22,900.

deal buster-
n o c e n t e r c o n s o l e
stupid to even consider leaving it out.

I saw this car on the lot and it’s really quite nice. But I don’t care if gas hits $10/gallon — that anemic 138hp engine kills it for me.

BTW where’s our daily Camaro story??? I expect two Camaro stories on Monday to make up for this!!!

To be honest, the Dodge Caliber is one of the best vehicles from Chrysler in a while, quality wise. I sat in one for the second time the other day, panels fit closely together, controls aren’t overly complicated, and overall it’s very simple. But it’s so far behind in terms of the competition. The Japanese(’s) engine technologies really have culminated in their small cars like the Fit, where they work a lot better than larger vehicles. The Fit gets 10 miles to the gallon better city and highway than the Caliber, and nearly the same compared to the Astra.

That’s probably the biggest thing that disappoints, GM’s small engines are still coarse and thirstier than they need to be. They haven’t invested barely any money into them, ever. Not in the 70’s, not in the 80’s and certainly not now.

And although I give some kudos to the Caliber for fit and finish, and it’s got some pretty neat storage features, it’s far behind the competition. The interior looks outdated, the design sure doesn’t look good. If it’s the best Chrysler can do, they won’t be around for long. Even the Astra’s looking pretty outdated.

I would be willing to cash an extra grand for a Honda Fit, I’ll save that much money in a year or two.

What is more original then a Camaro story, someone complaining about a Camaro story.

I’m currently driving the Holden version which is basically identical. I can tell you that its probably in the top three as far as hatchbacks go in its class. It drives beautifully with a very sporty chassis and great steering. Anyone stepping from an Ion into this is heading for a different world.

But the best thing about it is it just feels so solid and tough. Almost like a small Mercedes or VW from the 80’s when they felt like they were built to last. The quality of the plastics and the construction is probably even better than the rabbit in my opinion and it certainly feels more substanstial than the Corolla. But GM should really offer the 2.2 4 cylinder which has a lot kore power but is still very frugal.

I agree with sigma, the Biggest problem GM hhas with Saturn is getting people in to the showrooms. They really probably have one of the nicest ranges in USA right now and its a real shame that they aren’t flying off the lots. Its especially sad because the cars are genuinally good and massive improvements over the previous models. I’m sure word of mouth will spread eventually.

sure looks like a saturn vibe to me…..very similar. gm needs to get people into saturns showrooms, and i dont know if this will do it….

>Instead of driving you round the bend, the Astra actually drives you round the bend<

Um, what?

There us a center armrest for the Astra that Saturn can install for you. Research, its called.
All the Astra needs is a tweaking of the info center and the Cobalt’s engine. Bingo. Do it, GM.

Exterior looks nice. The interior is a cheap wasteland of bland shades of grey plastic. Yuck.

Most consumer feedback is they like the interior, but I guess it is not for everyone.

The Astra is a nice, sleek looking entry in the compact segment. It is unfortunate that it will probably end up as a failure in the U.S. market. The car’s chances of success will be undone by the car’s own minor idiosyncrasies as well as Saturn’s limited dealer network and the division’s previous “cheap and cheerful” brand image.

“Happier in a Caliber? Ouch.” yeah Brendino they said if speed is your thing, and the SRT-4 is the most powerful sporty version of the Cailber. If it was a base Caliber I doubt it.

“how about a 260hp 2.0 turbo Red Line for $22,900.” A4

Sounds good to me. I hear it’s being considered. The 2.0 Ecotec will easily fit in this. And yeah as mentioned they offer a 240hp one in Europe. Will it sell for 22,900? That’d be a nice competitive base price but that’s what the Cobalt SS starts out at with the LNF. The Ion Redline was like a grand more than a Coobalt SS/SC so it would probably sticker for more like 23,900 or something. But prices keep jumping up so who knows.

For a hatch I like it. Always did like it when I saw it on the roads in Europe. I just wish they’d bring some other ones over like the Astra drop top. Would make a nice low budget convertible for Saturn. But it’d steal sales from the Sky I’m sure.

The Vauxhall and Opel performance versions of this car are the VXR and OPC respectively, and both have a 240 Bhp 2.0 turbo unit though they’re only available in 3dr guise. However, no reason why a Saturn version shouldn’t exist!

I suppose the only issue with the Astra coming to North America is that they’re getting a car that is already 5 years old and is due for replacement in Europe in 2009/2010.

There is a lot of brand confusion surrounding Saturn right now, not helped by GM’s usual psychotic marketing.

Saturn is morphing from a made-in-America grassroots brand standing for innovation / customer respect / Spring Hill, TN owner lovefests… to a made-in-Europe brand standing for German style and engineering / sophistication / reaction against dull, sludgy American cars.

As the review itself points out, the Astra sells against GM’s own Vibe. The Vue sells against the Equinox / Torrent. The Aura sells against the Malibu. And so on. Outlook is the only Saturn nameplate born in America, and if gas hits $6 or $7 it’ll die in America pretty soon as well. Saturn is the GM brand for people who don’t want a GM American car. The Euro heritage pitch can work on a lot of people (like me) who would buy an Opel or Peugeot if only they were sold in the States.

Naturally, GM uses none of this in current marketing. Saturn is currently positioned as the “green” brand, emphasizing fuel efficiency. They have Auras going down the road with flowers coming out of them or something — a message that probably makes Opel engineers gag.

I like the Astra a lot. Some of the usability quirks with controls, etc. are pluses, not minuses, for people who want a car that’s “a little bit different.” They make you feel connected to Europe.

But I’m afraid the car won’t get the exposure it deserves in this country because GM is afraid to express its (and Saturn’s) essence to target buyers. That’s why people don’t visit Saturn showrooms; they don’t know what the hell is going on in there.

I can’t understand why the Vue / Antara, a great-looking, well-priced, well-equipped mini-SUV with Opel bones, isn’t selling like hotcakes either. When GM has to do 0% / 60 month deals on cars like that, they are doing something really, really wrong on the marketing and messaging side.

If I may offer few observations –

Saturn – created solely to offer cheap motoring – with its current European line-up offers much better cars than it’s Chevy parent that tries to make it with rebadged Daewoos in the mini and small car segments.

GM, and other manufacturers, were bombarding their customers with “Buy American” or “Buy domestic” slogans in the past. Now they’re try to sell Saturns in spadeloads by “Made in Europe” chants.

Perhpas GM should have brought it in as Chevrolet Astra and move it’s Daewoo heritage to Saturn.

TomF:

I totally agree. GM dropped the ball big time when it came to marketing/advertising the new, revitalized, upmarket, Euro inspired Saturn. The first blunder occurred when the Aura arrived on the market backed by a product comparison with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. The Aura was supposed to represent Euro chic and GM basically saddled it with a dowdy, mainstream image by suggesting it was on par with two of the most appliance-like midsize sedans in the U.S. market. To me, chasing down the mainstream Camry/Accord segment leaders should be Chevrolet’s goal to accomplish with the Malibu. The Aura should be positioned to appeal to people who like to drive a cool, upscale alternative to mainstream midsize sedan products. GM has been off the mark with the new Saturn’s marketing since this initial blunder and has basically failed to convey any definitive type of brand image to the public or any reason why shoppers should prefer a Saturn over any other auto brand in the market today.

I think GM should convert “Saturn” to “Opel” when the Insignia reaches the U.S. market. I think GM would have an easier time establishing a premium Euro image with “Opel”, which doesn’t have Saturn’s previous “cheap and cheerful” baggage with U.S. buyers. The transformation needs to be a complete overhaul that aligns the Euro lineup with the U.S. lineup. A midcycle refresh of the Vue needs to be accompanied by a model name switch to “Opel Antarra”. The Corsa 3-door/5-door and possibly Tigra “TwinTop” need to make an appearance in the U.S. lineup. The next generation Meriva and Zafira MPVs need to be offered in the U.S. The Insignia and the next generation Astra needs to be offered in more variants. The Outlook needs to be discontinued (if GM closes down GMC, they should move the Acadia to Opel; the Acadia looks and sells much better than the dorky Outlook).

If GM wants to bring Opel products to the U.S., they have to make it a diligent, committed endeavor in order for it to be successful. The half-hearted, misguided revitalized Saturn effort has not resonated with U.S. buyers. It’s unfortunate, since the revitalized Saturn has some really nice products.

You compare it to a Caliber, but you won’t compare it to an Impreza?

We have an astra and its quite a nice car… Still prefer my BMW though…

It does win Red light showdowns in VXR form as far as I can tell… Then again 240bhp is a darn sight heftier than 138…!

As for handling, it’s fine and fun and safer in the wet than RWD, but our Focus still has less body roll and feels more precise, while my BMW is RWD, even more fun and flows sooo nicely.

Saturn has a decent product offering but their pricing makes them only an average value proposition at best. Since they effectively forbid price negotiation the average value can not be turned into a superior value, and so their sales will languish.

Let’s face it, the Astra is ok, but at Astra’s pricing I can get a better equipped Mazda 3 hatch with more room that is more fun to drive, looks better, and just as efficient. What would a rational buyer do?

IN a typical GM fashion you can not even sample the same car with 5 speed transmission. Row-as-you-go probably could fix a lot of ills plaguing this car (speed and acceleration), but in its corporate wisdom GM introduces a problem not a cure. Another solution would be a auto transmission sourced form Honda supplier (Aisen ?). Nobody wrote anything negative about Civic’s acceleration or speed. Motors are about the same (OK Civics revs and breathes easier), but who is revving those mills with slush box above 5,000 RPM?

02WRXPSM, Are Calibers and Astras AWD???

Need4SSpeed, just because the Impreza is AWD doesn’t make the comparison unfair or not make sense. The standard Impreza has a similar price point, is a hatchback, is aimed at the same audience and has a similar feature set. LLN as a whole seems totally blind to Subaru information of any kind (as well as Volvo, Mitsubishi and a lot of other brands they seem to forget about while posting Camaro articles) but there’s always room for improvement.