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The fact that this soccer coach with the glasses and the teased hairline drives an Opel is more of a case for the TV advertising department. With these actors, whom I often do not know by name and who still support the Opel advertising series: "Re-park in the head”, It is a little different. They might also drive Opel from time to time. Or drove. When acting didn't work out that way. Perhaps. In my head, the Opel brand is still clearly parked in the segment: “Workers' Cars”, “Bookkeepers' Tin Calashes” and “Secretaries' Pride”. After the Meriva with the LPG drive already in my heart under the department “Meaningful Van” parked, came the next Opel tester over. This time it should be something sporty:
Sports show in yellow
In the driving report:
Opel Astra GTC 1.6 Turbo
At home in the golf class. The “bad G word” at the beginning of the article The fronts would then also be clear. In Rüsselsheim you will throw up if you just hear the word “golf class”. But you also have a “good product” in this “C-segment”. In this compact car class. You have an Opel Astra, which in its current version can score with a considerable degree of maturity. But good was never good enough. And not bad enough that in Wolfsburg you are always one step ahead of the grille, no, this C-segment is now populated by a good dozen manufacturers with “equally good” golf opponents. Time to get things moving.
Obese astra
Seen from the back, slightly hunched over and from hip height, the 3-door Opel Astra looks extremely sporty. So first of all visually. A solid shoulder that tapers to the rear, including the fat 19-inch device (for an extra charge, standard is 18-inch). Another floor below, the two oval tailpipes. Holla, But someone wants to know it, so my thoughts. Sure, in my memory the Golf GTI and Kadett / Astra GSI were always the sports heroes of asphalt gymnastics. There were no alternatives. There were only two camps: either you're Opel or not. I never was!
The three-door Astra offers a lot of sheet metal to the eye. Fragile is different. And unfortunately, this is also evident when looking at the data sheet. The Astra weighs a whopping 1.5 tons, although it is a coupé format. That is almost 200 kilograms more than the GTI from Wolfsburg. Heavy overweight for the “sport-young” from Rüsselsheim. Under the hood, in the case of the chosen test car, a modern 1.6 liter turbo gasoline engine should be used. 200 HP strong and € 25.650 expensive.
The daily sports show
The almost non-existent A-pillar - the bonnet is somehow lost seamlessly in the roof arch - looks sporty. However, if you want to pack yourself correctly behind the valance, you should watch your head when getting in and then sit almost under the windshield. You get used to the sitting position. Especially since Opel is really good at the seats. Decent support for the back, a little lateral support and a lot of comfort. The steering wheel could come a little closer to the driver. That being said, you can find a good sitting position. The narrow side windows let you never forget: Here you drive the “sporty Astra”, the one with three doors and a rear bench seat, which in the best case scenario is loaded with luggage. Get in the back? Only something for people who have never been missing in gymnastics lessons and who also know how to fold their feet behind their ears when running hurdles. Once in the second row, you pray to catch the next traffic jam. Just don't get there. Getting out is hardly easier than folding in. A triplet birth should be just as easy.
Sated, careful, solid, quick
Once ready to go, it shows Opel Astra GTC from its sunny side! This is how it should work with the front-wheel drive. Opel makes a lot of effort to train the front-wheel drive. 200 HP and 280 Nm should not be felt in the steering wheel when driving via the front axle, but only in the pit of the stomach. The Opel team solved the problem of “not feeling it in the steering wheel” with the help of their “HiPerStrut” front axle. In addition, the Opel Astra GTC test car can boast with the FlexRide sports suspension. Or shake it up. Three driving modes can be set: normal, sport and tour. The sport attitude turns out to be excessively tough for everyday life. In connection with the 235 / 45-19 tires it leads to nervous twitching in the eyelid. Lane markings suddenly feel like curbs and the spontaneously turning GTC becomes a nervous asphalt cowboy. Exaggerated especially in view of the actual driving performance.
The country road is still really fun for the GTC. The beaded sports steering wheel is at hand, the driver sits well and the chassis provides a lot of feedback for the life of the Opel Astra GTC. In light load changes you can feel a gentle screwing the wide butt, but completely uncritical. The six-speed transmission could be a little more defined when changing gears. The gear knob is not really sporty to lead through the alleys.
The 200 PS Turbo strives honestly. And if you choose the Tour variant of the chassis, the GTC and the 1.6 liter turbo form a complete package. Not hyper-nervous, but appealingly sporty. As sporty as you want it to be in your early 40s. Hurdling and twitching eyelids are a case for the generation below. It remains a mystery why Opel is pushing the variety of buttons in the cockpit to extremes by having two buttons for the chassis settings. A sensible combination of the functions alone would have resulted in 1.5 million (Warning: exaggerated!) can be reduced to a tolerable level.
If the intrepid GTC driver selects the sport setting, the speedometer background glows red. The first time you do: Oooooh. The second time: Hmm. And a third time I didn't press the sport button. I preferred the “sporty GTC with the most powerful engine” in the combination of “Tour” for the FlexRide chassis and “eco” -off. The start-stop technology may save the last drop of fuel, especially in stop-and-go traffic, but it is annoying. Other cars start up again “smoother” and the GTC can be moved extremely sparingly despite its overweight and disregarding the last groove.
It also helps to drive the turbo gasoline engine over the torque, and not to put it in the performance corner. The 280 Nm are just below 2.000 revolutions and drop again above 3.500 rpm. This leaves an engine speed range that is almost typical for diesel engines. At the top, the 1.6 Turbo willingly continues turning, but it does not convey any real fun, especially since the sound imitates something between the Vorwerk floor vacuum cleaner and the large Miele appliance. Take the torque surge with you, stay below 3.500, the chassis on tour and the GTC shows its strongest side!
test consumption
[tabgroup] [tab title=”Everyday driver”]The standard consumption is 6.6 liters on average. The everyday consumption is closer to 8.4 liters per 100 kilometers.[/tab] [tab title=”Eco-Expert”]If you take it, you will be brave enough to go below the 7 liter limit. 6.9 liters, less was not possible even with extreme abstinence.[/tab] [tab title=”Without consideration”]Turbo runs, Turbo drinks and the limits of downsizing are reached where you let it run properly. The Max tour was completed with 12.8 liters.[/tab] [/tabgroup]
The Bill please
opel offers the three-door GTC with four gasoline and three diesel engines. The “strongest” gasoline engine is the 200 hp turbo with 1.6 liters of displacement. For the diesel engines, the new bi-turbo diesel with 195 hp is the maximum and then costs € 29.990. According to the list, the 200 hp petrol engine that was driven costs € 25.650. For the recommended innovation package consisting of “adaptive headlights” (AFL +), the sports seats and the Intelli-Link radio, you should plan a further € 1.690. A must: The comfort package at € 930, which includes the two-zone air conditioning, seat heating and, more importantly, the parking aid for the rear. Because the loopholes in the large windows of the Astra GTC may still be bearable towards the front, but nothing goes backwards and backwards without a parking beeper! You can save yourself the FlexRide chassis, you do it once or twice if you set the dampers to sport. Then you drive in the standard set-up.
That was missing or was stupid
The GTC's all-round visibility is a disaster. In the bunkers on the Atlantic Wall, the view outside should not have been worse.
But the conclusion of the whole driving report is really stupid:
And finally ...
Because in this conclusion I have to admit to myself: Even if the replacement of the Astra is imminent in autumn 2015, even if the all-round visibility of the GTC is a disaster and the cockpit with its many buttons is a real challenge for hand-eye coordination - the Astra has matured in peace.
And he is fun. Not as a GTI opponent, but he lacks 20 PS and 200 kilograms are too much. But as a classic GT. A compact, with which one goes on tour. And if I think of my drawer full of prejudices, then the Opel Astra GTC has me but quite properly parked. Without testimonials in advertising, just by his talent!
And for the real sports show, Rüsselsheim still has an OPC-Astra ...
Here is the Opel configurator
Here to the test car detail photos
Vehicle registration document: Opel Astra GTC 1.6 Turbo
| Manufacturer: | Opel |
|---|---|
| Type: | Astra GTC |
| Class: | C-segment three-door |
| Engine: | R4 |
| Transmission: | 6G manually |
| Drive: | front-wheel drive |
| displacement: | 1.598 cc |
| Power / power (electric motor): | 200 hp b. 5.500 rpm | - |
| Torque: / Torque (E-Motor): | 280 Nm b. 1.650 - 3.500 rpm | - |
| Weight ready to drive: | 1.503 kg (EEC with driver) |
| From 0 to 100: | 7.9 s |
| Top speed .: | 230 km / h |
| Consumption of petrol (NEDC): | 6.6 liter |
| CO2 output (NEDC): | 154 g / km |
| Emission Class: | EU 5 |
| Efficiency: | C |
| CW value: | |
| Comment: | - |
Photos in the article: Bjoern Habegger Cover photo: Bjoern Habegger
