Opel Astra: Exclusive Personality

There is often a price to pay for a life of character, but the Opel Astra GTC can give you a life of character at your fingertips. A life with character covers many areas, from personal grooming, eating and drinking tastes, entering and leaving places, to the products used and so on. And of course the car you're driving.

In the middle of last year, a female friend in the entertainment industry asked me about buying a car. Her request is very simple, about 200,000, and it should be special enough. The implication is that I hope to choose a car with more "character".

There are actually several "character cars" in the current domestic market, excluding millions of luxury cars, there are also Mini Cooper, Volkswagen Beetle, Audi TT, Subaru Impreza, Mazda RX-8 and so on within 500,000. But circle the price to 200,000 or 300,000, and the choice of "character car" is much less. I thought about it, and in the end, I only thought that a modern Coolpad could be shortlisted, but the popularity of this car is almost flooding, which does not meet the requirements of a unique character car.

About Hyundai Coolpad

In the end, this entertainment friend did not choose Hyundai Coolpad. She couldn't get the "character" she wanted, so she simply saved 100,000 to buy a domestic hatchback. And this incident gave me an inspiration, that is, in the current domestic market between 200,000 and 300,000, there is a significant vacancy for high-quality personalized models. While there are plenty of good mid-size sedans in this price range, there are few if you're looking to break away from the mundane and find a model that expresses your personality -- just the Hyundai Cool.

It's also a miracle when it comes to modern cool. This Korean sports car has opened up the Chinese entry-level sports car market with its cool styling, reliable quality and reasonable performance (the Geely Beauty Leopard is a latecomer). However, the vast majority of people who buy Hyundai Coolpad are not for the "sports car". Haven't you seen the modern Coolpad on the street, six or seven out of ten are women? Do women need to drive sports cars more than men? Moreover, the modern Coolpad is not really a sports car in terms of performance or handling, at best it is just a little more sporty. But the reality is that it doesn't matter whether the Coolpad is a sports car or not. The important thing is that it is the only model with a unique image in the price range of more than 200,000 yuan. The people who buy it actually picture this "out of line".

About the Opel Astra GTC

The topic comes back to the Opel Astra GTC we tested today. For the above-mentioned showbiz friend, I also mentioned the Opel Astra to her. At that time, this European car had just entered China, and it sold for 220,000 to 30,000 yuan. The visibility on the street was not high. Although it was eventually rejected by my friends, I already felt that Opel Astra was a potential molecule in the 200,000 personalized market. As long as it was packaged a little, it should be able to do more.

Following the smooth landing of the five-door Astra, Opel brings this three-door GTC. If the five-door version is just a conservative cornerstone, then this GTC has the potential to be the right one.

The three-door version of a car is more promising than the five-door version, which was not possible a few years ago. But that's an interesting result of today's Chinese market becoming segmented mature. Astra is just a civilian car series in Europe, and it competes with the Volkswagen Golf. It sells its five-door version in China. It has neither functional uniqueness nor localized price advantage. How can it be compared with the same level? Competitive domestic cars? But this three-door version of the GTC is different. It takes the image of a "sports car" and has better tuning of power and suspension. The three-door design is not only eye-catching, but also expresses a personal attitude towards life. In a word, the three-door version of the GTC has a more prominent "character" than the five-door version of the Astra, and as long as there is character, things are much easier to handle.

Unique Positioning, Practical Functions

What kind of character does GTC have? Variety-wise, it should be a two-way guy. From the side, the design of only one door on each side is very self-evident, and the arc of the rear side window also has the shadow of a fastback sports car (Coupe), but the outline of its entire roof is actually the same as that of a five-door hatchback. Edition (Hatchback) is no different. Then go to the rear to take a look, basically it is an ordinary hatchback hatchback. Obviously, the Astra GTC is not a sports car, but a hybrid between a Coupe and a Hatchback, and the rare thing is that it has its own style, and it is a special style.

To be precise, it's the type that's neither very honest nor outright cool.

It's hard to tell how many people will like this kind of character. After all, there are definitely some people who still like the "purely cool" modern cool. But the GTC has its more admirable side, which is practicality. It is precisely because its roof profile is the same as that of a normal hatchback, and all the interior space is the same as that of a normal hatchback. And because it has the exact same wheelbase as the five-door Astra, the three-door GTC has the same space as the five-door Astra—a reasonable family car level. The seat design of the GTC is fully ergonomic for 5 adults, and the headroom in the rear is even better than that of some sedans in the same class. Thanks to the long wheelbase of 2,614mm, the leg room in the rear is also quite good. enough. In the back seat of the GTC, you don't have to "give up" at all, and you won't feel like a car that's meant for "alternative" purposes. The only reminder is that when getting out of the car, you should stop the front passenger and ask him to move the back of the seat to "let" you out. But even so, because the front seat backrest is simple and lightweight, and the door opening angle is large enough, it is relatively easy to get in and out of the rear seat.

In short, the Astra GTC is not a 2+2 (the back seat is only a "dog seat") sports car, but a "normal car" that can comfortably seat 5 people. This "normal" is enough to soothe many people's concerns about the pursuit of character. Compared with modern cool, it is a world of difference.

Performance worthy of character

If the Hyundai Coolpad is a "pseudo sports car" with an ostensible appearance, the Astra GTC is more sincere than it, because its character is from the outside to the inside. Although the 1.8-liter naturally aspirated engine is still the same one on the five-door version, the horsepower number of 125hp sounds unimpressive, but in practice, the power of the GTC is better than expected. The engine is smooth and brisk, and there are powerful sounds in the middle and rear sections. Starting from 5000rpm, the roaring engine and exhaust sound envelope the entire car, giving you the feeling of being unable to stop--although it is actually just the ears that stimulate the spine, but at least it can let the peers. Cuties threw themselves into the atmosphere.

The automatic transmission has only four front speeds and no manual mode, which is shameful by today's fashionable standards. Opel engineers were self-aware enough to write an unusual electronic program for the GTC's gearbox, which gave it a magical performance. When driving normally, the transmission shifts comfortably and competently, nothing special; but pressing the "Sport" button on the center console, the transmission immediately enters another state, and it will immediately downshift to increase the speed as high as possible, as long as The red zone almost never adds to the block. While there's no manual mode, it's definitely more determined than you to keep a high-rev drive. This feature is very similar to the DSG gearbox of the Audi A3 3.2 Quattro that we tried in the last issue, and it is a design suitable for "actual combat", which also shows that European car manufacturers have higher requirements for the sportiness of automatic transmission vehicles.

The data shows that Opel's "Sport" button not only changes the transmission program, but also changes the response of the electronic throttle, the intervention time of the chassis ESP system, and so on. So what it actually changes is the whole way you drive and your mood. This variable nature makes the Astra GTC a playful car capable of both literacy and martial arts. Especially when attacking corners or driving at high speed, using the Sport mode can easily keep the speed in the high range. At this time, not only the sound in the car is full of fighting spirit, but the speedometer is also moving forward bravely. Fatigue. At this point, you have already forgotten that it only has a displacement of 1.8 liters and a four-speed automatic transmission.

Give you confidence in German cars

In addition to the surprise of power, GTC also gives you another psychological guarantee, that is, the workmanship and solidity of German cars. Again, this is something the modern Coolpad doesn't have. Although Opel's quality has left a bad impression on people in the past, starting from the new generation of Vita three years ago, Opel's workmanship has been among the mainstream of German car manufacturers. Astra is only a travel-level car in Europe, but its frame rigidity, the seriousness of the materials used in the carriage, and the strict assembly handwork are all world-class in its class. In terms of look and feel, it is better than the domestic Volkswagen series that we regard as the standard. Open and close the doors as hard as you want; every button in the car makes a "crack" sound when you press it, giving you a solid confidence.

The GTC's cabin is all black, in keeping with its sporty character, but even the headliner is black, which isn't too common. This makes the otherwise well-spaced cabin look a little depressing, but of course it also makes people more focused, which goes well with the solid suspension and engine sound.

It's not just the craftsmanship that can be described as "hard", but the entire frame and suspension. The hardened suspension is not obvious on the general street, but when passing the speed bump, the front and rear shock filtering action is hard and crisp, with a full sense of rigidity. The hardness of the frame is obviously sufficient, there is no clutter in the driving, and the high-speed running and cornering dynamics are stable and calm, like a German high-end car.

For China

The special thing about this Chinese version of the GTC is its tires. The tire specifications are the same as the five-door version, not the swaggering big rims and sports tires, but the more reasonable 205/55R16. This size may not seem eye-catching at first glance, but in fact this set of Bridgestone tires has a strong grip, the cornering tracking is better than expected, and the constant acceleration on the turning lane has to force the tire to scream Not easy. The most important thing is that this set of tires has a reasonable thickness, which can provide a good fine vibration filtering effect on the road, ensuring a more comfortable ride, and there is no need to worry about the tires when driving over rotten ground and gravel roads. All in all, this set of seemingly conservative tires reflects the importer's understanding of the environment, allowing the Astra GTC's internal strength to be preserved and suitable for the Chinese environment.

"Suitable for the Chinese environment" requires not only tires, but also functionality and practicability in line with Chinese people's general car habits. And these Astra GTCs do it all. Its rear seat is much more comfortable than expected, the space is as reasonable as the five-door version, and the ride is not much worse than the front. At high speed, the feeling of sitting in the back seat is still comfortable and stable, the engine sound is not as loud as the front seat, and the wind noise at 180km/h is not excessive at all. There are cup holders in the front row, but there are on the two side walls of the rear seat; there is a small coat hook on each of the B-pillars on both sides. All this makes the back seat of the Astra GTC able to pick up friends in a grand manner, and even three or four people have no problem on long trips.

As a character car, these are the advantages that are enough to give it gold.