ROAD TEST: OPEL ASTRA 1.4T ENJOY PLUS:
While chatting to a GM representative recently, I was told in no uncertain terms that Opel is now being positioned as a premium brand both here and abroad and I couldn't help but suspect that GM might be shooting this brand in the foot even more so than it nearly did by selling it off to Magna during the Great Recession.
I remember Opel as being an affordable brand that offered plenty fun for the buck, and that's why they were so popular in the '80s and '90s. But times have moved on and now Chevrolet has returned with the intention of playing the role of that entertaining but down to earth family member.
Maybe there is some method to the madness then and let's face it, as far as investments go, having a premium or semi-premium brand is right up there with buying an oil company or landing a juicy government tender - it's just pulling it off that's the tricky bit.
A fair chunk of that challenge is buttering up your brand perception in people's minds but an arguably even more important step is actually creating cars that fit the bill. And as the first product that truly intends to ride this new wave for Opel, the new Astra has mountains to move.
We were suitably impressed with the 1.6-litre Turbo flagship that we tested late last year, but we also had a suspicion that the 1.4-litre turbo version might make a better all round package, the end result being that GM gave us a 1.4 Turbo Enjoy Plus to try out.
Being the range-topping 1.4, the 'Plus' does not lose much to its larger sibling in terms of parking lot pose, except for trading its 18-inch alloys for a set of 17”s. The Astra has a crisp yet elegant look, but I don't see why they had to be so conservative with the front end styling.
Luckily there isn't any shortage of spunk once you step inside to be greeted by deep instrument cowls, dashboard lines that curve sharply into the inner doors to create a cockpit feel and there's even red mood lighting below the floating gearstick console. It definitely evokes more passion that the inside of a VW or Audi, but unfortunately the surfaces of the Opel do not match the expensive feel that you get in those aforementioned rivals.
Luckily there is no shortage of toys in this Astra, everything from cruise control, a nice seven-speaker sound system, six airbags to automatic headlights and wipers being standard, as are adaptive headlights. Yet for a car costing R263 400, leather seats would have been nice, or at least they could have replaced that cheap-looking hard cloth with a softer and more premium fabric.
I was also less than impressed with the level of rear legroom available - while it's not exactly cramped back there, it's a fair bit less roomy than rivals like the Golf and Focus.
The driving experience is one area where we didn't find much to fault with the 1.6, and the 1.4 Plus is even better equipped in this regard, being the only model fitted with the FlexRide adaptive suspension package.
Not only does the system constantly adapt the shocks, steering and throttle in accordance with the prevailing road conditions and driving style, but also allows the driver to choose either a comfortable or sporty setting at the push of a button.
In either mode the Astra provides a very cushy ride quality and the handling is sharp and well balanced too. Then again, it didn't seem much better than the 1.6 Turbo model, which lacks FlexRide and which provided a near-perfect balance between ride and handling.
However, on the test strip it became even more evident that the 1.4 Turbo is not the crispest sprinter. Look, its 0-100km/h sprint time of 10.7 seconds seems acceptable, given that the 1.4-litre motor only produces 103kW and 200Nm between 1850 and 4900rpm, versus the 1.6's 132kW and 230Nm and nine second 0-100 time.
Still, I got the feeling that this car just doesn't like to be rushed. Even after compensating for the marginal turbo lag with the clutch, its gearbox (which I'd already found to be too plasticy in feel for my liking) simply does not like to be snap changed and even after attempting the quickest possible shifts, the turbo dumps too much boost between changes to liberate the very best sprint time.
Perhaps I'm overdoing the nitpicking - I mean, is this car really going to be purchased for its sprinting ability? I somehow doubt that.
Yet when attempting to weigh up the value scales, I'm not convinced that the 1.4T Enjoy Plus is really worth the R263 400 asking price.
Personally, I'd rather give up the FlexRide and find another R17 000 for the quicker 1.6T Sport and if I wanted to penny pinch, I think I'd feel happier spending R236 900 on the 'baseline' 1.4T Enjoy, which is still very well appointed.