The Vauxhall Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) that has been sold by Vauxhall since 1980. Over its eight generations, it has been made at several GM/Opel/Stellantis plants around Europe; however, most versions have been sourced from Vauxhall's plant at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, United Kingdom.
For its first two generations, the nameplate was applied to right-hand drive versions of the Opel Kadett for use in the UK. Since 1991, Opel has used the Astra nameplate on its B/C-platform. General Motors' Saturn division in the United States also offered a Belgian-built version of the Astra as a captive import from late 2007 until Saturn was discontinued following GM's 2010 bankruptcy.
First generation (1980–1984)
The Astra name originated with the Vauxhall-badged version of the first front-wheel drive Opel Kadett, which had been launched in 1979 as the Opel Kadett D. This model, which went on sale in March 1980, replaced the Vauxhall Viva in the UK. The last rear-wheel drive Kadett had also formed the basis of the Vauxhall Chevette, which remained in production until 1984. The Astra was Vauxhall's first model to have front wheel drive. Initially, Vauxhall had worked on restyled versions of the Kadett D which would have featured the company's trademark "droopsnoot", as well as a conventional three-box saloon version that would have directly replaced the Viva, however budget constraints meant that General Motors cancelled their development, and the Astra was released differing only from its Opel sister car in badging and trim - setting the precedent for all Vauxhall models from that point on. Confusingly, in the British market both the Kadett and the Astra were sold through separate marketing operations, with overlapping lineups that competed directly with each other - Vauxhall had tried to mitigate against the overlap by initially only offering the Astra in a limited number of trim, engine and body combinations compared to the Opel Kadett; although this was due to the fact that until 1981, both cars were sourced solely from Opel's Bochum plant - with UK production at Ellesmere Port not starting until 16 November 1981.
By 1982 this anomaly had been sorted out as GM had begun to merge the previously separate Vauxhall and Opel dealer networks and the Opel Kadett lineup was limited to the well-equipped five-door Berlina (1.3S or 1.6S) and the sporty 1.6 SR, leaving most of the market to the Vauxhall Astra-badged cars. As the consolidation of Opel and Vauxhall dealerships was completed, the Opel badged versions were eventually phased out entirely.
Production began at Opel's West German plant at Bochum in August 1979, with British deliveries of the Opel Kadett commencing in November 1979, four months before the Vauxhall-badged versions were launched. Whilst the previous generation Kadett C had been discontinued, it effectively lived on in the form of its Vauxhall sister - the Chevette - which remained on sale partly to keep the Ellesmere Port plant in operation until Astra production started, and also to give an alternative option for conservative customers who remained suspicious of front wheel drive.
The overhead-camshaft engine (not 1200) was a huge leap forward from the earlier generation of small engines used in Vauxhall and Opel cars in terms of power, economy and refinement. It was initially available in 1300 and 1600 forms, and later an 1800 fuel-injected version was added, used in the Mk 1 Astra GTE model, introduced in 1983. This version of the Astra was an alternative to the Ford Escort XR3i, Volkswagen Golf GTI and Fiat Strada 130TC.
The car featured a new unified engine for Vauxhall/Opel, featuring an all-aluminium head, overhead camshaft and hydraulic valve lifters, and it quickly became popular with buyers. A 1200 cc version which used the older Opel OHV engine was also available.
There were three body styles for the first generation Astra: hatchback, saloon, and estate, all available with two or four side doors. Unlike the previous Opel T-Car, no coupé was offered although sketches of a mid-engined two-door model were developed. The saloons were styled exactly like the hatchbacks, except for a different rear window above a boot lid; from the side they looked almost indistinguishable from the hatchback, with no protruding notch at the rear. The saloon version was replaced by the Belmont saloon based on the Astra MK2 in early 1986.
The white 1800 GTE was the first UK car to be 'colour-coded' with body trim that matched the base colour of the car, this included wheel arch extensions, front side and rear lower skirts, mirror covers, bumpers and even the alloy wheels were painted white. The black, silver and red versions of the GTE also had colour-coding but had the more conventional black bumpers and silver painted alloy wheels.
There was also a van version which was badged as the Bedford Astra Van – the Bedford brand at that time being used for GM's commercial vehicles in Britain and a few continental European markets. Presented in October 1982, this version used the body of the three-door estate, with no rear seat and the rear side windows panelled in. The Astra Van replaced the Bedford Chevanne and was sold alongside the smaller, more utilitarian Bedford HA. The initial version was available in comprably well-equipped L trim only, with the 1.3 S petrol engine standard fitment and an optional, 1.6-litre diesel. Both engines were offered with a four-speed manual transmission or an optional, three-speed automatic. Payloads were for the petrol and the diesel engine, respectively (manual transmission). The diesel represented about one third of sales. In September 1983, to fill the gap left by the recently discontinued HA Van and responding to customer criticism about pricing and excessively comfortable equipment, a more bare-bones "fleet" version was introduced. This was available with the diesel or with a lower compression, "1.3 N" petrol engine. At the same time, the Astra Van L also received two additional drivetrain options: a five-speed manual transmission and a 1.6 S petrol engine.
Sales of this first Astra were strong, and gave Vauxhall a much-needed boost in the small family car sector after several years of declining sales with the Viva HC. It soon overtook the Austin Allegro as Britain's second most popular small family car, although it was still a long way behind the Ford Escort in terms of sales success.
The original Astra was awarded What Car?'''s: 'Car of the Year' for 1980. However, it was pipped to the European Car of the Year award by the Lancia Delta.
Versions available were: 1200 E (2/4-door saloon, 3/5-door hatchback, 3/5-door estate) 1300 cc OHC 1600 cc OHC 1800 cc OHC 1600 cc OHC Diesel
Smaller engines received round headlights, while cars fitted with larger engines or better equipment have square headlights.
Second generation (1984–1993)
The Mark 2 Astra was launched on 17 October 1984. It used the same range of engines and running gear as the Mark 1, but with a completely restyled body with better aerodynamics. It was voted 1985 European Car of the Year.
Long-lived, the Mark 2 was available in estate, hatchback, saloon and cabriolet versions. The saloon was launched in January 1986 and sold as the Vauxhall Belmont; this trend to brand saloon models independently of hatchbacks was also used by other manufacturers of the period, with examples including the Ford Orion and the Volkswagen Jetta. However, this strategy was mostly unsuccessful, as this was Vauxhall's only attempt at badging its hatchback-based saloon as a separate model, and Ford rebadged its Orion range as Escorts in September 1993.
In 1987, a special one off "design exercise" based on a 1986 1.8 GTE was built by the Ellesmere Port factory to celebrate its 25th (Silver) Anniversary. The Astra GTE "Quicksilver" was first shown at the British International Motor show that year and was displayed in the Ellesmere Port showroom throughout the plant's "Silver Anniversary" year. In 1990, Vauxhall began exporting Astras badged as Opel Kadetts to other European countries from the Ellesmere Port plant.European Motor Business, Issues 24-27, Economist Intelligence Unit, 1991, page 102
Bertone built 6,764 cabriolets from 1987 to 1993. These came as 1.6 (with ) and 2-litre () GTEs, the latter available with powered roof and electric windows.Lewis 1998, p. 146. These cars are praised for their shake-free shells and their looks.Lewis 1998, p.146.
The Mark 2 Astra sold well in the UK, and although it was never able to outsell the Ford Escort, it came closer than any other similar-sized car to achieving this.
In 2005, a survey found the two most stolen cars in Britain to be the Vauxhall Belmont and the Vauxhall Astra Mark 2, with more than 1 in 13 Belmonts stolen.
Astra GTE
Soon after the Mark 2 Astra was launched, they introduced the GTE using a 1.8-litre engine lifted from the Mark 1 GTE, but this was quickly dropped in favour of a 2.0 litre unit due to poorer than expected performance. All GTE models featured an all electronic dash with digital speedometer. Analogue instruments were an optional extra, but were very rarely selected over the digital dash. In 1988 Vauxhall's twin-camshaft version of the engine, the 20XE known as the "red top" (due to the red spark plug cover), was fitted to the GTE and instantly created a stir with the motoring press because of its performance. In fact the 20XE is a Cosworth designed twin-cam conversion of the GM Family II engine, also called the Cosworth KBA. When this engine was originally released in Europe and the UK it developed and 150 ft lbs of torque in standard form. A few years later the GTE 16v, now subject to stricter emissions regulations, was fitted with a catalytic converter and a new exhaust manifold, which robbed the engine of 6 bhp, and 5 ft lbs of torque, and added .5 of a second to the 0–60 mph time, raising it from 7.0 seconds to 7.5 seconds. In 1990 the "leather edition" limited-edition was launched, and an allocation of around 250 examples sold only through London dealerships. This special edition came with Bordeaux paint work, and crossed spoke alloy wheels. It was also known as the "London Edition" and featured in a single sheet brochure printed in April 1990. Between the brochure being printed, and the time they hit the road the "Leather Edition" acquired some extra dealer fit decals to help them stand out further from the standard 16 valve GTE. These decals comprise a small three colour flash on the tail gate next to the GTE badge, and the same colours under the bumper strips on the sides near the rear arch. A silver strip was also added adjacent to this. The colours used were that of the GM racing teams, and once fitted these cars also became known as the "Champion" Edition. They came with Recaro seats and door cards clad in Connolly Leather.
Third generation (1991–1998)
The Mark 3 Astra was released in October 1991. While Vauxhall had retained the Astra name, this generation was the first to also be called Astra by Opel (succeeding the Kadett E), and the first to also be sold by Holden. It was offered as a three- or five-door hatchback, a saloon, and an estate. A cabriolet was also offered, designed and built by Bertone.
The Astra was sold as a Holden first in New Zealand in 1995, and then in Australia in 1996. The first models were imported from the UK, then later from Belgium. The Holden Astra nameplate had originally been placed on a rebadged Nissan Pulsar, first sold in Australia in 1984.
Initially, the car launched with refreshed versions of the GM Family I and Family II engines from the two previous generations, but now fitted with fuel injection and catalytic converters as standard to satisfy European emissions legislation.