Vauxhall Astra GTC review
by David Finlay (21 October 2011)
Although Vauxhall has not used the GTC name for the Astra before, the concept is familiar. This car is the successor to the old Astra Coupé, and is the third body style to be introduced to the current Astra range after the hatchback and the Sport Tourer estate.
This is not simply a case of giving the existing cars a slightly different rear end. According to Vauxhall, only the doorhandles and aerial are carried over from the hatch. The wheels are spaced differently, both front-to-rear and side-to-side, the front suspension is adapted from that first seen in the Insignia VXR, and the rear suspension is an upgraded version of the complex but very effective system used on the other Astras.
The GTC is up against other coupés such as the Renault Megane and Volkswagen Scirocco, (Vauxhall also considers the three-door Audi A3 to be a rival, though I can't quite see that), and it shares several problems with both of them.
Lack of space for rear passengers probably isn't going to trouble most coupé buyers unduly, but it would be nice to see a manufacturer attempt to create a car which combines this body style with some semblance of rear visibility.
Instead, all three seem to have gone to great lengths to limit this as far as possible, though I wouldn't say the Vauxhall is the worst of the three in this respect.
It's certainly the best of the trio in terms of luggage space. The GTC offers 380 litres with the rear seats in place, and 1165 when they're folded, figures which are not approached by the Megane or Scirocco, nor even by the Astra hatch.
As with its close relatives, the interior of the GTC seems to have been made of fairly cheap materials - the much overworked word "premium" isn't going to feature often in descriptions of this car - but the design is pleasant and, although this is something I lose no opportunity to complain about when the chance arises, I don't have any problem about levels of comfort.
There's quite a range of engines available - a 1.4 petrol turbo producing 118bhp or 138bhp, a 178bhp 1.6 petrol turbo, a 1.7 CDTi diesel offered in 108bhp or 128bhp forms and a 163bhp 2.0 CDTi. Start/stop is standard on the 1.4 and all the diesels, while automatic transmission is an alternative option to the six-speed manual with the 138bhp 1.4 and the 2.0 CDTi.
For best fuel economy and CO2 emissions you want the 1.7 diesel, whose official figures are 62.8mpg combined and 119g/km regardless of power output. Another 1.7 with ecoFLEX branding and a 109g/km rating will be introduced in 2012.
The fastest of the cars available from launch is the 1.6 turbo, and this was the model chosen by Vauxhall for an intriguing - and in my experience unique - feature of the media launch event, in which journalists competed against each other at the Loton Park and Shelsley Walsh hillclimb courses.
This was all very festive, and of course one joined in with appropriate gusto, but the main lesson learned from it was that even this, the sportiest GTC currently in production, is no competition car, and unlikely to be anyone's first choice for a trackday (though its turn-in remains excellent even under considerable pressure).
It doesn't really matter. That role will be taken up by a forthcoming VXR version which - if previous Astra VXRs are anything to go by - will be much more powerful than anything mentioned so far. And the current cars work very well for road use. I might not be very impressed by the materials used in the cabin, and Vauxhall's designers appear to have a different idea of what rear windows are for than I do, but I'm full of admiration for the people who developed the suspension.
My on-road experience of the GTC consists of having driven the 1.6 petrol and the 2.0 CDTi, each of them fitted with the optional FlexRide suspension system which adds £790 to the basic price. Both are good, but the 1.6 is better. The extra weight of the diesel engine is difficult for the rest of the car to deal with, and it's pretty noisy by 2011 standards.
On the other hand, it performs very well from low revs, and I found myself travelling as quickly as I wanted to over back roads in Shropshire and Worcestershire while only occasionally venturing beyond 2000rpm.
The full range of engines is available in two trim levels called Sport and SRi. The lower Sport specification is reasonably generous, including as it does 18" alloy wheels, air-conditioning, active headrests, six airbags, ESP, a USB connection, DAB digital radio, cruise control and daytime running lights. (The last of these are a bit fierce - driving in an early-morning convoy, I thought the glare from the car behind was going to melt the glass of the interior mirror.)
For approximately an extra £1500, depending on model, the SRi comes with more supportive front seats, front foglights, automatic headlights and wipers, a multifunction trip computer, an electric parking brake, hill start assist, a front centre armrest with its own storage compartment, a leather-covered three-spoke steering wheel and rear privacy glass.
Prices range from £18,445 for the 118bhp 1.4 Sport to £22,430 for the 2.0 CDTi SRi. Vauxhall is happy to point out that the GTC therefore undercuts the Scirocco by a significant margin, though VW buyers will - all other considerations aside - be paying for much greater refinement.
Renault can't compete in the same way; its challenge lies in the fact that more than half of Megane Coupés cost less than £20,000 (the cheapest of all being £16,495) compared with only a quarter of Astra GTCs.
Update: Since the above was written, the GTC has been given a five-star rating by Euro NCAP, along with slightly higher scores than the (also five-star) Scirocco in the adult and child protection categories. The Megane Coupé has not been put through the same test.
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