Deep Drive: 2008 Saturn Astra

General Motors is trying to bring a little transatlantic flavor to the Saturn squad with its new Astra compact car and is getting a little help from its overseas sister brand, Opel. The 2008 Saturn Astra, available in 2-door and 4-door hatchback bodystyles, isn't just taking its inspiration from one of GM's European brands, Saturn's Astra and Opel's Astra are virtually the same vehicle. Saturn is confident some of Opel Astra's international sales success will rub off on its newest vehicle, the capstone of its 20-month product revitalization and brand renaissance plan.

The compact car class is a crowded and crucial segment, one where automakers try to attract and retain first time buyers to the brand. It's a segment especially important to Saturn because according to Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak, "the roots of this brand were in small cars." The Ion filled that slot in Saturn's lineup from 2003 to 2007, but garnered lukewarm reviews and proved a slow seller.

Saturn's first ever hatchback is powered by a 138-horsepower 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine paired with a standard 5-speed manual or optional 4-speed automatic transmission. It rides on a 103.2-inch wheelbase and stretches 185 inches long and approximately 67 inches wide. XE and uplevel XR trims are offered on the 4-door; the 2-door comes solely in XR trim.

Astra, Saturn's first hatchback, replaces Ion in the brand's vehicle lineup.

According to Lajdziak, the time was ripe to launch a hatchback. Hatchback sales are growing significantly every year--up 10 percent in 2005 and another 14 percent in 2006.

Saturn paints the typical hatchback shopper as younger than the sedan buyer and looking for a combination of value, style, and versatility. With Astra's $15,995 base price, standard features list, sporty styling, and two hatchback bodystyles, Saturn thinks it's hit the mark on all three.

As with many vehicles in the compact car class, manufacturers are targeting young, web savvy, urban buyers. It's precisely this demographic that Saturn is pursuing with Astra, and it's doing so with unconventional marketing methods, like piloting an Astra page on the Facebook website.

"We need to cast the net wider than Saturn loyalists and bring in new intenders," Lajdziak said.

With the Opel partnership, Saturn is adding new flavor and a European flair to this domestic brand previously known for its family-oriented, wholesome brand image, straightforward dealership experience, and conservative styling.

"With Astra we're continuing to change perceptions in the marketplace and grow our volume," Lajdziak said.

Opel Astra

The first-generation Opel Astra went on sale in Europe in 1991. Between '91 and 2004, 3.5 million units were sold. Starting in 2004, Opel has been selling approximately 500,000 units a year.

The 2008 Saturn Astra comes standard with GM's OnStar system, but an MP3 jack is unavailable.

"With Astra, we're leveraging global architecture and a highly successful vehicle overseas," said Sarah DeVries-Allen, GM Vehicle Line Director, Small Cars. So successful, that according to DeVries-Allen, Astra is currently the number two selling vehicle in Europe second only to the Volkswagen Golf.

Will that be enough to draw buyers away from compact-car heavyweights like Honda's Civic and Toyota's Matrix?

Astra's array of standard safety and convenience features should help. All Astras are equipped with six standard airbags including front, front side, and curtain side airbags that protect the thorax and pelvis. Also standard are antilock four-wheel disc brakes; an antiskid system is optional. Class-competitive standard equipment on all Astras includes OnStar assistance, cruise control, a tilt/telescoping steering wheel, heated power mirrors, and rain-sensing wipers. Options include heated seats, alloy wheels, an upgraded audio system, and a leather package. Available for 4-door models is a 2-panel sunroof with power sunshades that Saturn claims is the largest in the class.

Astra's decent fuel economy figures should help too. Saturn estimates Astra will achieve 24/32 city/highway miles per gallon in the manual models and 24/30 city/highway miles per gallon in automatic transmission models. Automatic-transmission Astra's automatically shift into Neutral at a stop to help save fuel.

Bumps in the Road?

Though Astra may have an edge over the competition because of its new-kid status, fresh look, and European-flavored style, there are still hurdles to jump, namely Astra's radio and vehicle information interface.

It breaks quite a bit from the standard GM set-up and is used in its Opel counterpart overseas. Many radio and vehicle information functions are controlled and viewed through Astra's on-board computer and center information screen. The dashboard-mounted screen is controlled with large, cryptically-labeled buttons (BC, LOC, INFO) and a large center dial for scrolling. In short, it proved very confusing to operate.

Another negative is the lack of an MP3 player jack. The i-Pod infatuated generation Saturn is pursuing will surely miss this feature, especially when some of its small-car competition features one.

Look for the 2008 Saturn Astra on sale this January.

Lajdziak isn't concerned and thinks Astra is the right vehicle to cap off the first phase of Saturn's revitalization plan, which has so far turned things around for the brand, both in terms of image perception and vehicle sales. According to Lajdziak, total brand sales are up 8 percent over last year at this time in a climate where overall industry sales are down 3.5 percent.

In March of 2006, Saturn's lineup was filled with slow-selling, bland, and overall mediocre vehicles. Flash forward 20 months through the brand's product renaissance to a portfolio of all-new, design-forward cars and SUVs and healthy sales gains.

"This brand rethinks everything it does, bucks the status quo, and brings innovation to the marketplace," Lajdziak said.