2008 Saturn Astra Owners Manual – The Saturn Astra is an all-new car. A minimum of it’s new to the American citizen vehicle scenery: Astra continues to be supplied for several years in Europe under the Opel flag, where it’s been giving the VW Golf a work for leading-vendor bragging legal rights. The new Astra is a whole lot far better in each value than the Saturn model it replaces that we’ve ignored the before compact’s name.
The Astra is available in two body styles, both hatchbacks designed for practicality and built on the identical chassis. There’s a 3-entrance variation that is reduced in total height than the 5-doorway variation, but or else they discuss the exact same outside proportions. This package was designed on European roadways exactly where performance is calculated far more by balance at speed than how quickly it accelerates clear of an intersection. It further benefits from German design and technology, where you can get tiny cars as nicely-assembled and refined as some major kinds, and in which pointless vehicle design records are fallen in favor of discovering a destination to recreation area or affording a fill-up.
Read more: 2008 Saturn Aura Owners Manual
With frisky 1.8-liter engines, Astras aren’t fast, however, we found them quick, clean and versatile, pleased to putter all around town or defeat the snot out of it, and this tiny engine is excellent on gas, regularly coming back more than 30 mpg in the course of our test pushes. A five-speed guide or additional-cost four-speed automatic brings the front side wheels, antilock braking systems are common, and the drive and cornering skills didn’t leave us looking for further.
The Astra fits in the section just like the Volkswagen Rabbit (Golf) and Mazda 3 in that this provides reasonable economy whilst sensation a very little much less like an economy car and a lot more like superior tiny cars this kind of as the Mini Cooper, BMW 1 Series or Audi A3. Costs satisfy that aspect also, jogging from under $16,000 to around $21,000 for an entirely filled model.
It’s also a very good do-it-all sort of car: cart around a set of youngsters, shuttle all around town or deal with major traveling a long way, fill up with a lot of school particles or make a good grounds for a budget rocket like the GTI, Civic Si, or Mazdaspeed3. An Astra keeps four grown-ups and possesses surprising freight room trying to hide under that pinched rear conclusion, and it’s one of a number of tiny cars really scored to pull something, in this example sufficient for a personal watercraft or two.
We think the Saturn Astra is the best modest car at any time to roll out of a Saturn dealership and really worth thinking about.