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If you love its looks and can pony up to cover the big price tag to buy the very nice, albeit with a huge turning radius, the Astra is a worthwhile consideration. The fuel consumption for the Astra is nearly identical to the much larger Holdens, approximately 7.8L/100km in the city.

Yes, the Astra corners better and is a sharper looker, but the interior isn't much better and it's bigger brothers have more useful storage. Ah, well, that's progress.

Mom's view

Looks are everything with the Astra. It is attractive, no doubt, with a continental flair to say the least as most of it was built in Belgium. Outside of its exterior it is a strange brew with trendy, but mundane interior styling, a tight feel, and a stereo that is overly complicated and confusing. There is a fair amount of storage space, but the cupholders are poorly placed and there is no center armrest. The rear seats are split and fold down, but you must remove the headrests first and even then you don't get a flat floor. The material covering the seats is easily "dented" and the steering wheel positioning is difficult to get right with the limited settings offered by the manual seat adjustments.

Safety features include stability control, antilock disc brakes, front-seat side airbags, full-length side-curtain airbags and whiplash-reducing head rests. Visibility to the outside and back are fairly good and the outside mirrors are simple to position. The dash-mounted gauges have clear readouts and but a larger font would make them easier read at night. There are redundant radio controls on the steering wheel and everything is within reach. The sunroof is huge, running nearly the full length of the passenger compartment. It makes the interior feel larger, but on 90 degree days the cloth cover for the sunroof doesn't keep the heat out that well and the air conditioning unit is hard pressed to keep the interior cool. The heater works well, although it is slow to warm-up, and there is even optional heated seats. Something unheard of in this price category.

The Astra is quite lovely and performs it basic transportation tasks well. Its forte is its suspension, which neutralizes corners and smooths out emergency transitions. Its weakness is its pricing. With only a lackluster range of four-cylinder engines available and with the optional air conditioning and automatic the price is nearly AU$25,000 for the CD model, and reaching 100km/h is going to take about ten seconds. This doesn't give it any price advantage when going against the proven competition in the form of the Honda Civic, Mazda 3 and Ford Focus. That is a lot of competition, but its quiet highway sound levels, suspension, and looks could make it a competitor. Of these I like the Mazda best. Don't underestimate the much-improved Ford Focus, either. None of these are as dapper as the Holden.

Fuel consumption around town is about 9 litres to the hundered, according to the "Board" computer. That is what Astra calls its driver's computer. It is fairly easy to master, but the small monitor and nearly impossible to read messages while wearing sunglasses make it less useful than others. By the way, the first thing I would do is decide if you can live with the stereo that comes with the Astra or consider an after market system. It is that complex.

The four speed automatic and five speed manual return nearly the same mileage figures, but since the automatic siphons off some of the fun of the Astra I would go with the five speed manual transmission and save on the initial cost and at the pump.

Strange as it may seem the three-door model and the five-door model are essentially the same size. I would recommend the five door for its utility and resale. Besides, the slope of the sharply angled rear window on the three door cuts into the headroom. If you fold the back seats down you get over 37 cubic feet of storage, which is adequate, but the unleveled floor is difficult to justify.

There is little doubt that this is another good product from Holden that the boy reviewers are going to fault because it isn't super fast or built by BMW or Honda. They are wrong. This is a useful vehicle that has some character to it, but has the misfortune of being priced too high.

Dad's view

A lot of people thought this was the much more expensive Volvo C30 which bodes well for Holden's new starlet. Once inside it has a similar feel, but the 1.8 litre, double overhead cam, four-cylinder engine even with variable valve timing only makes 125 foot-pounds of torque at a fairly high 3,800 rpm. This translates into a relaxed acceleration feel that is further muted by the four speed automatic transmission. The real pleasure in owning a Astra is going to be admiring its nice form and taking it corner cutting where its sharp handling and impressive steering feel can best be utilized.

The Astra also needs a larger fuel tank. The current one holds only about 52 litres which is not much range for this front wheel drive Holden. The night interior lighting is poor, but the headlights are above average.

Braking is quite good with a linear feel to the pedal and the car has a good on centre feel to it.

Driving the Astra can be frustrating at times as the engine groans under demand and there isn't much forward thrust at any speed. The four speed automatic is not a good match for the engine unless you spend a majority of your time on the highway. The C pillars can block your view when backing out of a parking space or when changing lanes. It is far less of a problem than on other hatchbacks.

One feature that I can live without is the turn signal. You just push on it and it starts to blink three times. That is fine, but most drivers don't count the number of times it flashes and so after they make the lane change and see the turn signal still on they may try to cancel it. The result is that you now are signaling in the other direction three times. Ahhh. No doubt after a while you can learn to ignore this safety feature.

In the long run I hope that potential buyers don't pass up the Astra in favour of the more proven hatchbacks because they are going to miss a fun and practical friend. If the quality holds up and Holden can find some more horses this could make one fun and useful hatchback this looks as smart as it acts.

Young unemployed woman's view

Tough time to be without a job despite a uni degree, but that is the reality of a "new" Australia where high fuel prices and job losses are becoming a fact of life. As such, the Astra makes some sense. I would go with the five-door model as it is easier to use with a child's seat and provides easier access to any purchases your wallet allow. Its major competition is probably going to be the less expensive and slightly larger Mazda 3, but not in my book. This Astra doesn't have the racer look of the Mazda, and provides a more elegant ride, and one that is quieter, too.

Standard elements include cruise control, a CD player, a trip computer, a tilt/telescoping steering wheel and five speed manual transmission. Look for a price under $25,000 for a very well loaded Astra and Holden is offering some great lease deals, too.

Male college graduate's view

It took eight years, but I've completed the first phase of my education and with that make a total of ten university degrees in The Car Family's resume. Put it this way, when you read a Car Family review you are getting the expertise of 100 years of testing experience plus 24 years of university education.

Anyway, I digress. The Astra is puzzlement. Here is a new vehicle that has such strange features that it is difficult to believe Holden was paying attention. There isn't a real cupholder in the front, but there is one where you rest your elbow. There isn't a centre armrest. The stereo is dreadful in every way. The clock, unless I missed a note in the owner's manual, has only a 24-hour readout. And, the rear hatch is both high and narrow making it more difficult to load larger items.

The audio controls on the steering wheel are poorly placed and the labels make no sense. The stereo does not have any auxiliary plug-ins and the sound quality is poor. In other words, the ergonomics are not well thought through and the stereo system needs to be sent to Holden. There is more, but you get the idea. This is a nice vehicle, but with some questionable usability quirks.

If properly equipped, and you can get a deal from your Holden dealer, this is a decent car that has more zest than the competition. However, the larger Holdens are so much more car for nearly the same money that families may have a difficult choice. In other words, this is a compact sized sedan for the singles. I can tell you guys, it is also a babe magnet. Enough said.

Family conference

If the Astra was priced lower it would be a true hit. However, the depreciating Australian dollar renders such thoughts as day dreamy as $1 a litre petrol. The reality for Holden is going to be how many young people are going to be able to afford such a vehicle in the light of an economy that is tipsy. Despite this we highly recommend the Astra based on its handling, utility, ride, and its dealer's reputation. We also feel that for just a few dollars more a week the bigger Holdens are a better value and nearly as economical to drive.