But the three-door Astra hatchback is different. Quite apart from the meaningful stance and the Brad Pitt body, it has an air of quality you certainly wouldn’t expect from a Vauxhall, or indeed any car in this part of the marketplace.
Under the skin there’s been a bit of cost cutting — the rear suspension’s a bit basic, for instance — but you don’t notice this when you’re inside, especially at night when the whole cockpit is bathed in a submarine-style red glow.
It’s robust, too. On one journey I put all three of my children on the rather cramped back seat — it is a coupé so the lack of space isn’t a complaint — and went for a little drive. It took only five minutes for the fight to begin and 10 minutes for it to become a full-scale war. But impressively, none of the trim broke.
Meanwhile, I’d become fixated with a little button on the dash marked “sport”. Now in most cars “sport” buttons are connected only to a light on the dash that comes on to say you’ve pushed the button. But in the Astra it really does have an effect.
When you press it the ride becomes hard and the engine actually jumps. The revs rise and you feel good. My children were so amazed they even stopped throwing tennis rackets at one another.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
