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The Canadian Champion, Friday, November 30, 2007 - C7 WiII one of Europe's best selling compact be out of this world for Saturn? By JIM ROBINSON Metroland Media Group îar to most North Americans. In Europe and AustralialNew Zealand Mitra bas been used for generations of cars from GM's Opel division in Germany Vauxhaîl division in England and Holden "down under. In fact the Opel MItra is the second most pop- ular car in Europe lust after the Volkswagen Golf. A few years ago, GM began sîandardtzing ils engînes and platforms around the world. Common platforms, dnivelines and sysieras means any GM employee cao walk into a plant in Australia. Belgîum or Oshawa and see the same parts in the same place. In termas of economy of scale alone il makes sense. But makîng everyihing the same can lead lu what is known "badge engineering' where the same car mx sold by clferent divisions wîîh haîle more then the grille, badgîng and rear reaimeni different. It was and is a false economy and one of the worst offenders was GM in the 1980s and thai was a contributing factor to the downward slide ihai the General is only jusi crawlîng out of now. In bningîng the Astra to North Amerîcan, the frst decîsion was not 10 irs' and "Amenicanize" i as other car companies pres'ously had done to their mislortune. The Mitra, lîke the Saturn Aura, retains ils Ecro DNA intact. Abouti the only changes sou'Il fînd is bumpers and headlîghîs îo meeî our safetx regulations ancl iinor trim changes. Now thai can be a pus or a minus. On the Astra sold here, soirme of the ieni or controls are marked clifferently The rernote door entes' fob lias two straîghî fines for locked and a straîghî lîne ancd another on an angle for open instead of an icon of a lock we are al used to. The intenior is a mix of charcoals and blacks su loved by the Europeans, the Germans in partîcu- lar. On the other hand, the ride and handling are a cul above whaî vou mîght expect in the econorny compact car segment. The seats are hemr but sup- portîve and the shilter and secondary controls are just a hand movement away roro the steening NEED WHE _______e Bankrupt <Disi e lncreditc DO e Too YoungToo YOUR IFAPPROVEDOQ IF E-ESAREBE wheel. -[he 2008 A'ora wilI bc repl,îcing the lot.i, he when GMI went throughl a comnplete miakeover and made Saurn one of ils global brands along with Hummer, Cadillac and Chevrolet. lnstead of the three models, there are now seven models and the oldest is the Sky roadster, making Satuen the youngest division within GM. Equipped wth a DOHC 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine (138 hp, 126 lb/ft of torque) and a five- speed manual transmission, the 2008 Saturn Astra five-door XE starts ai $ 17,900.Ihe uplevel Mitra five-door XR will start at $20,490 and the sporty Astra threer door XRwýll be pniced from $21,225.A four-speed automatic transmission is a option. Standard leatures on ail 2008 Saturn Astras include: four-wheel dise brakes wiîh ABS and trac- ion control, six standard air bags, active heaci restraints, Pedal Release Sysîem (delaches pedals ni a crash, 10 reduce rîsk of leg or ankie Injuries); OnStar wîîh one year of Sale & Sound service, lire pressure monitornng; rain sensîng wîper system; remole keyless entry; power door locks; croise conîrol; express-down power windows; Driver Information Centre, sîeening wheel conîrols and an oil pan heater for Canadla because GM engi- neers found it helped siari Up durîng cold weaîh- er iestîng. 1 spent a lot of urne in ihe Astra in hoîh XL' and XR mnodels puiiing on close îo 1,400 kmns. Pari of mx drive nc luclec a 90 mnile round trip fromn San Jose up io Napa Valley On the way' up in a XE ive-douîr adi driving ii rain part of the tarne. S)aturnofoliciaIs were foi 100 per cent certain, butî t seems the Asira ix Ithe lîrsi car in North Anierica iii corne wîîh rain sens- îng wîpers. The wîper staîk lets you select rain sensing. normal speed and hîgh speed and increases dependîng on the amounit of waîer in ihe wînd- shîeld. If the rain suddenly' stops as il dîd several imes duning rny drive, the blades keep swîngîng away to the point I1îcst îumned it off and starîed îî up agaîn. Calîfomnia hîghways tend to be mostly concrete and slippery in the weî especiallv with aIl the oîl Long a favourte in Europe, General Motors is brînging the Astra to, North America as the newest mem- ber of the Saturn model lneup. t is avalable in three models including the toplîne XR three-door shown. and rubber that gels laid down by the millions ut ears there. Here you really need lu "feel" the road. The wîcle îrack uftihe Astra helps the way the suspension and chassîs work together lu (a) han- die the s'erx' cnesen road surfaces and (b) corn mnuicate back lu the driver. bIb tis, the Astra was exemplarv. Ocdîx i he lise-door, insîead of four gral) han- chus, for divîer and passengers, bas four sunglass- es holders whîlc the ihree door has a grab handie for the Iront seat passenger and sungiasses hold- er for the driver. i was iold there is soieme saleiy regulation whcre ihey ire a dcirmx' head imb the passenger coniparimeni ancd let il rattie arocînd to gauge possible hcld injuries. Apparenîlv ithe îhree-door was safe, but iii the fîve-door, there were "injuries" on the plastic hecad su the grab handies were oui and the sun- glasses holders (îhe>' have some cumplîancy') were in. Got figure' On the plus sîde is GMs OnStar sysîern ihat is standard wîth the car The XR wîth tas sport-îuned suspension and provision for up tu 18-înch wheeis (16 înch stan- dard on the XE) was veiy adroit at urban city dniv îng. Here squints of power, a subsiantial feeling gear- box and quîck steening made the XR three-dloor 1 was dnvîng feel more lîke a hot hatch then a com- pact famîly car. Being nîppy is good, nul to mention the fuel con- 'umrplion numbers of 8 '/6.1/7.41J100 km city/highway/cornbined lue ihe manual and 8.4/6.6/7.6L/l00 km for the auîomatîc. The 2008 Mstra should appeal 10 the vounger, hîpper demographîc Satum is hoping to plomb. As a replacement for the Ion, the Mitra is nîghî and day beiter in esery way' lis responsive, easy on fuel and svth a hatch- back, a very' attractive proposition for the vounger driver that ail the car companies are îrying te, atîract. Some of is Luropean features rnav be diferent, nul lu mention the narne. But with ail it ofers cumpared il nearest com- petîlors, MIra looks to become as popular here is it is in the rest of the world. Mazda says il xviii bring in these and other tech- nologies but wii also keep Mazda vehicles respon- sîve and fun to drive whîle remaining stylish. REAL CAr*DIAN Vokwgnand its dealers realize that Wts not enough ta make the cars every Canaidiain wants ta drive. You have ta miake them affordable as weIL Announcing the Vlkswagen Real Canadian Deal 1.9% .*L(yJ Upý or $5,OOO' 4 j ' E~- P -wý T Fo alimited timee cose ethrts fr- 1.9% u~p to $5000 ins ',ug onsel eced <,des 2420 MOTORWAY BLVD., MISSISSAUGA, ON Tel: 905.569.3233 Fax: 905.569.3022