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Opel Astra Sedan 1.8 (A)
April 12, 2008

Astra-nomical projections

It’s almost a Jekyll & Hyde thing when you check out the car’s cabin. There’s a lot of room in all directions in the back seat, with a generous amount of headroom even, and the boot extends so far in that it almost looks like a cavern.

This contrasts with the front seats, which have little shoulder room and a flip-down armrest for the driver which only serves to make the front seats feel narrower.

The centre console is also arranged in a very upright fashion rather than angled upwards, which much of the audio and ventilation controls sited towards the bottom. This arrangement means that there is no way you can see the audio and ventilation controls in your peripheral vision while driving, and you’ll need to either feel around a bit or take your eyes off the road to adjust the airconditioning.

There are controls for the audio system mounted on the steering wheel spokes though.

The front seats are soft, feeling nicely plush when you first settle into one, but after thirty minutes of driving, it starts feeling a little too soft, with the driver sinking a fair way into the cushions.

But the car is commendably quiet when just driving along, and it has possibly one of the best insulated cabins we’ve seen in this segment.

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