Vauxhall Astra

Vauxhall has successfully tuned out the distress cries of its US parent to produce a fine hatch.

• Comfort

  The seats are excellent, and the space is OK, if not quite as OK as a Focus. Engines are sweet and refined too, so your ears don't get a bashing. The only issue is ride comfort, which is too harsh and wooden.

  

• Performance

  Choice of nine engines: the petrols include two tunes of 1.4 (83 or 95bhp), a 1.4 turbo, a 1.6 and 1.6 turbo. The CDTi diesel choice is one of two 1.7s (105 and 123bhp), a 2.0 or an eco-themed 1.3 due in 2010. The 1.4 Turbo's figures look good (138bhp and 147lb ft of torque) but don't imagine this is even a warmish hatch. It'll crack 60mph in a respectable nine seconds, but it feels more relaxed than that. You'd barely guess it was turbocharged: power arrives discreetly, with the only real hint of forced induction a subtle whooshing noise around 4,000rpm. Though smooth and tractable, the 1.4 feels too lightweight for the Astra and you'll find yourself working it harder than you'd like. The 123bhp 1.7 CDTi has a good slap of torque once you get it spinning, but below 2,000rpm or so it heaves against the weight of the Astra, revving a little less cleanly and generally making a bit more noise than the silkier French and VW diesels.

  

• Cool

  They're everywhere, so hardly cool. But if forced, we will admit to a sneaky liking of the styling of the three-door.

  

• Quality

  Inside it's great, a proper mini-Insignia and a swoopy quantum leap from the utilitarian old interior. Maybe you'll find it a bit chintzy in a few years, but right now it makes you go ooh-look-at-that and we like it. The instrumentation is classy and clear and, in a neat touch nabbed from the Insignia, the needles throw a pinpoint of light onto the rim of the dials.

  

• Handling

  Yes, it's a bigger car than the previous generation, growing by 17cm in length, but it tackles motorways like a larger car still, floating serenly over tarmac and delicately smoothing bumps without ever feeling disconnected. There's plenty of grip from the rear tyres: tight bends require a genuinely daft approach speed to get the traction control light flashing. No matter how badly you try and bend it out of shape, the Astra stays composed.

  

• Practicality

  No complaints inside the cabin, with the Astra offering plenty of room for five. The merely average boot size tries to compensate with FlexFloor - a floating floor that you can slot higher for better access or lower for maximum volume. However it's fiddly and nowhere near as simple to adjust as the similar system in the Citroen C3 Picasso.

  

• Running costs

  The diesels are obviously very good (the 1.7 CDTi returns 60mpg) but the 1.4 Turbo makes a fine alternative. Expect 48mpg while tax costs are £110.