Opel Astra GTC test drive since 2011
Individual`s Car
There are people who are vital to stand out from the stream. For them, there are individualists, which we called Indicars for stratity. Well, since the machine is an Indicar, then the turns should be profiled!
Kia Cerato Koup
The Korean car is the only real three-binding coupe of a golf class in our market. KouP belongs to the popular class compartment class in the USA. Behind the ocean, Civic, Focus, and Chevrolet Cobalt had a two -door body. In recent years, competitors began to leave this market segment, and Koreans not only sell Koup in America under the name Forte Koup, but also import it to other markets. So Kia is a real Indikar. Your neighbors will definitely not have anything like it! But what can unique offer except for a unique body and a chick design?
Outside and inside According to Boris Kutz, Cereto Koup is not a girl, but a real kid. Daring rocker or fearless skater. The compartment differs from the sedan not only by the number of doors: there is glass without a framework, an underestimated roof line, other bumper, a diffuser in the rear bumper, a muffler nozzle, fashionable wheels with varnished segments. Hard! The youth mood continues in the cabin: the red line of the seats and the steering wheel, aluminum pedals, the red backlight and the main number of the color music program! Nobody offers this! For adults, such options seem to be complete delirium, but when you are less than 25, such entertainments seem quite appropriate.
Unfortunately, when it comes to actually the automotive qualities of the interior of the Korean coupe, it becomes much less positive emotions. This is precisely the Indicar, and not at all a sports compartment. The rollers of lateral support are widely placed, the skin is soft in a chair, and if you put the back vertically, then with my height of 186 cm I rest on the ceiling. Of course, this can be attributed to the hatch, but in German cars there is no such thing. And in general, ergonomics are not on top. The control ranges are small, and the elbows do not fall on the armrests. It is especially tight to the left elbow, it falls on the hard plastic of the windows block. Painfully! It’s cramped in the back, both to the head and legs. But the back of the seats, in contrast, say, is quite long from Japanese cars, you don’t slip it off it. Devices are not only beautiful, but also easy to read, there are not as much buttons on the central console as in Opel, and it is more convenient to use them. The hatch in the roof is less than in Scirocco in the area, but it not only rises, but also moves back.
In general, the car makes the impression quite cheap: hard plastic, cheap skin, an unstable unit with USB and AUX inputs, heating the seats with the only level of heating, however, such things are not important for students, but color music with a bunch of modes is interesting! Maybe Kia will confirm its ambitions on the move?
In move
On the go, Cerato Koup only confirms that all the sport consists in his appearance. In fairness, it should be noted that the Korean coupe has only 150-sides, thus being the weakest in this test. But the matter is not only in lower power, but also how it is realized. And with this, problems. When you press the gas, the motor instantly spins, filling the salon with an unpleasant screech. It seems that there is no engine insulation at all! In any case, on the motor shield, noise -insulating mats forgot to put. The gearbox does not please the speed of switching, however, you can use the manual mode. So acceleration after German machines does not seem dynamic.
About brakes and steering can only be said that they are, and they are enough in standard modes. They do not give any special pleasure, but they do not create any special problems. You cannot call the steering wheel empty, but the search steering in the bend cannot be avoided. The brakes are quite powerful, but the pedal is not soft soft.
But the suspension was even more upset. Not only does Kia roll and slide the face more than others in the test, but with irregularities, its suspension copes worse. Vibrations pass throughout the body, the steering wheel shakes and strives to jump out of the hands, and the car itself begins to jump along the road like a ball. What happens, Cerato Koup is a bad car? Rather, another, created for other purposes. The Korean compartment is completely devoid of sports, it is better suited for voyages in auto -bonds. A rather soft suspension, armchairs that have to throw back the back and stick out the hand in the window towards the wind. And in the city there are no special complaints, but with the task of attracting attention, Koup copes with five points. Many owners of even more expensive D and E-class sedans are stared at it. So the indicar from Kia came out well.
Mikhail Romanov, 21 years old, Mami student
The car is good, justifies its price. Cerato Koup is always in the spotlight: views raised up his thumbs, surprise, delight. I really like the standard audio system: 6 speakers, a good sound. USB input does not need a bunch of blank. Good seats, although not sports, but the back does not get tired. Even the rear passengers are quite comfortable, especially compared to other compartment. I have an engine 1.6 and manual transmission, so fuel consumption does not exceed 9.5 liters even in the city. Cons, they are always there, for example, the rear twisting beam that makes the car very hard. But the car holds the road well, only low. But what is seriously upset is the windshields that crack according to the same drawing for almost everyone.
Opel Astra GTC
Three -door Astra is a real star of our market. This is the most popular three -door hatchback of Russia, the second most popular Astra body, and our market for the third model in Europe after Germany and the UK. The fault of this is a stylish design that sharply allocated the car among other three -door hatchbacks. The new Astra GTC has become even more individual. Only three details unite it with a five -door, I’m not sure that Scirocco and Golf have fewer details! During the presentation of the model on the Mallorca, I just fell in love with this car, but for two days at the wheel of Scirocco, they made me doubt that Astra GTC is the best in its class. What will Opel answer?
Outside and inside You can argue for a long time which of the two-three-days of this test is more beautiful: someone will prefer the emphasized vw aggression, others will like the femininity of Opel. The same Borya Kuts summed up our disputes, choosing a successful comparison: Scirocco is a thin kid, daring and prickly, and Astra has matured and acquired magnificent forms of a woman. However, despite the apparent lush, Opel inside is no more than Volkswagen. Yes, a full -fledged sofa is behind, but the three of them will be crowded. But at the back there is more space for the head, although the driver and passenger will not feel special differences with Scirocco. The trunk is noticeably smaller, but the whole thing is in the double floor of the Flex Floor floor, which allows you to remove all sorts of household trifles like a motorist’s set of an motorist, canister with butter or non -freezing. In fact, the difference with VW is as many as 70 liters in favor of Astra! And the loading height is less than that of VW. In addition, you can open the trunk from the outside, just by clicking on the Opel emblem.
The past generation of Astra GTC hopelessly lost Scirocco on ergonomics, the generation car Ju not only caught up with Volkswagen, but in some ways overtook it. The GTC has better seats, a very successful armrest, more than the adjustment range, and the pedals are located at the same height, which allows you to easily and at ease. Astra seems to say that she is not just an Indicar, but a real Warm Hatch!
In move
Astra GTC differs from a five -door machine not only externally, but also constructively. The car has a wider track, more a wheelbase and, more importantly, a fundamentally different front suspension design. There are not just Mcpherson racks, but Hiperstrut suspension, like on INSIGNIA OPC. As a result, the car is completely deprived of strength steering, there are simply no problems with the implementation of power. No matter how bad the road is, the GTC stubbornly bites into asphalt. There is no more insufficient rotation, so characteristic of the machine of the past generation. Our machine was equipped with a FlexRide suspension with three modes: ordinary, Sport and Tour. Moreover, with pressing the button, not only the rigidity of the shock absorbers, but also the sharpness of the gas pedal and the force on the steering wheel change. If in the Tour GTC mode it turns into a real vegetable, then Sport is not inferior to Scirocco in sports. The suspension is the same collected, and the force on the steering wheel is even more pleasant. Unlike VW, it is constantly, and does not increase as the angle of rotation of the steering wheel increases. Another uncharacteristic for the old Opel feature is a short -term lever of the CP, which pleases with clear switching. For the first time in a long time, the transmission process to Opel gives a real buzz!
Unfortunately, the motor flatly refuses to support the gust of chassis. Power deficiency is even more obvious than in the case of Volkswagen. This chassis and strength would be 250! The Astra engine has an extra 200 cubes of the working volume, but does not have a compressor that would add rods at low speeds. As a result, the engine wakes up only after 3,000 revolutions, but even then it is impossible to call acceleration hurricane. Scirocco is perceived as a more dynamic car. And in pursuit of premium sensations Opel was deprived of the sound of the motor! Even when dispersing, gas is not heard into the floor of the engine. As a result, the driver loses the positive emotions that the Chryvatsky Walk of the Turbine gives. Well, the main minus of the work of the brakes. Firstly, they are quite weak, and secondly, it is not possible to dose slowdown. And still, Astra is the most driver Opel of all. Even the old OPC models did not give such pleasure from driving as the new GTC. For Opel, this car was a real breakthrough, and driving on Russian roads only confirmed.
Oleg Styrenkov, 21 years old, student
The first thing that catches the eye is the appearance of a car that leaves no one indifferent: driving along the street, you always collect the eyes of passers -by. When choosing a car, the price of cars was important to me, in the case of Astra GTC, it corresponds to a hundred percent set the cars and technical characteristics. Engine 1.4 turbo 140 forces has good traction from low speeds. The minus of this engine is an uncertain thrust after 100 km/h. This means that overtaking on the highway is given hard.
Sport Sport Sport has front seats with pronounced lateral support. There is no minus adjustments to the lumbar support and adjustments of the popliteal pillow. In a common car, I am satisfied.
VW Scirocco
Scirocco is the most atypical of all VW. Outside, understand that in front of you is a machine developed in Wolfsburg only on the emblem. No wonder Murat Gunak, who created it, was fired with the wording of the loss of corporate identity and erosion of the image of the brand. Scirocco is generally defiantly not a German car in it there is no strictness, clarity and simplicity of lines. He is bright, provocative and attractive views. A winding line that takes off up should suggest the memories of the old SCIROCCO and Corrado compartment, but the past is not about this car at all. The green beast looks only forward with his four eyes. Real Indicar!
Outside and inside There are few people manage to combine the style and utilitarianism together, therefore, looking at the flowing roof line, at the cockpit narrowing to the tail, at the lush rear bumper, I do not wait for utilitarianism. And I'm mistaken! Let Scirocco not look like VW, but he still remains. Therefore, the trunk is very voluminous, albeit with a large loading height, a place above my head with a margin, despite the panoramic roof and 65 mm smaller than Golf, and in the back of the legs. True, the rear sofa will accept only two. But why it is worth scolding the Germans is for the excessively a tricky process of opening the trunk. You need to either press the button on the keyen, or the button on the driver's door. In general, it's okay, but you do not immediately manage to get used to this after driving on other models of the company.
Ergonomics is close to the standard, as in all modern Volkswagen. And this is despite the fact that Scirocco has a past generation Golf interior. In some ways, this interior is even better than modern. For example, I seemed to me a more convenient multimedias system Scirocco, and the old dashboard is no worse than modern all -folkvagenovskaya. It is possible to complain only on the lack of adjustment of the lumbar selection and armrest. And if the first almost did not cause inconvenience, then the armrest was not enough in traffic jams could not be relaxed. However, Scirocco was not created to relax.
In move
Top Scirocco with a two -liter engine is Golf GTI, but only in stylish packaging. Our cheese is equipped with a 1.4 TSI engine in its most powerful 160-horsepower version. The horse number is so great thanks to the drive supercharger, which helps the turbine tamp the air into the cylinders. If this is not a hot hatchback, then certainly warmed Warm Hatch, as the British say. And if so, it is necessary to drive, especially since the steering wheel, ferocious whistling motor and not tolerating DSG compromises, ask you to press the gas pedal stronger. DSG is often scolded for excessive radicalism: the box or immediately switches to the 6-7th programs in the drive or for a long time hangs at almost maximum speeds in sports, but with Scirocco this is exactly what is needed. You either rush like an scalded one, or slowly roll in a traffic jam, exchanging meaningful glances with beautiful girls. And why else do I need such an Indicar? Moreover, the girls like him, and they willingly pay attention to both the car and the driver.
But, as you know, the first thing you were aircraft, but the girls later, so Scirocco and I waited the twisted tracks of the Moscow Region. Any German car has good handling, and even a dandelion such as Scirocco is even more so. And the machine did not deceive the expectations. A hard suspension almost does not allow rolls, the steering wheel will be poured with effort, the machine almost instantly reacts to any action of the driver: whether it is adding gas, turning the steering wheel or pressing the brake pedal. Great! One trouble, soon you begin to realize that 160 forces are still not enough for this chassis.
But what Scirocco does not like is roads with small irregularities. Not only do they all directly broadcast into the salon, and the power is not possible to realize 100%because of them. It is worth a little stronger and a little earlier to press the gas, as the wheels break into the slip, the stabilization system comes into business, which strangles the motor, knocking it out of the turbo zone. As a result, instead of accelerating at the exit from the turn, you can hardly roll out of it. But the large irregularities and potholes of VW swallows surprisingly calmly. Naturally, the flaws of coating do not dissolve in space, but shock absorbers do not allow breakdowns. This is not just tough, but an energy -intensive suspension. So this scirocco is not so atypical, in many ways it is a 100%VW.
Vadim Sadykov, Master of Political Science, 24 years old
The appearance distinguishes Scirocco from the general flow even in Italy, where I live. Management corresponds to appearance. On the Munich Avtoban at an average speed of 200 and a maximum 245 km/h, the car behaved confidently. I really like the sound of the engine when switching. Sports seats are comfortable, but after 700 km at the wheel, the back is still getting tired. The salon is unexpectedly spacious, and the trunk is very large for cars of this class. Now about the disadvantages: noise insulation is not very well audible. I have 19-inch wheels that had to look for two weeks in Florence, but I was ready to fly even further.
Summary
VW Scirocco and Astra GTC are very close in their characteristics, but the calculation of points shows that Opel is still ahead. The GTC is more universal, it has more trunk, better visibility and, on the whole, it is more comfortable. The main disadvantage of the car from Russelsheim is a lack of dynamics. This chassis is really great! He would have more power
Scirocco lost due to the worst visibility and 70 liters of a smaller trunk. Management is almost at the Opel level, you can only be complained about powerful stinging with early gas pressing. It is interesting that, despite the lower power, the car is perceived as more dynamic and sports. This is a real Warm Hatch without any. But the price of two points of the difference in the final assessments do not pull in any way for almost 400,000 rubles of the difference!
Kia Cerato Koup seriously lost to its German competitors. It is controlled worse, slower, less comfortable, closer and noisier. This is precisely the indicator of sports in it. But this does not prevent him from attracting his eyes and being in the spotlight. In addition, the Korean machine is the only real compartment in this class, while Scirocco and Astra GTC, albeit very stylish, but still banal three -door hatchbacks.
Source: Cars
