Test drive Opel Astra Sport sedan since 2012 sedan

Closer to the stars

What kind of Astra do you have?, From the Octavia Superb window, standing next to me in a dead traffic jam, a passenger in dark glasses is protruded. Cabilet compartment,- I answer, anticipating the next replica- will you show? With my right hand, shaking the key on the ceiling and find myself on the not very fresh air of the garden ring under the curious glances of the neighbors in the cork.
 

Moscow traffic jam - ideal conditions for transforming the coupe into a convertible and vice versa. If only they would not move. At speeds above 30 km/h, electronics begins to squeak menacingly, and the roof freezes, without bringing the matter to the end. You can fold a hard top in 27 seconds, expand - in 29. A short sound signal reports about the completion of the reincarnation. If you let go of the key and set off on the road without waiting for it, then a boss is disgusting - you will immediately guess what’s the matter.
 

Thanks to a three-section folding roof, which occupies less space than the less advanced two-section structures, the silhouette of the Cabiolet compartment turned out to be proportional and solid. Inside, the Astra Twin Top is an almost accurate copy of the popular hatchback, which made his debut in 2004. Only the ceiling is lower, and the rear window resembles an embrasure (you have to navigate the side mirrors).
 

Twin Top with a 2-liter engine with a capacity of 200 hp. - The most charged option with a claim to the role of a sports compartment. Tenacious sports seats in front, 6-speed mechanics, an interactive IDS+ control program with the ability to change the damping abilities of the suspension and the engine control program (Sport mode).
 

At first, the dynamic abilities of the car are not impressive. If you do not twist the motor above 3000 rpm, the Cabricol compartment is subjective only a little more freak than the Astra hatchback with a 1.8 liter engine (140 hp). The manufacturer confirms this. Acceleration to a hundred takes 8.9 seconds (only a second less than that of Hatch). This is due to the fact that Twin Top is almost 200 kg heavier. The steering wheel seems empty, and the brake pedal is a little cotton. But you should press the Sport button ...
 

Already at 2500 rpm, acceleration acquires intensity, which allows you to deftly maneuver in the stream. And at 4000-5000 revolutions of the gase pedal, even too sharp. The suspension becomes in sporting hard, the steering wheel pleases with a clear feedback with the wheels (this is when the potential of sports rubber is revealed 225/45 R17!). The work of the brakes in emergency mode was evaluated when on the wheels the passing pedestrian rushed under the wheels on the wheels. A punch on the pedal, an assistant in braking is triggered, and the car slows down even faster than you expect it from it.
 

With the top raised, Twin Top perfectly writes high -speed turns, only occasionally trying to slightly bring the stern (a considerable length of the machine is affected - 4476 mm). ESP allows the tires to be slightly baked, but with a serious bust in speed, the presumptuous driver resolutely besieges. And how will the convertible behave? With a folded roof, Twin Top seems even more stable in corners due to the best weightlift and the lowered center of gravity. The designers clearly worked on the rigidity of the body (this is especially noticeable when you try to open a heavy door enhanced by a massive beam from the inside). However, all of the above refers to the Sport mode. It is worth turning it off, and Twin Top becomes more calm, comfortable, but also more lethargic and rocker.
 

With an open top, the car has a leisurely driving. You roll yourself measuredly, enjoy the blue sky above your head. But still, sometimes I want to slightly press the passengers into the seats, showing them the possibility of a car.
 

In five days I drove about 500 km around the city and highway, and during this time Twin Top decently exhausted me. The car provokes an aggressive driving. In the city, there are enough three programs for her. You get used to the Sport button as a doping, and when you turn it off, you suddenly find that the car is not driving, and at the most inopportune moment. If you constantly use the sports regime, then the fuel consumption even in the mode of the city trace does not fall below 16-17 liters per hundred.
 

For all that Twin Top is a very practical car: a trunk with a volume of 400 liters in the compartment mode, the Easy Load device, automatically lifting elements of the folded roof 250 mm to facilitate loading and luggage unloading. At the back, albeit with difficulty, two can fit. So, quite possibly, the most reasonable choice for those who need a beautiful, relatively inexpensive car released in the stream will be Twin Top with a 1.8 liter engine. Its dynamics will not give birth to dizzying sensations, but it will not require a constant maximum concentration from the driver. And for pleasant trips with an open top of 140 hp. quite enough.
 

Astra Twin Top prices and equipment
 

Enjoy equipment offers ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, a route computer, an electric drive of all glasses, a multifunction leather steering wheel with an electric hydraulic power steering, air conditioning, electric mirrors and heating, front and side airbags, CD residents with MP3, 6 speakers. A machine with a 6-speeded gearbox and a 2 liter (200 hp) is $ 35,490. A test car with additional equipment (interactive IDS+, ESP control system, adaptive front light Bi-Coxenon, etc.) costs $ 40,288. In the minimum configuration with a 1.6 liter engine (105 hp) Twin Top will cost $ 29,500. It includes ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, steel 15-inch discs, the function is constantly included in close light.
 

 

Text: Dmitry Polikarpov
 

 

Source: Motor magazine [October 2006]