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As gasoline prices continue to soar, U.S. drivers will probably start buying more small, European-style cars. The new Saturn is virtually identical to the Continental European Opel Astra, the British Vauxhall Astra, and the Australian Holden Astra. That's a good thing when it comes to handling. This car's driving dynamics are a huge improvement over those of the Saturn Ion, the unlovable staple of rental car fleets that the Astra is replacing. Under the hood is a 1.8-liter, 140-hp, inline four-c...

The Belgian-made Astra never suffers from a lack of ride comfort or handling over its peers, and the only complaint you'll ever hear handling-wise is from stoplight racers with body piercings and noise violations. But come on. This is an economy car … and a damn fine-handling one at that. Between corners, there's sufficient power to crush eggs after grocery shopping. Now, if you decide to read other reviews on the car, the tester will probably say power from the 1.8-litre Ecotec four-cylinder ...

The 5-door Astra gets XE and XR versions, but the 3-door is only available in the more expensive clothes. Although both cars looks good, clean and svelte, the 3-door proposes a more aggressive demeanor, owing to its lower roofline and some other minor differences. In short, both cars offer versatility, but if you're planning to carry passengers or cargo frequently, the 5-door will definitely make more sense. And yet, climbing in back of the 3-door doesn't require a chiropractor afterwards, and o...

General Motors has been doing a lot of things right the past few years, and the Saturn Astra should be added to the top of list. For years, GM’s European Opel division has built some excellent small cars, but until the Opel Vectra was used to make the Saturn Aura a couple of years ago, we didn't get much for GM's European holdings. Now there is the Saturn Astra that is simply a rebadged Opel Astra, which happens to be the No. 1 selling 3-door hatchback in Europe. I think it was a brilliant mov...

From MarketWatch.com: Our Black Sapphire/Charcoal top of the line XR was well built, fun to drive and economical. Judging from our rather emphatic e-mails of late, this is just the car many people say they are looking for. At 170.5 inches long, the Astra is shorter than one of our favorite compacts, the Honda Civic, but longer than another fav, the VW Rabbit. It comes in three-door and five-door models. The five-door is available in the base XE and jazzier XR models, while the three-door settles...

The all-new Saturn Astra is a terrific compact car. Enthusiasts know it is German-built and imported to your local Saturn dealer, a product of GM's Opel subsidiary. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is a remade Saturn Ion. It's much better and is waiting to be discovered. Get a deal before the market recognizes this gem.

The Astra makes a strong opening argument with its oversize headlamps, steeply raked windshield and stylish flared hips. It comes as a two- or four-door hatchback; the cars are almost identical in size, with the four-door’s roof rising 1.5 inches higher. I drove both models over eight days of testing. Inside, the Astra presents an intelligent yet somewhat dour face; the coldly metallic center control panel reminded me of an old Marantz stereo. Yet the Astra does well by features, safety and cr...

The Astra drives oh-so-nicely. Though the engine is slightly smaller and less powerful than the Focus' and must motivate more weight, it has a sweeter feel and loves to zip up to the red line. It has a feeling of quickness, although the speedometer reading wasn't impressive at the end of the full-blast on-ramp sprint in the Test Drive routine. The manual transmission in the hatchback test car let you know via slight mechanical resistance each time you slipped the lever into gear. It was not th...

Despite the very tight and tidy exterior, the Astra says "willkommen" with ample room inside. Backseat passengers get plenty of space for their heads and legs, though the flat triangular rear windows make it feel cozy in there, or claustrophobic, depending on your predisposition to such things. It's the perfect place to sit if you need to elude the paparazzi or slip through a border checkpoint. Up front, you'll be forgiven if you start speaking in a phony accent while driving, as long as you're ...

Both inside and out, the Astra's build quality appears to be first-rate. Things fit well, the door jams and sills are nicely finished and there's nothing chintzy about the soft-touch materials in the interior, despite the Astra's relatively low price point. The car conveys a feeling of solidity that I associate with many German cars. "Solid" is a good way to describe the Astra's handling, too - despite the fact that the Astra has a beam rear axle set-up rather than an independent rear suspension...

Offering a rebadged Opel Astra will only help GM's freshly revitalized division. Saturn executives, under the supervision of Bob Lutz, will score a lot of points with this hatchback, the build quality and driving dynamics of which will meet the expectations of compact car buyers. The 1.8L 4-cylinder is a good fit for the Astra. We both liked the precise steering as it improves driving dynamics. Handling is commendable and, despite noticeable body roll due to the smooth suspension, the car is bot...

Channel 5's KING correspondent Tom Voelk takes Saturn's new Astra compact hatchback for a spin in this video review. Back in 1993 GM announced a new division to attract buyers who had defected to import brands. When sales began in 1990, Saturn was certainly a grand laboratory. Showrooms had set prices and with the no-haggle price policy, picking out a car was akin to shopping for a pair of pants. Plastic body panels meant no more door dings. These cars were built in a happy place called Sprin...