Opel Astra Fuel Cap Release

[Quinton Hebenstreit]

The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadett. As of 2021[update], the car slots between the smaller Corsa supermini and the larger Insignia large family car.

Initially, the Astra was available in hatchback, saloon, and estate (station wagon; known as the Astra Caravan, later the Sports Tourer) forms. A panel van (sedan delivery; Astravan) and a convertible (Astra Cabrio) also appeared in the early 1990s. These body styles were later followed by a coup (the Astra GTC) in 2004, and the sporty Astra OPC appeared in 2005. The Twin Top retractable hardtop convertible replaced the soft top convertible in 2006, while the Caravan was renamed to Astra Sports Tourer since 2009.

The Astra is branded the Vauxhall Astra in the United Kingdom. It was rebadged and sold as the Saturn Astra in North America between 2008 and 2009, as the Buick Excelle XT from 2009 until 2015 and as the Buick Verano/Hatchback GS in China from 2015 until 2021. The Holden Astra was discontinued in Australia and New Zealand in 2009, and was replaced by the locally assembled Holden Cruze. It briefly returned to the Australian market in 2012, for the first time badged as an Opel,[1] but was discontinued after Opel withdrew from the country a year later.[2] In 2015, Opel reintroduced the Astra GTC and Astra VXR to Australia and New Zealand in 2015, again bearing the Holden badge. Between 2017 and 2019, the Astra nameplate was also used for the Holden version of the Cruze sedan.[3][4]

After Opel was sold by General Motors to PSA Group, the Astra K continued to be produced under license until it was replaced by the Astra L. The Astra L was released after the merger of the company to form Stellantis.[5][6][7]

The Astra nameplate originates from Vauxhall, which had manufactured and marketed earlier generations of the Opel Kadett (the Kadett D and Kadett E) as the Vauxhall Astra since March 1980. Subsequent GM Europe policy standardised model nomenclature in the early 1990s, whereby model names were the same in all markets regardless of the marque they were sold under.

As of 2021, there have been six generations of the Astra (or eleven generations of the Kadett/Astra family as a whole). In a fashion typical for Opel, they are designated with subsequent letters of the Latin alphabet. Opel's official convention is that the Astra is a logical continuation of the Kadett lineage, thus, the first generation of Opel Astra became the Astra F rather than the Astra A since the final Opel Kadett was the Kadett E. The Mk1 and Mk2 Vauxhall Astras are sometimes called the Astra D and Astra E by enthusiasts to mark the continuity with their sister models.

The Astra F debuted in September 1991. With the Kadett E's successor, Opel adopted the Astra nameplate, which was already used by Vauxhall for the Kadett D and E (see Vauxhall Astra). It was offered as a three- or five-door hatchback, a saloon (sedan), and an estate (wagon) known as the Caravan and available with five doors only, bringing Opel's run of three-door wagons to an end at long last. The Caravan appeared in October 1991, shortly after the original introduction, as did the sporty, 16-valve GSI model with its aggressive bodykit.[9] A cabriolet was also offered, designed, and built by Bertone in Italy.

Compared to the Kadett, the Astra grew slightly in all dimensions except the wheelbase. The windshield was moved forward by 7.5 cm (3 in) while the roof was extended the same amount at the rear, meaning a significant increase in interior volume.[9]

The Astra F received a facelift in August 1994, accompanied by improved rust protection. This included a new grille with a larger Opel badge, clear front turn signals, new door mirrors (replacing the earlier Kadett E units used on the pre-facelift model), and a generally smoothed-out appearance. While the Astra F finished production in Germany in 2000, Polish-built Astras remained on offer in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Turkey, India and Asia with the name Opel Astra Classic from 1999 to 2003.[10]

The model was also launched in South Africa in November 1991, where it was produced under licence by Delta. The "Kadett" name was retained for the hatchback Astras until 2000. The sedan and station wagon models were offered under the Astra name. The Kadett and Astra in South Africa won the title of 'Car of the Year' in two consecutive years (1994 and 1995) even though they were versions of the same car.[11] South African nomenclature was denoted in centilitres, so the Astra and Kadett ranges featured 140, 160i, 180i and 200i models. Models with fuel injection received the "i" designation, while carburetor models didn't. Additional model designation was listed after the displacement with the inclusion of the letters "S" for sport or "E" for executive. Sport trim was typically for the Kadett (hatchback) model and included a different front bumper with spotlights and a rear spoiler. Executive derivatives included a higher specification level than non-executive models. The top variant in the Kadett (hatchback) model was the 200iS which featured a 2.0 SOHC 8v engine producing 95kw while the top spec Astra (sedan) derivative featured a 2.0 16v DOHC engine producing 110kw. The South African lineup also included a unique limited edition variant with a turbocharged C20LET engine called the 200tS offered in either Kadett (hatchback) or Astra (sedan) derivatives and was only available for two model years (1994-1995) and in limited numbers.[12] The 200tS was built by Delta Motor Corporation and faster than the then-current BMW M3 in a quarter-mile drag race.[citation needed] The "t" stands for the turbocharger. The engine was sourced from the 4x4 Opel Calibra and Opel Vectra and converted from a six-speed, four-wheel drive transmission (Getrag F28) to front-wheel drive only with a limited slip differential. The 200tS was unique from other Kadett and Astra models as it used a 5 bolt wheel hub (all other cars used a 4 bolt hub), it also featured unique 16" alloy wheels only available on the 200tS.

The Opel Astra also became available in Australasia badged as a Holden, first in New Zealand in 1995, and then Australia in 1996. These models were imported from the UK. The Holden Astra name had previously been used on rebadged Nissan Pulsar models from 1984 to 1989.

The Opel Astra's first generation was exported to Brazil from December 1994 as the Chevrolet Astra, possibly because of a lowering of import tariffs. General Motors do Brasil sent the 2.0-litre, 115 bhp engines to Belgium, whence the completed cars took their way to Brazil. In February 1996 the Brazilian government again changed the import tariff, from 20 to 70% - making the car prohibitively expensive and leading to its cancellation after just over a year on the market.[13] Instead, the locally built Kadett was updated. The second-generation Astra was manufactured in Brazil.

Beginning in March 1995, the Astra sedan was assembled in Indonesia where it was marketed as the Opel Optima.[14] The renaming was done as the global name was already used by Astra International, a local automotive company and an assembler/distributor of several competing car brands. In India the Opel Astra was assembled for the local market in a joint venture with the Birla Companies, beginning in 1996.[15] Indian production ended in 2002.

The Astra G was launched in Europe in Spring of 1998. It was available as a three or five-door hatchback, four-door saloon, five-door estate (in Opel tradition, known as a "Caravan") and two special versions from 2000: the Astra Coup and the Astra Cabrio, both of them designed and built by Bertone.[20] The Astra G saw the introduction of a natural gas-powered engine. Its chassis was tuned by Lotus and formed the base of a 7-seater compact MPV, the Opel Zafira, which was co-developed by Porsche. Approximately 90,000 coups were produced.

The manufacturing of the Astra saloon and Caravan continued at Opel's Gliwice plant in Poland after the debut of the next-generation Astra H, with the older model being branded as Astra Classic in a similar fashion to its predecessor, catering to the lower end of the market. This car was offered in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Turkey with the name Astra Classic II from 2004 to the end of 2009. Apart from European markets, these models were also sold in Australia and New Zealand as the Holden Astra Classic, until they were replaced by the Holden Viva (built-in South Korea) in 2006.

In 2004, GM's Russian joint venture GM-AvtoVAZ launched the 4-door version of the Astra G as the Chevrolet Viva. It was sold through Chevrolet dealers in Russia, while Opel dealers were selling the newer Opel Astra H. Sales were poor from the start due to high pricing: the only version launched was equipped with a 1.8L engine with an above-average trim level, placing the Viva's price above the Toyota Corolla.[23] A project costing $340 million was selling less than a thousand cars annually (801 cars in 2007);[23][24] rumours of shutting down Chevy Viva production circulated as early as summer of 2005.[25] GM-AvtoVAZ shut down small-scale production of the Viva in March 2008.[23]

The Astra G series Coup was used for the silhouette racing cars in the DTM series. These DTM racing cars are purpose-built race cars with barely any parts taken from the road cars except for lights and door handles. The car's bodywork featured gull-wing doors that were each supported by two gas struts. The racing cars were powered by 4.0L V8 engines with nearly 500 hp (370 kW). Opel did poorly during several seasons of DTM as only Manuel Reuter placed significantly in the championship once, taking second in the inaugural season in 2000 before withdrawing at the end of 2005, but the car was also used to win the 24h Nrburgring in 2003.

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