Holden Astra Sedan for 2017 is being described as “developed in Germany, made in South Korea, with engineering and design input from Australia”. This vehicle is replacing Cruze four-door. Holden has ceased its production in October last year. Though this new-generation sedan will be made in South Korea but the local General Motors subsidiary will have market-specific engineering input.
The sedan will be joining European made three door Astra coupe, and the latest five-door hatchback. Astra sedan will also share the hatchback platform. Holden, in 2015 has committed that it will be launching 24 new products by 2020 and this vehicle would be the brand’s 13th subsequent unveiling. This vehicle was designed in Detroit but Holden’s local team has styled the grille and fascia and has also incorporated the lion badge.
Lot of local testing and tuning has been done on Astra sedan. It might also feature Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, alongwith a rear-view camera and optional 7- and 8-inch screens. It has a coefficient drag of .295 and a 120kg weight saving over previous generation D1 architecture and the sedan might offer much better fuel efficiency and performance over its predecessor. The sedan will have three variants: Astra R, Astra RS and Astra RS-V.
From Safety point of view, all the variants of sedan will have a reversing camera, rear parking sensors and six airbags. The higher-spec models will have a front-facing camera alongwith front park assist, forward collision alert, forward distance indicator, lane keep assist, self-park assist and automatic windscreen wipers.
Pricing of the sedan will be estimated $21,990. Astra sedan will be rivaling against Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Mazda3 and Volkswagen Jetta. Holden is saying that it is a very affordable sedan for all. The overall features of the car are looking good and this sedan will surely get a good hit in the market.
Specification Table
| Engine | 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol |
| Power | 110W(150hp) |
| Torque | 245Nm(manual transmission) and 240Nm(automatic transmission) |
| Length | 4666mm |
| Width | 1791mm |