Opel/Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer unveiled in Paris

The Opel/Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer, a wagon variation of the Astra,  has been unveiled in Paris.

Judging from live shots from the show, only the Opel variant was actually on hand, but Vauxhall has released pictures of their variant, which you can check out in the gallery right after the article.

The Sports Tourer has a good 1,550 litres of luggage space with the seats folded down. The seats can be folded down with the push of a button thanks to FlexFold Rear Seats. If you need the seats up though, there’s still 500 litres of space behind them.

More info can be found in Opel’s press release after the gallery.

Press Release

World Premiere: Opel Astra Sports Tourer – The Athletic Compact Wagon
Opel at the Mondial de l’Automobile 2010

2010-09-30

  • Sporty: Sculptured, dynamic looks echo agile handling
  • First class practicality: Premium quality luggage area features
  • Wide choice: Extended powertrain menu enhanced by Start/Stop technology

Paris/Rüsselsheim. The new Astra Sports Tourer brings style, practicality and eco-friendly technology to the compact wagon segment, giving owners the flexibility to combine professional and private use in one vehicle.

Sharing the same Opel design DNA and Sports Tourer name as its larger Insignia counterpart, the Astra Sports Tourer also introduces a similar focus on first class quality and functionality. The sculpted shape encapsulates a cabin with all the widely-acclaimed attributes of the Astra hatchback, while adding an ample cargo carrying capability. Space-efficient trunk design, enabling an impressive load volume of up to 1,550 liters, is complemented by smart, upscale features such as the new FlexFold Rear Seats – a system which folds the rear seatbacks at the touch of a button.

The Astra Sports Tourer’s athletic looks are backed by an equally athletic driving experience. The new wagon shares the same innovative rear suspension and mechatronic FlexRide chassis as its hatchback peer. Other class leading features such as AFL+ adaptive forward lighting and medically-approved ergonomic front seats add comfort and safety to the driving fun on offer.

A wide powertrain choice of nine fuel-efficient engines provides a bandwidth from 70 kW/95 hp to 132 kW/180 hp. Fuel-saving Start/Stop technology will be first introduced on the 1.3 CDTI engine (70 kW/95 hp) early next year, resulting in CO2 emissions as low as 109 g/km.

In addition to reducing fuel bills, Opel engineers are leading the industry in minimizing damage repair costs from low speed crashes – the most frequent, according to insurance companies. As a result, new Astra owners can expect to pay some of the lowest annual insurance premiums in the segment.

Opel was among the first automakers in Europe to introduce a wagon body style in the early 1950s. The new Astra Sports Tourer now draws on more than 50 years of Opel expertise in designing and building station wagons.

The Astra Sports Tourer will build on the momentum generated by the outstanding sales success of its hatchback partner, which has received nearly 200,000 orders so far. In recent years approximately 25 percent of all Astra model sold in Europe were wagons.

Conceived and developed at Opel’s International Technical Design Center in Rüsselsheim, Germany, the Astra Sports Tourer will be built at the company’s production plant in Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom. Deliveries start in November this year.

New Opel design language debuts in compact wagon class

The Astra Sports Tourer now takes Opel’s exciting new design language – sculptural artistry meets German precision – into the compact wagon segment. Conceived in parallel with its hatchback stable mate, the wagon variant has its own stand alone identity. The athletic close-coupled proportions give it a unique presence, beyond being simply a wagon version of the hatchback.

From the B-pillars rearward, the bodywork is all new. The Astra Sports Tourer’s athletic character is defined by a single window graphic that tapers towards the D-pillar and a strong shoulder line, culminating in wide, sculpted tail lamp units, which adds a feeling of toned muscularity.

The sleek looks are accentuated by long, slim roof bars that flow neatly into a wide roof spoiler integrated into the top of the tailgate. Its raked angle helps create a dynamic profile that’s in perfect balance with the swept, frontal styling. The signature Astra blade motif, sculpted into the side body ahead of the rear wheels, contributes to the sense of movement.

Spacious luggage area with easy-to-use features seen in premium cars

That elegant, stylish bodywork houses a surprisingly spacious cargo deck. Deep and flat sided, the fully carpeted trunk is free of any odd, space-eating corners or intrusions from the rear wheel-arches.

The Astra Sports Tourer is the first compact wagon outside the premium segment to offer a remote seat-folding function. This ergonomic convenience provided by the FlexFold Rear Seats allows the cargo-carrying capacity to be increased from 500 to 1,550 liters by simply pushing a button. It automatically releases and lowers each section of the 60/40 split-fold rear seat back. It’s no longer necessary to walk around the vehicle to separately lower each seat-back. Opel engineers have also designed the system to function without having to first move the seatbelts clear of the seat backs. With the seat backs down, the cargo deck is extended to an impressive 1,835 mm — 28 mm more than in the current Astra Station Wagon.

The Astra Sports Tourer joins premium compact cars in offering a two-touch luggage compartment cover. The Easy Access Cover slides upward and out of the way with a simple tap to load or remove smaller items. For larger loads, the cover retracts completely into the cassette with a quick hand motion, coming to a soft stop. When not needed, the complete assembly can be easily removed and stored below the load floor of the cargo space.

Versatility options include:

  • A tailored, multi-fold Luggage Compartment Liner, which protects the cargo floor carpeting, the tailgate opening, the rear bumper and the lowered seat backs.
  • Opel’s adaptable FlexOrganizer storage system consisting of nets and dividers that allow owners to customize the configuration of the cargo space.
  • A new generation of Opel’s innovative integrated FlexFix bicycle carrier will also be available next year.

As the Astra Sports Tourer is likely to pull trailers, Opel’s electronic Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) system is activated when an Opel-approved towing hitch is fitted to the vehicle. This sophisticated safety feature uses the standard Electronic Stability Control system to counter any instability that may occur when towing a trailer or caravan.

Sculptured cabin offers class-leading storage

The Astra Sports Tourer benefits from the same harmoniously sculpted, high quality interior first seen in the hatchback. The wraparound wing front fascia arcs across the cabin into the top of the door moldings, creating a warm and inviting ambience.

The feeling of space and movement is further underlined by an elegant center stack, mounted at a shallow angle, which flows from the instrument panel down into the gearshift. Décor details – such as the chrome-ringed gauges, the controls and the framing of the center stack – are combined with the use of soft touch materials and subtle warm ambient lighting to give a high quality presentation.

Four interior trim levels are offered. A new interior with warm colors and elegant atmosphere is now introduced on the Cosmo variant, using cocoa in different hues as an alternative to black.

The cabin is as practical as it is stylish. No other compact wagon offers so much accessible interior storage space – 25 liters in all or, twice as much as in the current generation wagon.  Now, the wagon is full of intuitive storage locations, including door pockets able to take large, 1.5-liter bottles, a highly adaptable center console that allows many configurations, a glove box of decent size and a pull-out storage drawer on the driver’s side.

First class long-distance driving comfort

Many Astra Sports Tourer drivers will use the car for daily business trips, as well as private/family weekend outings, and they are expected to clock up much more mileage than the usual annual distance covered by drivers in Europe. To optimize long-distance comfort and safety, the Astra Sports Tourer offers a number of key features.

The front seats provide the industry’s best range of length adjustment and customers can also choose the only ergonomic front seats in the segment certified by independent back experts from the German Aktion Gesunder Rücken organization (Action for Healthy Backs, known as AGR).

Driving comfort and safety is enhanced by Opel’s latest, third generation Adaptive Forward Lighting system (AFL+). It provides up to nine light functions, which are automatically engaged to suit prevailing road profiles and driving conditions. Additionally, the Opel Eye, a camera-based system that alerts the driver to the presence of certain traffic signs and provides a warning if the vehicle unintentionally veers out of lane – which is especially safe during long journeys. Both these advanced technologies are Opel firsts in the compact segment.

Agile handling with cutting-edge chassis technology

The Astra Sports Tourer inherits the chassis set-up and all the fine driving dynamics of the Astra hatchback. The rear axle benefits from an innovative and unique combination of a compound crank and Watt’s link. This ingenious and space-saving concept supports lateral forces during cornering to give dynamic and agile handling without compromising stability or comfort.

Chassis behavior can be further enhanced by the sophisticated FlexRide adaptive suspension system. This uses mechatronic chassis technology, integrating mechanical functions with electronic controls, and is a true rarity in the compact segment.

FlexRide continuously adapts to changes in road conditions and driving style. In the fully adaptive Standard mode, it offers the full bandwidth of adjustments available. In the Sport and Tour modes, selected by the driver, the system applies the sportiest or the most comfortable range of settings. Sport mode additionally tenses the throttle and steering responses – as well as the management of the automatic transmission.

Extended powertrain line-up: CO2 emissions down to 109 g/km

The extensive Astra Sports Tourer powertrain line-up comprises four diesel, five gasoline and one LPG options, offering a power bandwidth from 70 kW/95 hp to 132 kW/180 hp.

The diesel-power line-up includes 1.3, 1.7 and 2.0-liter units – all fitted with common-rail, multiple fuel injection, variable geometry turbocharging (VGT) and a maintenance-free particulate filter. All meet Euro 5 norms.

Start/Stop technology recently introduced on the Opel Agila and Corsa will be available early next year for the Astra 1.3 CDTI (70 kW/95 hp). It will offer outstanding fuel economy of just 4.1 l/100 km over the combined cycle and CO2 emission of only 109 g/km.

The 1.7-liter CDTI comes in two states of tune, providing 81 kW/110 hp and 260 Nm, or 92 kW/125 hp and 280 Nm of torque. Combined cycle fuel consumption in both cases is 4.5 l/100 km, together with CO2 emissions of 119 g/km.

The range-topping 2.0-liter CDTI engine is now offered with a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. Packing 118 kW/160 hp and plentiful torque of 350 Nm from just 1,750 rpm, it delivers zero to 100 km/h acceleration in less than ten seconds. The combined fuel consumption with the manual transmission is 5.1 l/100 km with CO2 emissions of 134 g/km.

The gasoline menu comprises 1.4 and 1.6-liter engines, each naturally-aspirated and turbocharged, with a power bandwidth from 74 kW/100 hp to 132 kW/180 hp. Continuously variable valve timing, on both inlet and exhaust sides, is featured in all engines except the 1.6-liter turbo.

An all new 1.4-liter turbo gasoline unit was introduced with this new generation Astra. Two outputs are now available. The 103 kW/140 hp version replaced the previous1.8-liter naturally-aspirated unit of similar power. In line with Opel’s downsizing engine strategy, it allows a valuable gain of nearly 15 percent in fuel efficiency, as well as 14 percent more torque for a combined fuel consumption of just 6.1 l/100 km. It is available with six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. The new 88 kW/120 hp version makes its debut in the Astra line-up with model year 2011 with a six-speed manual gearbox. It has an average fuel consumption of 6.1 l/100 km.

The entry-level, 1.4-liter naturally-aspirated unit develops 74 kW/100 hp and returns exceptional combined cycle fuel consumption of 5.9 l//100 km and 139 g/km CO2. The 1.6-liter turbocharged unit with 132 kW/180 hp and 230 Nm of torque tops the gasoline engine range.

Six-speed manual gearboxes are standard on the 1.4 Turbo and 1.6 Turbo gasoline engines as well as the 1.7 and 2.0 CDTI motors.  The 1.4 and 1.6-liter naturally-aspirated and the 1.3-liter turbo diesel engines come with five-speed transmissions. An all-new, six-speed automatic transmission is available as an option on the 1.6 naturally aspirated, the 1.4 Turbo (103 kW/140 hp) and 1.6 Turbo gasoline engines as well as the 2.0 CDTI.

Best-in-class total cost of ownership makes Astra Sports Tourer wagon of choice

The Sports Tourer makes a compelling choice for fleets, which are expected to exceed 50 percent of sales in markets like Germany. The compact wagon can serve as an adaptable, high mileage workhorse during the week, and become a stylish, family hold-all at weekends.

Because cost of ownership is increasingly important Opel designers and engineers have focused on keeping accident repair costs low. Even though most crashes take place at relative low speeds, they usually cause expensive bodywork and components damage. Key to the Astra Sports Tourer competitive edge is the design of its bumpers as well as front and rear bodywork: low repair costs mean low insurance payment and savings can amount to several hundred euros per year.

The strong residual values of the new Astra are already being indicated by sales of early used hatchbacks available on the market. Auto industry experts expect that the new Astra Sports Tourer will enjoy similar success.

Taking all factors into account the Astra Sports Tourer offers the best total cost of ownership in its class making it a truly smart choice for the business buyer.

Source: General Motors

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