THE Vauxhall Astra, rather like a fine wine, has improved with age. No longer is it an ordinary, fairly run-of-the-mill family car. It has evolved into something quite special.
It has always enjoyed success. Since being unveiled way back in 1979, it has sold massively across Europe and by the end of 2004, Vauxhall was producing 230,000 of them every year.
The latest incarnation is the fifth generation and has seen the introduction of the new Astra estate and the Sport Hatch.
The new batch has come at a huge price - more than a billion Euros invested by Vauxhall into modernised production plants and improving training and quality management.
But it's my guess that this will prove to be a wise spend.
My test car, a 1.9 CDTi SRi, was breathtakingly quick, looked great, and was spacious and comfortable.
Boasting striking front-end styling, bold three-dimensional lights and a generous rear window area, the estate continues the five-door's dynamic design line.
That it looks sleek and powerful, while offering as much room as possible in both the boot and the cabin, is testament to the Astra's ingenious engineers.
Firstly, they have positioned the axles as far apart as possible, providing a very generous load area with up to 1,550 litres of cargo space, as well as a spacious cabin with particularly good legroom.
Secondly, they designed the rear suspension to be very compact, so much so that it allows the fuel tank to be placed down low between the wheels.
Additionally, the top of the tank is hollowed out to enable lower installation of the back seats, bringing down the centre of gravity. Another advantage of the compact rear axle is that it provides space for a full-size spare wheel under the flat boot floor, if customers choose that option.
Another terrific feature is the flexibility of the cabin which has a 60-40 split rear seat as standard, and an even more versatile 40-20-40 split available as an option.
Also available is a cleverly designed rear seat that can slide backwards or forwards, allowing for either big load carrying or more passenger comfort.
But for me the real beauty of this car is buried in the statistical detail.
It can reach almost 130mph - admittedly without a load - and hit 62mph in under nine seconds. Yet, for all that power, it can eke out almost 48mpg on the combined cycle.
Hugely impressive figures for a hugely impressive car.
And it's a car where safety standards have also been improved. Following on from the Astra hatch's impressive performance in the Euro NCAP tests, in which it was awarded the highest rating of five stars for driver and passenger safety, Vauxhall engineers were keen to continue those credentials across the estate range.
Much importance has been placed on accident avoidance and passive safety. An elaborate safety package includes a total of six crash sensors which send signals to an electronic control unit.
This ensures airbags are triggered at the proper time according to the severity of the impact. The sophisticated sensor technology also enables more precise differentiation between serious collisions and minor accidents.
FAST FACTS
Vauxhall Astra SRi 1.9 CDTi (150) Estate
Price: £18,625
Mechanical: 150bhp, 1,910cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 6spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 129mph
0-62mph: 8.6 secs
Combined mpg: 47.9
Insurance group: 12
CO2 emissions: 159g/km
BiK rating: 21%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles; 6yrs anti-rust