AS soon as I booked this car for a road test I knew I'd be under pressure.
My dad bought an Astra a couple of years ago. He operates as a sort of pseudo marketing man for the damn thing extolling its virtues to all unlucky enough to be caught in a corner unable to escape.
When he heard that I was getting the new version my phone was ringing with demands for an immediate report.
Well in all honesty considering the amount of grief it's caused me I should hate this car - but I don't.
Vauxhall has turned the slightly dowdy, Walter Matteau-looks of the previous Astra (sorry dad) into a sharp-styled Tom Cruise vehicle. I never thought I'd say this about the Astra, but the new models look cool.
The other interesting thing is the price. While browsing the Vauxhall website the power of the Net to reduce costs again became clear. The recommended retail price of this particularly striking looking Astra is almost £1,300 cheaper than that given in the Fast Facts panel on this page if you order on-line.
That's a great saving on a car that's a top notch upgrade on the previous generation Astra.
The interior picks up the ultra modern theme of the exterior design. The controls - built around a central 'infotainment' system that is responsible for everything from the ventilation to the CD player and digital radio - are well set out and easy to use.
There is room to swing several cats helped by the fact that Vauxhall's engineers positioned the Astra estate's axles as far apart as possible allowing a spacious cabin area with leg and headroom only a giraffe would seriously test.
The estate version adds family practicality to the imposing style with a cavernous boot capable of swallowing up to 1,500 litres of luggage.
The cabin is more flexible than Olga Korbut in her prime. There's a 60/40 split rear seat as standard with an even more versatile 40/20/40 split available as an option. The rear seat is also designed to be slid backwards or forwards allowing maximum load-carrying space or passenger comfort.
The 1.7-litre 100bhp diesel engine, fitted with a turbocharger, shows a marked dislike for using fuel returning an average economy figure of 55.4 miles per gallon. It also ensures the Astra is no slouch away from the lights although the 0-60mph time of 11.7 seconds is a little pedestrian.
There's also a entry-level 1.7-litre oil burner that returns even better fuel economy figures but produces less horsepower. A wide choice of petrol engines is offered ranging from 1.4-litre to two-litre capacities offering 90 to 170bhp.
Numerous electronic devices ensure the Astra does everything possible to remain on the road.
The safety theme is continued with enough airbags to float the car off into the sunset if they all inflated at once. There is also side impact protection, a special steering column and automatic release pedals in the event of an impact.
The car is fitted with six crash sensors that send signals to an electronic control unit, which ensures the airbags are triggered at the proper time according to the severity of the impact.
Unfortunately, Vauxhall would take a dim view if I drove their beloved Astra estate into a wall so you, like I, will have to take the word of the Euro NCAP tests that give the car an excellent rating.
So we have a family-friendly motor that has the style of a movie star and the space of an ocean going liner - I think I like it dad!
FAST FACTS
Vauxhall Astra SXi 1.7 CDTi Estate
Price: £16,445
Mechanical: 100bhp, 1,686cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 5spd manual gearbox.
Max speed: 112mph
0-62mph: 11.7 seconds
Combined mpg: 55.4
Insurance group: 6
CO2 emissions: 138g/km
BiK rating: 15%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles; 6yrs anti-rust