COMMENT
Steve Cropley
MY WEEK IN CARS
This launch was a subdued Detroit motor show’s main attraction
Viva flashback brings new context to the latest 1.2-litre Astra
MONDAY
To tell the truth, I’d forgotten that the fi rst of a brace of new Vauxhall Astras due at my place today would be the 1.2-litre three-cylinder edition. The car looked so damned substantial parked in my drive that it seemed implausible its engine capacity was only slightly larger than the fi rst Vauxhall I ever drove, a 1056cc Viva HA with fully 44bhp on tap.
It’s fascinating to clock how far engine outputs have moved. This Astra 1.2, admittedly turbocharged, has twice the fl exibility, three times the power and four times the torque of the Viva, for double the kerb weight. But what’s best is its big-engined demeanour. It’s smooth, pulls from carpet level, has no old-time turbo lag and supports a top gearing of around 30mph per 1000rpm. That’s double what the Viva delivered. It’s not long since people reckoned engines like this were for taking you to the station. Now they’ll take you around the world.