Astra – SA Car of the Year

The Opel Astra 1.4 Turbo Enjoy has been crowned the 2017 Wesbank/South African Guild of Motoring Journalists’ South African Car of the Year, seeing off eight other runners, including the Audi A4, Honda Civic, Hyundai Tucson, Jaguar F-Pace, Renault Kadjar, Toyota Fortuner, Volkswagen Passat and Volkswagen Tiguan.
This is the fourth time that an Opel has taken top honours in the competition’s 31-year history, previous winners being the Opel Monza 160 GSi in 1991, Opel Kadett 140 in 1994 and Opel Astra 160iS in 1995.
The latest Astra is no stranger to accolades, being Europe’s 2016 Car of the Year, and the compact hatch also emerged as IOL’s favourite car of 2016, taking the top honours in our annual Best of the Best awards late last year.
And now for some technical stuff…
Push your pulse
Try a 110 kW, 1.4-litre engine with a top speed that will get your heart pumping or the 77 kW 1.0-litre Turbo ecoFLEX engine that emits just 102 g/km of CO2.
For petrol engines, that puts it among the best in its class.
Change gears and grin
Five or six gears, automatic or manual, all with Start/Stop technology – the new Astra transmissions are smooth and precise.
Switch to sport
Set ride and handling to ‘sporty’ at the touch of a button. Standard on the Astra Sport.
IntelliLux LED® Matrix headlights adjust automatically so you can drive on high beam without the possibility of disturbing other drivers.
‘Car buying patterns of the South African public are changing and the Opel Astra reflects those changes in terms of offering both value for money and innovative technology,’ the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) said after announcing the winner on Wednesday night. ‘Powered by new-generation 1.0-, 1.4- and 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engines which are available in either manual or automatic, the Opel Astra impressed the COTY Jury with its incredible road-holding and build quality.’
The Westvaal Delta workshop will be open from 13 May and the public is invited to come and meet the team.