DO NOT adjust your set. While the 2015 Holden Astra is new to our roads, you may well have already seen a similar car out and about near you.

Launched under the European arm of General Motors, Opel, the Astra range has already performed one false start on Australian soil in 2012, but with updated engines, sharper pricing and the support from Holden’s 230-plus dealerships, the hatch range is back with a vengeance.

As well as adding the lion badges, Holden has put the asthmatic 1.4-litre Astra to bed, updated the other engines and shaved between $1800 and $5000 from the price when compared with the equivalent discontinued Opel.

But the hatchback is only available with three doors – a sportscar, says Holden – so it will have to do battle in a niche sporty hatch segment.

Until a four-door is announced the Astra’s main competitors will be the Hyundai Veloster and Kia Koup, but could the fiery VXR version even worry the hot hatch industry-standard Golf GTI?

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