BK Astra

Holden relaunched the Astra nameplate in Australia in 2015 with a pair of ageing three-door sports variants, but it wasn’t until the arrival of the all-new five-door hatchback in late-2016 that the general public really took notice of the reborn badge.

The latest Astra was an Opel product – sourced from Poland – that replaced the Australian-built Cruze after Holden ended production of its small car in late 2016.

Where the Cruze competed at the budget end of the small-car segment, the Astra was pitched against more aspirational rivals including the Volkswagen Golf, Mazda3 and the Renault Megane.

Three specification levels were offered initially – R, RS and RS-V – with the base variant using a 110kW/245Nm 1.4-litre all-aluminium turbo-petrol engine, while the other models were powered by a punchy 147kW/300Nm 1.6-litre turbo. All variants were offered with ether a six-speed manual or auto transmission.

The stylish five-door was smaller on the outside but larger on the inside than the model it replaced (which was sold in Australia with Opel badges from 2012-2013).

Standard gear in the base R included idle-stop (for the auto), multi-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, LED daytime running lights, cruise control with a speed limiter, six airbags, the MyLink infotainment system with a 7.0-inch high-res colour touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, DAB+ digital radio, Siri Eyes Free, Bluetooth audio streaming, an auxiliary and USB jack.