Opel · 1991–present

Opel Astra H

The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadett. As of 2025, the car slots between the smaller Corsa supermini and the larger Frontera subcompact crossover SUV.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Opel Astra G · Successor: Opel Astra J

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Overview

Initially, the Astra was available in hatchback, saloon, and estate (station wagon; known as the Astra Caravan, later the Sports Tourer) forms. A panel van (sedan delivery; Astravan) and a convertible (Astra Cabrio) also appeared in the early 1990s. These body styles were later followed by a coupé (the Astra GTC) in 2004, and the sporty Astra OPC appeared in 2005. The Twin Top retractable hardtop convertible replaced the soft top convertible in 2006, while the Caravan was renamed to Astra Sports Tourer since 2009. The Astra is branded the Vauxhall Astra in the United Kingdom. It was rebadged and sold as the Saturn Astra in North America between 2008 and 2009, as the Buick Excelle XT from 2009 until 2015 and as the Buick Verano/Hatchback GS in China from 2015 until 2021. The Holden Astra was discontinued in Australia and New Zealand in 2009, and was replaced by the locally assembled Holden Cruze. It briefly returned to the Australian market in 2012, for the first time badged as an Opel, but was discontinued after Opel withdrew from the country a year later. In 2015, Opel reintroduced the Astra GTC and Astra VXR to Australia and New Zealand in 2015, again bearing the Holden badge. Between 2017 and 2019, the Astra nameplate was also used for the Holden version of the Cruze sedan. After Opel was sold by General Motors to PSA Group, the Astra K continued to be produced under license until it was replaced by the Astra L. The Astra L was released after the merger of the company to form Stellantis. The Astra nameplate originates from Vauxhall, which had manufactured and marketed earlier generations of the Opel Kadett (the Kadett D and Kadett E) as the Vauxhall Astra since March 1980. Subsequent GM Europe policy standardised model nomenclature in the early 1990s, whereby model n

First generation (Astra F – T91; 1991)

The Astra F debuted in September 1991. With the Kadett E's successor, Opel adopted the Astra nameplate, which was already used by Vauxhall for the Kadett D and E (see Vauxhall Astra). It was offered as a three- or five-door hatchback, a saloon (sedan), and an estate (wagon) known as the Caravan and available with five doors only, bringing Opel's run of three-door wagons to an end at long last. The Caravan appeared in October 1991, immediately after the original introduction, as did the sporty, 16-valve GSI model with its aggressive bodykit. A cabriolet was also offered, designed, and built by Bertone in Italy. Compared to the Kadett, the Astra grew slightly in all dimensions except the wheelbase. The windshield was moved forward by 7.5 cm (3 in) while the roof was extended the same amount at the rear, meaning a significant increase in interior volume. The Astra F received a cosmetic facelift in 1994, accompanied by improved rust protection. This included a new grille with a larger Opel badge, clear front turn signals, new door mirrors (replacing the earlier Kadett E units used on the pre-facelift model), and a generally smoothed-out appearance. While the Astra F finished production in Germany in 2000, Polish-built Astras remained on offer in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Turkey, India and Asia with the name Opel Astra Classic from 1999 to 2003. The Astra F consisted of two main revisions and was revised in 1995, with the launch of Opel's new Ecotec engine. Aside from the South Africa-only 200tS, the lead model was the GSi – a 2.0-litre 16V fuel injected model with 150 PS (110 kW), available as a three-door only. It also featured a sports body kit and widened front seats in the interior. However, this was substituted in 1995 and was renamed as SPORT, although on

Second generation (Astra G – T98; 1998)

The Astra G was launched in Europe in Spring of 1998. It was available as a three or five-door hatchback, four-door saloon, five-door estate (in Opel tradition, known as a "Caravan") and two special versions from 2000: the Astra Coupé and the Astra Cabrio, both of them designed and built by Bertone. The Astra G saw the introduction of a natural gas-powered engine. Its chassis was tuned by Lotus and formed the base of a 7-seater compact MPV, the Opel Zafira, which was co-developed by Porsche. Approximately 90,000 coupés were produced. The manufacturing of the Astra saloon and Caravan continued at Opel's Gliwice plant in Poland after the debut of the next-generation Astra H, with the older model being branded as Astra Classic in a similar fashion to its predecessor, catering to the lower end of the market. This car was offered in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Turkey with the name Astra Classic II from 2004 to the end of 2009. Apart from European markets, these models were also sold in Australia and New Zealand as the Holden Astra Classic, until they were replaced by the Holden Viva (built-in South Korea) in 2006. The Astra G was built as Chevrolet Astra in Brazil. It was facelifted in 2003 and was sold in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and other Latin American markets until 2011. The GM Brazilian 2.0 8V inline-four engine which equips the Astra has the "flex-power" technology, that allows the car to run on both petrol and alcohol fuels, providing 128/140 hp (G/A) at 5200 rpm. A taxi version of the Brazilian sourced model, powered with petrol 2.0-litre engine was sold in Chile as the Chevy Urban. In 2004, GM's Russian joint venture GM-AvtoVAZ launched the 4-door version of the Astra G as the Chevrolet Viva. It was sold through Chevrolet dealers in Russia, while Opel d

Third generation (Astra H – A04; 2004)

The Astra H was launched in March 2004 as a five-door hatchback, whilst a five-door estate launched late 2004 and a sporty three-door hatchback, designated the GTC (Gran Tourismo Compact) for European markets, Sport Hatch in the UK and the Coupé in Australia, launched in 2005. The GTC has the option of a windscreen called "panoramic windscreen" (unique for a production car at the time of its launch) which extends into the roof area. Based on an updated version of GM's T platform, its size was increased compared to the previous version. Production came until the end of 2009, excepting the TwinTop which continued to be manufactured until November 2010. The ageing Vectra B was replaced in Brazil with a sedan version of the Astra H, named Chevrolet Vectra, until it was replaced by the Chevrolet Cruze in 2009, though the sedan version of the Vectra continued to be sold alongside the Cruze until 2011 when the Cruze fully replaced it. The model was matched with the other models offered in Brazil. This version was offered as an Opel in some Eurasian markets in 2006, following a debut at the international auto show in Istanbul, Turkey, including Ireland in 2008. This was manufactured in Gliwice, Poland. Also in 2006, the Astravan, a 3-door van variant of the estate, was launched. In September 2007, a version of the 5-door Astra was launched in Brazil, marketed as Chevrolet Vectra GT to differentiate from the already existing Astra, which was replaced by the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback in 2011. The Opel Astra was revised in January 2007, with the introduction of different colours of the posterior lighthouses and a new front. GM Russia launched SKD assembly of Astra on a temporary production site near Saint Petersburg in February 2008, with a potential capacity of 25,000 vehicles an

Fourth generation (Astra J – P09; 2009)

The Astra J is based on the General Motors' Delta II platform, debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany and went on sale in November 2009 as a 2010 model while the 2009 model year was entirely skipped. The car has taken most of its styling from the new Opel Insignia, with many of the higher options fitted as standard. Full production came on line at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port Plant at the end of September 2009. Deliveries began in December 2009. Referred to as the "Astra I", it officially received the "Astra J" name instead to avoid confusing the letter I for the number 1. The Astra was developed at Opel's 'International Technical Development Center' (ITDC) in Rüsselsheim and continues Opel's design language, ‘sculptural artistry meets German precision’ first introduced on the Insignia. The Astra features a torsion beam rear suspension with Watt's link. Infotainment and car navigation systems are supplied by Bosch. The Opel Astra came third in the European Car of the Year award in 2010. The station wagon version of the Astra - dubbed the 'Sports Tourer' by Opel, debuted at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, and went on sale shortly afterwards, with four trim levels: ES, Exclusiv, SRI and SE. The adoption of the "Sports Tourer" name finally brought to an end Opel's traditional "Caravan" designation for its station wagon derivatives. The pre-facelift Astra J was briefly sold in Australia under the Opel brand, with its introduction into the Australian market in 2012. However, the Opel brand and nameplate subsequently pulled out of the Australian market in 2013 due to poor sales, and later versions of the Astra J, namely the OPC and GTC variant, were sold under the Holden brand name from 2013 onwards. Shanghai GM launched the Chinese version of the Opel Astra hatchback, w

Fifth generation (Astra K – B15; 2015)

Opel officially unveiled the Astra K on 1 June 2015 and made its official premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015. The Astra K is smaller (5cm), and lighter (up to 200kg) compared to Astra J. Although it is smaller on the outside, Opel claims it is bigger on the inside than the previous Astra J. Depending on the model and trim level it is up to 200 kilograms - at the very least 120 kilograms - lighter than its predecessor. The completely new vehicle architecture plays a major role in the weight reduction. Every component was checked for compact design and lightweight materials. The bodyshell weight alone was reduced by 20 per cent from 357 to 280 kilograms. Additional, chassis-related measures resulted in another 50 kilograms of weight reduction; these include high-strength and ultra-high-strength low-weight steels, compact subframes as well as weight reductions to the front and rear axle. Rear suspension is torsion beam (only with Watts linkage on top engines), and MacPherson struts at the front. Available engines are 1.0-litre three-cylinder and 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engines or 1.6-litre diesels. It is available with full-LED front light techniques, A screen in the dash which connect to Android or iPhone comes as standard. This system is already available, in both the Corsa E and Adam. Engines. Engines are available with the 5-speed or 6-speed manual transmission, and the newly developed 5-speed EasyTronic 3.0 automated manual, which is only available for the 1.0T SIDI engine. The only other available automatic transmission, at the beginning of production, is the 6-speed with active select mode, which can be ordered in late 2015, for the 1.4 SIDI Turbo with 150 PS, and 1.6 CDTI with 136 PS. Buyers can choose the Start/Stop system for all engine

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name

Opel Astra

Manufacturer

Opel

aka

Chevrolet Astra (Latin America), Holden Astra (Australia and New Zealand), Saturn Astra (North America), Vauxhall Astra (United Kingdom)

Production

1991–present

Class

Compact car/small family car (C)

Layout

Front-engine, front-wheel drive

Predecessor

Opel Kadett, Vauxhall Astra

Successor

Chevrolet/Holden Cruze (for Chevrolet, Saturn and Holden Astra), Chevrolet Cobalt (South America), Opel Combo (for Opel Astravan H), Opel/Vauxhall/Buick/Holden Cascada (for Opel Astra HTwinTop)

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

• Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1777731CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_AstraCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1377778258 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Opel_Astra_1.6_twinport_hatchback3.jpgCC BY 2.5 · Photo: Roman Tworkowski · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

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