2008 Saturn Astra

2008 Astra: Better Late Than Never.

by drive571 in Cars & Motorsports, - Top 200
Nov 19 '07 - Updated Dec 09 '08 

Author's Product Rating:  Recommended: Yes 

Pros: Top-shelf interior quality, taut ride and handling, supportive front seats, surprising feature content.
Cons: Complicated Euro switchgear, low rear bench, reluctant manual shifter, overly tall gearing in automatic.
The Bottom Line: Though Mazda's 3s hatch is as good or better, the Astra impresses with its nicely-detailed interior and solid road manners. Saturn's friendly dealers are now the icing, not the cake.

Background GM’s Saturn division has long gotten the short shrift in terms of product. Launched with a unique “Z-body” platform and DOHC four-cylinder engine in 1990, Saturn soon fell victim to GM’s internal ...

Read the full review

Saturn Astra preview: another failure to do what it takes

by mkaresh in Cars & Motorsports, - Top 10
Nov 11 '07 

Author's Product Rating:  Recommended: Yes 

Pros: German feel, exterior styling, handling
Cons: Underpowered, four-speed automatic, boring interior, little interior storage, odd ergonomics
The Bottom Line: A good car, but doesn't perform as well as the Mazda3 or do the German things as well as the Rabbit.

Time and again over the years, auto journalists and driving enthusiasts have pleaded with GM and Ford to offer their European products in the U.S., to "give us the good stuff." A few times, GM and Ford have granted such wishes, and we received the ...

Read the full review

Complete surprise - a winning combination

by dzajic
Nov 27 '08 

Author's Product Rating:  Recommended: Yes 

Pros: driver information center, safety features, sunroof, manual tranny, handling, styling
Cons: visors don't extend, seats don't fold flat, center armrest a dealer accessory
The Bottom Line: Great car, period. Don't pass it over when you go shopping.

Owners seem to love their Astra. I can see why, now that I joined them.The buying experience was wonderful. Even the finance manager was a really nice guy!The Astra has unique styling that gets better with time. The '09 Fit looked good at ...

Read the full review

2008 Astra XR 2dr

by out2sea
Dec 25 '08 

Author's Product Rating:  Recommended: Yes 

Pros: Great interior.  Super mpg.  Nicer car than any sub-20k car has a right to be.
Cons: No ipod jack.  Mediocre stereo.  Poor cupholder and 12v port. 
The Bottom Line:

Great car at a great price.  It's on par with the VW Golf/Rabbit only for thousands less.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this car to others.

I picked this car as a company car this fall.  I read some reviews, but they were few and far between.  The purchase included the GM employee discount and with that and other discounts the purchase price was 16,500.00.  I thought it was an ...

Read the full review