Small change: new Astra gets dinkier

摘要

Go big or go home. So runs the extreme sports mantra, but the new Vauxhall Astra evidently didn't get the memo. Because, in a welcome break from generational bloat, the seventh iteration of Luton's surprisingly popular hatchback is not only lighter than its predecessor, but smaller too. Five centimetres shorter and 3cm lower than the MkVI Astra, no less, though only a mite shorter in the wheelbase. Despite the shrinkage, Vauxhall claims there's more space inside. The all-but-all-new platform is made predominantly of advanced, weight-saving steel, aiding a drop of at least 120kg for every model in the range. The bodyshell alone has been shorn of nearly 80kg. That's a stout human.