An Opel Astra hatchback, seen in Beijing in 2016. The compact family car was in a fine shape, painted in a light shade of silver with a black grille and black trim. Sadly, the front right wheel cover was missing, lost somewhere on the endless roads of the Chinese capital.
The interior was in a fine shape but showing its age on the seats, gear lever and handbrake. The seats are the originals, and unlike in many older cars they aren’t covered in ugly after-market seat covers. The radio-CD player is original too.
The second generation Opel Astra (G) was manufactured in Germany from 1998 until 2003, although production under other brand names in other countries continued all the way until 2011. The Astra G came in many different forms: sedan, 3 and 5 door hatchback, wagon, coupe, cabriolet, and even a van. The car we have here today is a five-door hatchback.
The Astra was available with more than a dozen petrol and diesel engines, which was very common at the time. The 1.6 16V model was powered by a 16 valve 1.6 liter four-cylinder petrol engine, good for 101 hp and 150 Nm. Horses went to the front wheels via a 5-speed manual gearbox.
The Opel Astra G wasn’t officially sold in China so these are pretty rare. Official Astra sales started in 2004 with the third-generation Opel Astra H.