Leisure

By: ROBINSON/BEINTEMA AUTOFILES

Providing a European built car to the Canadian small car market, General Motors Canada has introduced a rebadged version of the Opel Astra - the all-new 2008 Saturn Astra – designed for taut ride-and-handling with a wide range of standard equipment, safety features, and fuel economy for under $18,000.

"With the introduction of the 2008 Saturn Astra, we now offer Canadians an excellent combination of European style, performance, safety technology and fuel efficiency at an affordable price," said Mike Speranzini, Director of Saturn Canada. "Combine this with Saturn’s celebrated retail customer experience and the Astra is an exciting addition to Saturn’s already impressive line-up."

Standard features on all 2008 Saturn Astras include:

• 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS and traction control
• Six standard air bags, including dual-stage frontal air bags; roof rail head curtain air bags and seat-mounted thorax/pelvic air bags (for front-seat passengers)
• Active head restraints
• Pedal Release System (Detaches pedals in a crash, to reduce risk of leg or ankle injuries)
• OnStar with one year of Safe & Sound service
• Tire pressure monitoring
• Rain sensing wiper system
• Remote keyless entry, including all four window remote express-down
• Power door locks
• Cruise control
• Express-down power windows
• Driver Information Centre
• Steering wheel controls
• Oil pan heater

Equipped with a DOHC 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine (138 hp) and a five-speed manual transmission, the 2008 Saturn Astra 5-Door XE will be offered at the MSRP of $17,900. The uplevel Astra 5-Door XR will start at $20,490 and the sporty Astra 3-Door XR will be priced from $21,225. The cars arrive at dealers in November.

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