Vauxhall Astra: eight generations of Britain’s family hatchback

The Vauxhall Astra is Vauxhall’s small family car, on sale since March 1980 and now in its eighth generation. For its first two generations the name was simply applied to right-hand-drive Opel Kadetts, and the first Astra was also Vauxhall’s first front-wheel-drive model.

Vauxhall Astra at a glance

Written from the English article on the Astra and the German article on the Astravan.

History of the Vauxhall Astra

The Astra name began with the Vauxhall-badged version of the first front-wheel-drive Opel Kadett, the Kadett D, which had been launched in 1979. The Vauxhall went on sale in March 1980 and replaced the Vauxhall Viva; the last rear-wheel-drive Kadett had meanwhile become the Vauxhall Chevette, which stayed in production until 1984. Vauxhall had wanted to restyle the Kadett with its own “droopsnoot” nose and to build a conventional saloon to replace the Viva, but budget limits meant General Motors cancelled both, so the first Astra differed from its Opel sister only in badges and trim. That set the pattern for every Vauxhall that followed.

For a while the Kadett and the Astra were sold in Britain through separate dealer networks and competed with each other. Until 1981 both came from Opel’s Bochum plant; British production at Ellesmere Port did not start until 16 November 1981. By 1982 the dealer networks were being merged and the Opel range was cut back, leaving most of the market to the Astra.

The new overhead-camshaft engine was a big step forward in power, economy and refinement. It came in 1300 and 1600 forms, and an 1800 fuel-injected version arrived in 1983 in the Astra GTE, Vauxhall’s answer to the Ford Escort XR3i and Volkswagen Golf GTI. There were hatchback, saloon and estate bodies, all with two or four doors; the white GTE was the first British car to be colour-coded, with bumpers, mirrors, wheel-arch extensions and even the alloy wheels painted to match. The saloon was replaced in early 1986 by the Belmont, based on the Mk2 Astra.

A van version appeared in October 1982 as the Bedford Astra Van, using the three-door estate body with no rear seat and panelled rear side windows. It replaced the Bedford Chevanne and was sold with a 1.3 petrol or 1.6 diesel engine, four-speed manual or three-speed automatic, and payloads of 525 and 545 kg. The Astravan name continued through later generations: the version based on the later Astra had a 650 kg payload and a load area 1,825 mm long, 900 mm high and 1,376 mm wide, in 1.7 CDTi 16v and 1.7 CDTi 16v ecoFLEX forms.

Design and features

• First front-wheel-drive Vauxhall: the 1980 Astra brought Vauxhall into line with Opel.
• GTE: the 1983 1.8-litre fuel-injected hot hatch, and the first colour-coded British car.
• Ellesmere Port: most generations have been built at the Cheshire plant.
• Astravan: a car-derived van with a 650 kg payload in its later form.

Vauxhall Astra versions

• Astra Mk1 (1980–1984): hatchback, saloon and estate, with 1.2, 1.3 and 1.6 engines.
• Astra GTE (1983): 1.8-litre fuel injection and colour-coded trim.
• Bedford Astra Van (1982): the first car-derived van of the line.
• Belmont (1986–1991): the separate name used for the Mk2 saloon.
• Astravan: later van versions with 1.7 CDTi engines.

The Astra replaced the Viva and ran alongside the Chevette until 1984; the Mk2 saloon became the Belmont. More cars are in the Vauxhall collection.

Sources

• Vauxhall Astra, English Wikipedia: generations, first-generation history, engines, van
• Vauxhall Astravan, German Wikipedia: payload, load area, versions