New Opel/Vauxhall Astra saloon revealed – but not for the UK

The new Astra with a boot has been revealed but it’s not heading for the UK. It will, however, be offered in Germany and Spain.

The hatchback has taken over the car world in recent years when it comes to family cars (although we could see the crossover / compact SUV supplant it before long), which has meant the demise of the traditional saloon, certainly in the UK market.

But there is still a market for small saloon cars in some markets – most notably emerging markets and Eastern Europe – so GM has added a notch to the back of the Astra to produce an Astra saloon for those markets, but not for the UK.

The new Astra Saloon will be available across Eastern Europe, Russia and Turkey and in Germany and Spain where Opel feel there is still demand for a traditional saloon.

The wheelbase of the Astra saloon is the same as the hatch, so it offers much the same interior space. However, the saloon is 293mm longer than its hatchback sibling leading to extra boot space of around 90 litres.

Apart from the boot and a raked rear screen the saloon Astra is the same as the hatchback and is expected to come with most of the powertrain options the regular Astra offers.

We’ll find out more when the Astra saloon debuts in Moscow in August.