The General later entered a similar defacto relationship with Toyota which resulted in a Corolla masquerading as a Holden Nova, but now Astra has returned with a completely GM pedigree. It is based on Europe’s Opel but imported from the UK where it is known as a Vauxhall, and this latest round of model-swapping has resulted in a tidy looking little car available as a hatch or sedan, in three model levels.

Tested first was the mid-range Astra GL 1.8 sedan. The little torch in its key is quite handy, since the interior light goes off as soon as you close the doors and the ignition lock is almost hidden away behind the steering wheel, but the solid `thunk’of the closing doors is followed by an even more reassuring sound when the power deadlocks slide home.

Astra’s steering column is fixed in place with no tilt adjustment, lack of which is almost a novelty nowadays, yet the driving position is quite good with generous legroom and a generally spacious feel to the cabin, which has a most acceptable standard of trim finish for its class.

While exterior mirrors in the GL are powered its windows are provided with winding handles, and of course there is the left-handed indicator lever some find hard to get used to, but I could not fault the instrument panel layout with its clearly legible dials and spot-on placement of vent and radio controls. (Holden modified the ventilation and dust-seals for our conditions, and a run on gravel saw no signs of dust leakage.)

There are three engines in the Astra lineup - 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre - and since GL is the mid-range volume seller there are no prizes for guessing that our test car was motivated by the 1.8 litre powerplant with automatic transmission..

A twin-cam multivalver, its power and torque outputs can only be described as average for the class, yet it proved unexpectedly spirited.

Ignoring the fashion for "thinking" autos that analyse driving styles and set themselves accordingly, Astra still enables drivers to choose `normal’ or `sports’ mode at the press of a button; no delays when overtaking slow traffic while the auto catches up with the situation, just instant response and acceleration.

Switching between modes maximises the engine’s modest power and torque output to keep the GL Astra moving at a reasonable pace - not quite sporty, but lively enough to keep out of trouble, and at 110kmh in top gear the engine is doing a comfortable 2700rpm, which was undoubtedly a factor in our healthy fuel consumption on test of 8.5 L/100km (37mpg).

Noise levels are reasonably low, with minimal road-rumble on coarse chip bitumen and just a trace of wind rustle around the exterior mirrors, and I was pleased to find a double-action beam switch for the headlights which had a fairly average low beam but excellent high beam for country driving.

For a comparison, we tried the sportier GSi version with its 2.0 litre engine boasting 15kW more power and 23Nm of extra torque, and it really is `chalk and cheese’, the bigger engine making what is essentially a three door hatch version of the same car into a rorty little beast indeed.

A more complete instrument panel, and even better shaped seats with deeply sculpted side bolsters, help to complete the sporty car picture which includes a bit more `bump-thump’ from its lower profile tyres on alloy wheels.

Its handling might induce you to overlook those yellow-on-black recommended speed signs on country bends, but the 50kmh mark on the speedo has a distinctive red slash perfect for reminding drivers to slow down in roadworks areas.

Interesting to note that Astra’s full vehicle warranty of 3 years/100,000km actually betters the cover provided on a Commodore of 2 years/50,000km, so Holden must have some faith in its build quality.

If that build quality matches the more visible finish quality, such faith is probably well placed.