The Astra sedan joins the hatch and, towards the end of this year, will be joined by the wagon. But though they wear the same name, they are built in different factories, have different equipment – including safety – features and drivetrains.
Holden aims the sedan at the Mazda3, Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla – the three models holding the lion’s share of the small-car market and with about 30 per cent of their variants being sedans – but claims it has more safety and convenience features.
Pricing starts at $20,490 plus on-road costs for the entry-level LS manual – on par with the Mazda3 sedan and about $1500 less than the Elantra and $1000 less than the Corolla.
Holden has also offered driveaway pricing with the LS manual at $21,990 and the automatic version at $23,990.
At its launch in NSW, Holden said it expects the sedan to capture about 40 per cent of Astra sales. During the two-day event, Holden dealers reported the hatch and sedan sales were neck and neck, showing the new variant may have found its niche and could support Holden’s hopes for a more optimistic sales future.
Who buys it? Holden executive director of marketing Mark Harland said the buyers will cover a broad brush of motorists, though was skewed more to an older demographic of empty nesters of which about 50 per cent were retired.
He said they could be downsizing from a Commodore, upsizing from a Barina and those conquests coming in from another brand.
They want quality, value, easy and reliable owner support, practicality and technology. However, Mr Harland said it was critical that the technology offered was easy to use.
Holden Analysis
“Technology simplifies life for the motorists and so should be simple to operate,” he said.
The car would be picked up by more metro motorists than those in rural areas with an estimated 60:40 ratio split.
The base-model Astra sedan LS comes with a strong safety kit that includes reverse camera, rear park sensors, lane keep alert, lane departure warning and front collision warning. It is the only one with these features compared with its equivalent three main rivals.
All Astra sedans miss out on autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that, in the base-model comparison, is standard only on the Mazda3. Mr Harland said it was not available on the sedan platform – it is on the hatch and upcoming wagon – because the Korean-built sedan was engineered for the US market that has yet to adopt AEB.
Ownership costs have been refined to appeal to buyers. The three-year capped-price service program will cost $916.
Holden has also expanded the warranty as a launch offer, up now to five years and 130,000km. Asked if this would remain, Holden said it would be reviewed.
To simplify the model range, the Astra sedan is available in three grades – LS, LT (including an LT+ that has extra safety gear), and LTZ. Only the LS is available with a manual transmission.
All have the same 1.4-litre 110kW/240Nm (110kW/245Nm for the manual) engine with a six-speed automatic transmission standard on LT and LTZ. Holden claims 6.1 litres per 100 kilometres for the automatic, 5.8 L/100km for the manual.
The car also marks a further push by Holden into the fleet market.
How is Holden attracting buyers to the Astra sedan?
“We have been working on initiatives to get more ambassadors on board,” Mr Harland said.
Holden Astra sedan
“We have 55 ambassadors and influencers and we are targeting for 100 around the country. They will be in trucks (Colorado) and we’ll also have people in Astra and Trax (small SUV).
“Recently we launched Maven (ride-sharing concept) in its trial phase and had Uber drivers taking Holden cars, predominantly Astra.
“One of the most interesting things was that in the first 45 days of the trial, we had 30,000 people though the program. That exposed 30,000 people to our new car – and that was just in a little over a month and only in Melbourne.
“I think we can do a lot with a program like this as it allows people to experience the product when they may previously not have been able.”
By Neil Dowling
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