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Feann Torr1 Aug 2015
NEWS

SPY PICS: Opel Astra wagon snapped

Wagon variant of new Astra spied, but Holden silent on local deployment

German car maker Opel will introduce the all-new 2016 Opel Astra hatchback to the public at the 2015 Frankfurt motor show in September, but already new spy photos of the fresh-faced wagon variant have emerged.

Expected to be called the Astra Sport Tourer, the estate version of the Volkswagen Golf  rival is a must for the European market, where space-savvy vehicles are hugely popular. Indeed, the wagon variant will account for a large portion of the sales pie – potentially up to half of all Astra sales.

And for Australia? Well, Holden is yet to confirm whether the new Astra hatch will be offered locally, with internal debate understood to be continuing as to whether the company should offer an Asian-imported Cruze after 2017 – when Holden stops making cars locally – or the more premium Europe-imported Astra.

There's also the possibility that the Astra will become Holden's small hatch, the Cruze to go solo as sedan.

When contacted by motoring.com.au, Mark Flintoft, product communications manager at Holden, was tight-lipped on the subject.

"We have no announcements to make regarding our future product at this time," he said. "Holden is committed to leveraging GM's global portfolio to provide the best vehicles for Australia."

If Holden does decide to import the new 11th generation Astra hatch into Australia, it would increase the likelihood of the wagon's deployment, which was spotted outside of Opel's HQ in Russelsheim in Germany. That said, two of the top-selling small car in Australia don't offer a wagon model - the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3.

Rivals that do sell small wagons in Australia include Hyundai (i30) and Volkswagen (Golf). Holden itself sells a wagon version of the Cruze, the only Cruze variant not currently constructed at the company's plant at Elizabeth in South Australia.

Essentially a longer booted version of the Astra hatch, the Sport Tourer will be equipped with a similar range of petrol and diesel engines – including an efficient new 85kW 1.0-litre turbo-petrol unit – plus manual and automatic gearboxes.

It's likely that boot space for the new Astra wagon will grow and some of the new features will include a modern touch-screen infotainment system compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, not to mention an in-car Wi-Fi hot spot.

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