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VAUXHALL ASTRAVAN 2.0111
1 PRICE AS TESTED: £11,635 (ex-VAT), includes 111,445 for basic vehicle; £190 for electric front windows. ENGINE: 2.0 litres, 80hp (60kW). GVW: 1,830kg PAYLOAD: 525kg. FUEL CONSUMPTION (laden): 43.6mpg (6.51it/100km).
The front runners in the car-derived van market, Escort and Astra, overtake each other from time to time in the sales race. And every so often the design or engine spec is tweaked, the body is refined, and more goodies are offered to attract prospective users. Vauxhall's Astra—currently European Van of the Year—has been around for nearly 20 years
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and is in its third incarnation.
CM has tested the 2.oD1 i6 valve version to see if the improvements are good enough for 21st Century Van Man, and whether the old I900's wrinkles have been ironed out.
I
van market-place, there are many players, but only two super-powers. Behind the sign of the Blue Oval is the Ford Escort; the Griffin emblem leads Vauxhall's Astra into battle. Development of the two arch-rivals is like a con tinuous circular game of leapfrog.
The current state of the cycle is that the Escort must logically be nearing the end of its life (although there is no news yet of a Focusbased van replacement). The Astravan has just been launched in its third version since its birth in 1982 but looks remarkably unchanged, despite sharing very few components with its predecessor.
PRODUCT PROFILE
The latest incarnation of the Astravan comes with two trim levels and three engines. The trim choice is between the base Envoy and the more up-market LS version; the van can be further personalised with themed option packs and a full list of individual options.
Power units start with the 74hp (55kW) 1.6-litre petrol engine and the 67hp (5okW) 1.7-litre turbo-diesel carried over from the outgoing model, and end with the 2.0-litre i6-valve direct-injection low-pressure turbodiesel, as fitted to CM's test van. The petrol and 2.o-litre diesel engines have a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed, dual-mode automatic transmissions.
Although new to the van market, the i6valve turbo-diesel has been around for more than a year in the Astra and Vectra car ranges, where it also appears in a ioohp charge-cooled version. The direct-injection unit's 16 valves are operated by a single chain-driven overhead camshaft and help to provide a maximum torque of 185Nm (i361bft) between 1,800 and 2,5oorpm; that's 40% more than the i.7TD.
Vauxhall has chosen to keep close visual links to the old van, despite the sheet metal being all new. Seen on its own the new model is not easy to identify, but look at the old and new models together and you'll see differences. The main styling cues to watch for are the sculpted wheel-arches, clear lamp lenses and the bump in the lower edge of the tailgate glass that houses the rear wiper.
PRODUCTIVITY
Let's get the not-so-good news out of the way first. On the old van the sum of the axle weight limits equalled the van's GVW, resulting in a tolerance of precisely nil. The new range is heavier than the old, but GVWs have increased to more than compensate, giving useful payload increases of to to 35kg depending on the model. Although the combined axle weights now have 30kg in hand, our first attempt at loading the van to its maximum with an evenly distributed load resulted in the old problem of an overloaded rear axle. A reshuffle with the weight biased towards the front cured the situation, but anyone planning to operate near the Astravan's maximum gross weight should be aware of this situation.
Also of interest is the fact that at 1.6m3, the load volume of the estate car-based Astravan is slightly less than that of the old model, further widening the gap to the semi-high-cube design of the Escort.
The 43.6mpg (6.51ititookm) laden fuel consumption of the two-litre van is fractionally down on our last test of the 1.7 TD, perhaps as a result of the extra i5okg gross weight, but the unladen figure has improved by 1.5mpg to scrape past the magic ompg (5.71itfrookm) mark.
The help the Astravan enjoy a long working life, the body structure is made from galvanised steel backed by a 12-year anti-perforation warranty. A stainless-steel exhaust system, which Vauxhall claims should last the life of the van, should eliminate another midlife crisis. To help ensure the Astravan stays around long enough to make the most of its long-life design, security features include rolling-code remote central locking, a key activated immobiliser, deadlocks with free-wheeling cylinders and a remote display radio.
ON THE ROAD
Starting the DI engine is almost instant; the engine doesn't even need any contribution from the pre-heat system until the temperature is close to freezing. However, once started, the downside of direct-injection shows in a couple of minutes of clatter until some heat is dissipated through the engine. Even when it's warmed up, the engine remains definitely recognisable as a diesel at low speeds—but once under way no-one would guess the contents of the fuel tank.
Much of the Astravan driving experience has similarities to previous versions, but with improvements. Two things really stand out as better. The first is the rectification of the old model's steering, which was more woolly than an episode of One Man and his Dog Vauxhall took the criticism seriously: it engaged Lotus to sort out the new van's chassis. Changes indude an all-new front subframe, rear torsion axle and one-piece control arms, as well as significantly revised bushing throughout the suspension and steering. As a result of this fettling, the handling of the new Astravan is as impressive as the old one was dismal. Pushed to the limit on the test track, the van displayed an initial degree of safe understeer with no hidden vices, however much we provoked it within sane limits.
On the road this translates into a van that can be hustled through the bendy bits with accuracy, as well as being impressively stable on the motorway. The ride is firm, being compromised more towards handling than comfort, but nevertheless copes well with most road surfaces. Strangely, those painted warning strips on the approach to some junctions disturb the ride more than harsh potholes or speed humps. Assistance from the electrohydraulic power steering is just about right; any more would be too much for most tastes.
The all-disc braking system was well up to the performance, although a soggy test track prevented objective testing. The ABS option, not fitted on the test van, comes with bigger discs all round, while the I.6i and r.7TD have drums at the rear.
If the chassis changes common to the range are impressive, then the multivalve engine of the test van is the icing on the cake. Unfortunately for Daihatsu, the Hijet
reign as CM's quickest test subject was shortlived (CM14-2.0 Jan).
While the old 1.7 TD Astravan was praised for its performance, the new one knocked nearly four seconds off the o-8okm/h dash despite some wheelspin on a damp track. Our mid-range acceleration figures are timed from the point that the pedal is floored and, despite a noticeable amount of turbo lag before full power came on stream, both mid-range times were around two seconds better.
Even better than straight-line acceleration is the Astravan's ability to flatten the relief map of the UK. It simply laughs at hills, to the extent that timing it on our normal test hills was a waste of effort. Laden or unladen, it just stuck to the speed limit with barely a need for more throttle. The sporty nature of the handling is matched by the engine—it's not really a slogger and needs to be spun beyond r,5oorpm to achieve its best. The z.o-litre engine uses the heavier-duty gearbox from the Vectra but, despite its sturdier nature, it retains a typically slick gearchange. Existing Astravan jockeys will have to learn the new position of reverse gear and its lift-up collar.
CAB COMFORT
The cabin follows the evolutionary theme of the rest of the van, having a familiar feel despite being completely redesigned. The offset steering wheel is noticed initially, but soon ignored. Finding the perfect driving position is easy thanks to the height-adjustable seat and the tilt and reach-adjustable steering column (although finding the lever for this without recourse to the handbook is a challenge). The driver's left foot gets a useful rest.
All the driving controls are well placed, but the switches for the optional electric windows
are placed a bit too far back on the door panel for comfort. The switc.hgear has a high-quality feel and the instrument panel is a model of clarity. An excellent RDS/EON four-speaker radio/cassette is fitted, and includes Vauxhall's usual remote display unit complete with RDS-controlled clock and outside temperature reading with ice alert. The display panel has been relocated to a better dashtop position, closer to the driver's field of view.
Manually remote-controlled door mirrors with a dual-zone lens on the driver's side are fitted and visibility generally is very good. The two-speed wipers have a variable intermittent wipe controlled by road speed, and a rear wash/wipe system is standard. Visibility is helped by truly brilliant headlights, controlled by four-position remote levelling. At the rear, the brake lights are supplemented by an LED array mounted above the tailgate window.
The front interior lamp includes a delay relay and individual map reading lights; the panel lights are fitted with a dimmer.
The most disappointing aspect of the cab is the road noise transmitted through the untrimmed loadspace, which seems worse thanks to the improvements at the front; the tickover noise level having been reduced by an impressive 8dB. An option is a decent fitted mat which would make a great difference. Our test van also suffered when fully laden from a loud squeak caused by the steel spare wheel cover rubbing against the tyre. The LS version has a mesh top to the waist-height solid steel bulkhead, and this had the usual tendency to vibrate under some conditions.
Vauxhall claims to have paid particular attention to the seating, and the standard cloth-trimmed items are indeed firm but comfortable, although shaped sports seats are available for serious high-speed deliveries.
While the useful dashtop shelf of the old model has been displaced to accommodate a passenger airbag, there is still a useful amount of storage space. Each door has a bin with a can holder; the glovebox has two shelves with two more can holders in the lid and a pen
holder; and the fusebox near the driver's right knee is fronted by a useful drop-down bin. Document holders are included in both sun visors, a non-slip shelf under the radio is ideal for a mobile phone and there are a couple of useful untrimmed underfloor cavities behind the seats.
The heater is powerful and quick to warm up, and has a pollen filter and an intelligent recirculatory facility which turns itself off when windscreen demisting is required. The rotary controls work well, with the distribution knob able to be turned indefinitely in either direction without running out of cable. The heated rear window is fitted with a 15minute timer.
Safety features include a 6o-litre airbag for the driver and an optional roo-litre bag for the passenger, seat-belt pre-tensioners, padded head restraints and height-adjustable seat-belts. In a heavy frontal impact the pedal box is designed to break away, reducing the risk of trapped feet.
SUMMARY
The Astravan 2 .oDi r6v is one of those rare things in life—something that provides pure fun while doing its job efficiently. Having answered almost all the criticisms of the old Astravan without introducing any new vices, Vauxhall has a winner on its hands. Our only reservation concerns the load distribution issue which, although improved, will still require care from anyone intending to use the full payload capacity. But as most vans in this sector seem to be loaded with rental televisions or washing machine spares, this problem is not as disastrous as it could be.
The new Astravan proves yet again that a high-output engine lightly worked is not only more pleasant to use than a thrashed tiddler, but is cost-effective as well.
And did you notice? We didn't mention White Van Man once!
• by Celia Barnett