The five-door Astra earned a five-star Euro NCAP rating and the VXR is similarly strong. Every car gets ESP stability control plus dual front, side and curtain airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners and Active Head Restraints (which reduce the risk of whiplash). Remote central locking is standard, which includes Auto Lock – a feature that re-locks the door after five minutes if no doors have been opened.

On paper the boot seems only average with 312 litres but worse is the fact that the boot lip is so high and the opening narrow, which makes loading and unloading heavy items difficult. Rear space isn’t great either and the sloping roof means getting in and out is tricky while up front there’s very little storage, especially on the centre console. There’s no five-door VXR either.