It was a long time coming but the wait was worth it. While Volkswagen's Golf was ruling the roost, engineers at Vauxhall were putting the finishing touches to a car equipped to wield a decisive horsepower advantage against Wolfsburg's finest. With no less than 240bhp on tap, Vauxhall's Astra VXR looks like the hottest hatch ticket it's currently possible to buy.

Yes, we've seen V6 hatches that theoretically have more power but they're heavier and, of course, much more expensive. What's more, it's a fair bet that none of them will be able to keep pace with the Astra VXR down a typically bumpy British country road. Think instead of the Astra VXR as a car more in the mould of the old Honda Civic Type-R albeit with another 40bhp to call upon.

Performance really is searing, with 60mph being dispatched in around six seconds. Traction off the line is surprisingly good for a car with a powerful and lightweight engine driving the front wheels and only in damp conditions does the traction control system get a good workout. Once on the move, there's less in the way of torque steer than is present in, say, a Ford Focus RS and despite the firm suspension and optional 19-inch alloys that most will choose, the ride is reasonably malleable. It's certainly a good deal more compliant than a Peugeot 206 GTi 180 was. Comparisons such as these are necessary in order to provide a frame of reference for a car that moves the goalposts quite dramatically. This sort of power from a hatch costing £19,185 requires some mental readjustment.

From the outside, the Astra VXR is distinguished by 18-inch alloys (19-inch optional), a body-coloured V-grille, ground- hugging side skirts, a rear spoiler and revised bumper assemblies, along with neat detail touches such as its Arden Blue front and rear brake callipers and VXR badges. Inside, there are Recaro seats, revised instruments incorporating VXR logos, a three-spoke sports steering wheel, carbon-effect inserts on the doors and facia and an alloy gearknob, also with VXR detailing. Vauxhall has tweaked the Astra's cosmetics a little, with sharper-looking front and rear lights, a revised front bumper, more chrome splashed about the grille and the choice of piano black or matt chrome interior finishing. Sport Hatch models like the VXR also get a honeycomb front grille.

"240bhp is serious power by hot hatch standards"

Final production tweaks to the suspension were carried out by Lotus and there's little to criticise with the meaty steering. The seating position may well feel a little elevated for taller drivers and visibility with the chunky windcsreen and C-pillars is an issue. Nevertheless, the Astra VXR is an easy car to position accurately through a corner and honing the line with the use of the accelerator pedal is simplicity itself. Customer cars get a full Brembo brake package that should offer devastating stopping power.

It all harks back to the mighty Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v of 1989. This retailed for £14,127 and boasted 156bhp at a time when most hot hatch fans had to either satisfy themselves with 132bhp of Escort RS Turbo, 130bhp of Peugeot 309GTi or139bhp of Golf GTi 16v. In short, the Astra's pace revolutionised the market, its light weight ensuring that it could notch 60mph in less than seven seconds. Until that time, such a feat was the preserve of exotics like the Lancia Delta HF Integrale. In many respects, this marked the beginning of the end of the first hot hatch boom as insurers recognised that such rapid vehicles were falling into undesirable hands. Premiums skyrocketed and we were plunged into an ice age of dull warm hatches that was to last for some time.

Thankfully, advances in safety and security mean that today's premium hatches can be affordable to those they were originally marketed towards. The Astra VXR is a case in point. Back in the early nineties a car with this power would have been uninsurable but today it's quite within the budget of many twenty somethings. They're sure to appreciate its aggressive spoiler kit, neat alloy wheels, projector lamp kit and high waisted body.

The raked roofline looks as if it'll have taller rear seat passengers entering the number of their chiropractor into the speed-dial but Vauxhall claims that rear seat space is well up to par for two adults. They just didn't specify what size. The rear seat is a conventional three-abreast bench with a practical 60:40 split system offered as standard or the alternative 40:20:40 layout available as an option. Luggage room is slightly hampered by that rakish roofline but given the cavernous amount of space in the back of the five-door Astra, it's hard to see carrying capacity being a reason to grumble. Besides, it's doubtful that too may customers are going to complain about the height of the rear loading lip after they've unleashed all 240bhp down a motorway slip road.

The Astra chassis is one of the best available in its class and despite featuring a supposedly inferior torsion beam rear suspension set up, the ride is supple and lateral grip is excellent. Only when cornering hard over choppier sections of tarmac does the rear suspension not feel quite as slick as the multi link layout of a Golf or a Focus, but there are benefits in terms of packaging. Cornering roll is minimal, which encourages you to throw the car into corners with greater gusto. You can do so later too thanks to meaty brakes which are so powerful you'll thrill at their bite. Watch other road users apply their brakes and then sail past them, relying on the VXR's astonishing powers of retardation. Gearboxes are not a Vauxhall strongpoint and this close ratio example certainly could be slicker. It is however, one of the company's better efforts.

Vauxhall's Astra VXR has the powerplant, the looks and the capability to become a very big hit indeed and the staff at Vauxhall have convinced us that the VXR badge is something to be taken seriously. Although Ford's Focus ST and the all-new Honda Civic Type-R have a clear target to aim at, something tells me that Vauxhall aren't unduly worried.

TOP 1 ASTRA DEALS

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	Vauxhall Astra 2.0T 16V VXR 3dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £369	Saving £2,902	Price £17,088

typical 11.65% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000