What is it?
It's a car that we've seen before, the hot Astra VXR, but now we know how much it's going to cost and just how fast it is. Competing with the Golf GTI and Mégane Renaultsport 265 it has much to live up to if it wants to be a success.
Why's it here?
It's here to keep interest up, ready for its launch later this year - first deliveries are scheduled for summer. The important bits are the 5.9-second 0-62mph time, which is claimed to be quicker than any main rival, and of course the freshly announced £26,995 sticker price.
Show stopper or floor filler?
As we've seen it plenty of times before, the Astra VXR could rightfully be considered a bit of a floor filler, but when it looks as good as this, should we even care?
Graeme Lambert - 6 Mar 2012