In pointing out to Mark Adams, Opel’s head of design since 2002, that the sixth-generation Astra has strong, energetic lines, he immediately replies: \u00abThat’s true, but they are also very clean\u00bb. And he wraps this expression with an entirely Germanic taste, far removed from the subtle minimalism of certain competitor proposals.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![\"Opel](\"https:\/\/autodesignmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2021111502OpelAstra.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>A few strong lines<\/strong><\/span> \u201cControlled” muscles<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In this sense, the references go back to the GT X Experimental, the 2018 prototype that indicated the company\u2019s next direction in style, from which, among other things, the \u201ccompass\u201d criterion derives. Overall, the language has already been applied for the first time to the smaller Mokka, but this time it has a decidedly more mature slant, which Adams attributes as much to the proportions as to an interesting management of the surfaces: \u00abThe Astra is naturally much lower and more profiled than a crossover, especially in the versions with the black roof. This has not, however, led us to emphasise sportiness insistently: while the Mokka is brash, proud of its forms, here we preferred to focus on \u201ccontrolled\u201d muscles\u00bb.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Solid interior<\/strong><\/span>
\nHere, the economy of the elements (\u00abWe didn’t want any hint of overdesign\u00bb) also achieves their greater incisiveness: \u00abThe car is crossed by a few lines that give it a strong visual framework, from all angles. On the sides, for example, a curve just below the beltline fades into the wheel arches and creates a well-thought-out texture. Everyone notices the Vizor, our new radiator grille, but the overall impact is the result of much more complex work\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nThis muscularity, according to the designer, is not diluted by the many components in common with the latest Peugeot 308 (windscreen, front windows and roof panel): \u00abThese elements were chosen together with the Lion team because they fit appropriately to both projects\u00bb.The German feel returns starkly in a cabin where \u00abthe two screens on the dashboard, one for the infotainment system and the other dedicated to the instrumentation, are separated by a gap of just half a millimetre\u00bb thanks to the solidity of the frame, then boasting a glass panel extended to the furthest available edge, thus taking another cue from the GT X.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>