In any case, Vauxhall sources have told evo that Lotus was 'very impressed' by the state of the pre-production Astra chassis after GM's extensive testing on British and Spanish roads. The abilities of the new chassis will be 'a very big surprise' according to our source. We'll find out later this year. Perhaps most importantly, the transmission's clunky shift action - perhaps the biggest demerit with the current Astra - has gone forever, replaced by a new five-speed manual 'box (six-speed on the turbocharged models).

Pick of the hot Astra bunch, say our sources, will be a well-priced 170bhp soft-turbo version which should undercut rival machines with similar performance. There'll also be a full-on 200bhp Astra Turbo and, later on, some performance turbodiesels. These will be related to the Fiat/Alfa JTD units and will be fitted to sporting Astras.

Electronic advances include Continuous Damping Control - perhaps a first for this class - which reacts in 'real time' to the road surface or driver's style. Some Astras will also get a switchable 'sport' setting which sharpens up the steering, throttle response and damper settings. The car goes on sale early next year.