Opel has long been regarded as the European arbiter of bland design. The previous Astra had all the fashion sense and styling of a pair of brown St Bernard Y-fronts.
The brand proved that not every car from the land of Ferdinand Porsche and Messrs Daimler and Benz was a world beater.
Yet, like the geeky school-kid who suddenly becomes ultra-cool, Opel is making a strong attempt at turning around its staid image and its sharpest suit is the new Astra.
The new model will surprise even the most hard-boiled Opel haters. It has the looks and solidity to take on the likes of the Volkswagen Golf and that in itself is a huge leap forward. Five years ago, if you were to mention the two cars in the same breath you'd have been suspected of being either a closet cyclist or a Reclaim the Streets spy out to sabotage the car industry.
Now you can do so with some confidence. Across the hatchback segment, the Golf was long regarded as the benchmark for quality. There was a significant chasm between it and its rivals. Now the gap has closed, leaving VW with only the slimmest of leads.
The omens are good for Astra. In Germany, its home market, it has taken a very proactive approach to competition with VW, offering incentives if customers waited for the new version rather than opt for the Golf. VW has been forced to offer air-conditioning as standard, though neither incentives nor air-con made it to Ireland.
So does Astra have VW rattled? Not in terms of residuals where the Golf's rock solid performance will woo the accountants in all of us. But in terms of fit, finish and driving ability it's certainly a lot closer to its fellow German than the folks at Volks would like.
It's 14 years since the launch of the Kadett and, with the Astra, Opel seems to have caught the changing mood. Whereas VW opted for a minor nip and tuck to its big-selling hatchback, Opel has completely restyled the Astra, sensing that the market is ready to move forward in terms of design and quality.
It's a bold move that was badly needed by a firm that has suffered from bland design and questionable quality. Opel hopes to end all that with its new Astra.
From its striking new looks to its more robust interior, the car seems to be far better built than any of its predecessors.
Over the past few weeks we've had the chance to drive the full variety of engines and finishes on all kinds of roads. Most recently we took the 1.4-litre petrol version for a 500-mile test.
In the end our favourite for all-round ability was the 1.6-litre, though the 1.4-litre was a capable performer, if a little lacklustre in lower revs.
The 1.7-litre CDTi diesel is not as refined as its counterparts and the 1.8-litre is best for those who seek more power from their right foot, though it's not exactly potent.
The most impressive aspect of the new Astra is handling, which is neat and tidy, with little body roll. Although there's a tendency to understeer if pushed, it all feels very responsive.
What this means is that if you misjudge a corner or have to make an emergency manoeuvre, the car will do so with confidence and is more inclined to get you out of trouble. It also means that the Astra can actually be an enjoyable drive; yes, we never thought we'd say that.
There's a sport button on the SRi version that sharpens steering response and gives a noticeable surge of power when pressed. It also comes with Opel's new interactive driving system (IDS) as standard, offering a more secure ride and performance at speed. The sporting versions, SRi and SXi, may not have GTi fans queuing for trade-ins at Opel dealers, but they do offer competent performance and power.
The lack of a real white-knuckle version indicates Opel's concentration on getting the mainstream model range up to speed. It has done this well.
Inside the solid feel continues with a nice layout and much improved finish. Rear seat legroom might not be best in class, but it can cope with two full-size adults.
Despite neater lines, the new model is actually bigger than its predecessor in all measurements, but doesn't look it because of some fancy design tricks.
The new Vectra-style centre console is tidy, and the radio controls on the steering wheel (on all models except Club versions) are easy to use. Our advice would be to opt for the chunkier sports wheel.
Not all cars were without their glitches. In the 1.4-litre test car, our radio simply refused to pick up even the national stations outside Dublin, even on medium wave, and the CD player wasn't much better.
Another minor fault - the indicator and wiper stalks. The spongy stalks in the Vectra are positively dangerous and, though they have been stiffened slightly in the Astra, they are still really annoying to use.
Bootspace is good. The back seats fold down to offer over 1,265 litres of space if packed to the roof.
The Astra offers many of the qualities that made the Golf a firm favourite - good build quality, appealing styling and competent if not quite competition-level performance.
For us, the most relevant factor was the interior and the sound proofing which should see it usurp the Mazda3 as the most relevant challenger to the Golf and Focus.
It's all down to long-term reliability - not always Opel's strongest suit - but for now there's enough to represent a serious challenge to the market to date.
The Mazda3 is nicely designed but cabin finish and noise levels let it down. The Focus is due for replacement. The Corolla, Civic and Almera are strong competent performers with good reliability records. But none really inspires excitement in their everyday versions.
All of which leaves the Astra, despite problems with the perception some may have of model and make, arguably the best all-rounder out there at the moment.
Now it's up to Ford to prove us wrong with its Focus. If the C-Max is anything to go by, they may just do it. But for now, we have to side with the Astra.