Opel (Vauxhall) released full images and details of the new Cascada — Astra Convertible to you. Actually, it only looks like an Astra. Underneath it’s a brand-new model featuring four seats, a fabric roof, and good space, thanks to its 4.7 metres length, which is longer than Audi A5 Convertible.
Opel says the Cascada is a full four-seat convertible, but even in the pictures you can tell the rear seats are not going to be fully functional for adults. Apart from that, you can’t really think of any negatives about this car’s design. It looks sleek and beautiful, with the roof up or down, and has a clean profile with no roof-top cover or visible roll-over protection spoiling the view. Opel/Vauxhall offers three colors for the fabric roof, and ten colors for the body.
The familiar interior of the Cascada is covered in soft-touch material with high-quality stitching all across the dash, door panels and the seats. That is a good thing, especially in a convertible because everybody can see the interior. Besides looking classy, Cascada’s cabin also packs some clever features such as electric seat belts and Easy Entry system fro rear seats. As for the practical stuff, it has a load volume of 280 litres with the roof down, and up to 350 litres roof up, while the rear seats are 50:50 foldable.
The engine lineup includes a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol with 140 PS and 220 Nm, a 2.0 CDTi diesel with 165 PS and 380 Nm of torque, and an all-new 1.6 SIDI Turbo ECOTEC petrol engine from the MGE series, developing 170 PS and 280 Nm.
The CAscada gets Opel’s HiPerStrut front suspension from the VXR models, as well as FlexRide chassis, big brakes, and 18 to 20-inch wheels. In terms of technology, it gets AFL+ (Adaptive Forward Lighting) with up to 11 automatic lighting functions; Front Camera System, including Traffic Sign Recognition, Lane Departure Warning, Following Distance Indication and Forward Collision Alert; rear-view camera; heated steering wheel; Hill Start Assist; Side Blind Spot Alert.
Opel Cascada goes on sale in Spring 2013.
