SMALLER but bigger and lighter, better equipped but cheaper and more economical - the new Vauxhall Astra arrives with a load of expectation to live up to.

Clever design means the new car, built in Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, is 49mm shorter than the old model but the designers have found an extra 35mm legroom in the rear. The boot is bigger too.

Taking the cleverness factor up a notch, use of extra strong steel means the car is now up to 200kg lighter than before. That brings benefits in both performance and economy - losing the weight of two big adults has that sort of effect.

And then there's the price reduction on a car that must take on the might of the Ford Focus and VW Golf in a part of the market that takes no prisoners.

The Astra range starts at £15,295 and, says it maker, there are savings of between £150 and £2,200 when you compare the spec of old and new models.

Talking of specification, the new car is the first Vauxhall fitted with the OnStar system that can turn your car into a mobile phone 4G hotspot, alert the emergency services in an accident and even deactivate the ignition if you report the car stolen.

It all sounds promising for a car that's been around in different versions now for 36 years, selling almost three million and seeping so far into everyday life that a quarter of us have either owned or driven an Astra.

It has to be said not everyone will have been deeply delighted after the experience; for a long time an Astra was an inexpensive way of filling the company car fleet and built more to keep costs down than anything else.

Not so the new seventh generation Astra. It is so different in feel and driving pleasure that you wonder if Vauxhall thought of giving the car a new name, ridding it of any unwanted baggage in the process.

On the outside, the new Astra continues Vauxhall's current look. That means a heavily sculpted body with enough swoops and curves for a dramatic feel even parked beside a supermarket trolley.

Inside is where the biggest change is obvious. There's the usual sombre black look (a current must-have in most new cars, it seems) but everything is obviously neatly put together and feels solid in a way that belays the car's newfound lightness.

Engine choices at launch include several petrol versions (1.0. 1.4 and 1.6-litres) and a sole 1.6-litre 'Whisper' diesel unit in three power outputs that proved its name was no idle boast on test, making less noise at a main road cruise than the equally new unit found in the new, and much dearer, Jaguar XE, for instance.

The 1.6 CDTI diesel engine sits in the middle of the power choices and punched the car down the road in satisfactory fashion. A light right foot ought to be rewarded with impressive fuel consumption, although the officially mandated average figure (72.4mpg) looks unlikely - as ever.