An Opel Astra Sports Tourer has come out top in a two-year reliability test that saw it driven for over 100,000 km across Europe, sometimes towing heavy loads, without developing a fault or making a non-scheduled trip to the garage.

The Sports Tourer 2.0 CDTI achieved the best-ever endurance test result in the compact car class carried out by road testers on the German motoring magazine, Auto Motor und Sport.

The endurance test lasted for 22 months and during that time the Sports Tourer notched up 104,800 km on a wide variety of routes under a differing array of driving conditions.

In that time, it saw off a number of rivals including the VW Golf, the Mercedes A-Class and the Toyota Prius, and was the only car included in the endurance test that did not need to make an unscheduled garage stop.

Thomas F. Simon, vice president GM Europe and Opel/Vauxhall Quality, said: “This the best result for an Opel in the history of Auto Motor und Sport. This means that a 2011 Opel Astra Sports Tourer is the most reliable Opel in decades.”

Simon said that the result was a testimony to the quality offensive Opel had launched in 2007 and which was now being witnessed in its current generation of vehicles.

“As an important part of our holistic DRIVE!2022 strategy, we have created the QUALITY!2022 plan. Our goal is to take the quality leadership in the automotive area over the next nine years.

“This is ambitious, but necessary to improve our brand’s loyalty level, which is currently in the upper-middle sector, when we want to be at the top. Our customers should be satisfied with every contact they have with Opel/Vauxhall – be it during consulting services, when purchasing a car, getting their car serviced or, of course, their daily dealings with their car.

“Only customers who are completely happy with their Opel/Vauxhall will remain true to the brand, will again buy a Corsa, Astra or Insignia and thus ensure our growth and our success."

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