For those who intend to buy an Opel Astra 1.6 Turbo, you may want to hold off your purchase for a while. This is because the brand's latest 1.6-litre SIDI turbo petrol engine is now available on the five-door hatchback, four-door sedan and Sports Tourer versions of the Astra.

The new engine will replace the existing 1.6-litre Ecotec turbocharged unit. The new range topper makes 168bhp and 280Nm of torque, which is 10bhp less but 50Nm more than its predecessor. In addition, torque availability has dropped from 2,200rpm to just 1,650rpm.

The engine is available with either a new six-speed manual gearbox or a low-friction six-speed automatic transmission. The fuel consumption of the new engine is and improved 14 percent over its predecessor and is rated at 5.9L/100km (according to the New European Driving Cycle) for the hatchback and sedan.

The five-door Astra 1.6 SIDI Turbo sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.7 seconds, which is 0.3 seconds faster than the current 1.6 Turbo. However, it is still 0.3 seconds slower than its arch rival, the Golf Sport.