There must come a point when every carmaker is tempted to change the name of one of its most well-loved brands, even when it has iconic status.

New versions of well-established models are often incremental improvements, a design tweak here, some new styling there and a general freshen up to keep sales ticking along.

The sixth generation of the Vauxhall Astra is not like that at all. The badge on the back might be the same as the car that can trace its name back to 1979, but that’s where the similarity ends.

The latest model in Britain’s best selling UK-built car range looks better, feels better and, most importantly, drives better than anything that has carried the Astra badge before.

Carmakers will always tell you that their latest version is an all-new car. This time they are telling the truth.

Stand back from the new Astra and the stronger styling, steeply-raked windscreen and sloping rear roofline point clearly to an altogether sportier model.

The cabin, with its soft-feel, black, grained dashboard and clear instrumentation, feels a classier place, helped by a red glow that frames the gearbox surround, and shines from above the centre console and within the doorhandle recesses.

But the real improvements are buried deep beneath the bodywork, because it’s the increase in front and rear tracks, lengthening of the wheelbase and some clever work on the rear axle, that has transformed the handling of the Astra, turning it into a taut, precise performer that will give some German marques a run for their money.

Mate those improvements to a stiffer body, that helps cut noise and vibration, and the Astra is set to continue to maintain its near-constant place in the top three UK best-selling car list.

Attention to detail is evident throughout the car. The number of sensible, useful and sizeable storage areas is a welcome improvement and other advances range from a superbly comfortable driver’s seat with six-way adjustment, four-way lumbar adjustment and an extendable seat cushion, to a moveable boot floor, that can be mounted in a choice of three positions, and Vauxhall’s clever cycle carrier that is integrated into the rear bumper.

Also available is Vauxhall’s Advanced Forward Lighting system, which can change both the intensity and reach of the headlights to suit prevailing conditions.

Priced from under £16,000, with a range of eight engines and five trim levels, the new Astra is built at the Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, home to all Vauxhall’s compact-class cars since it opened 46 years ago.

Ellesmere Port will be responsible from launch for manufacturing all Astras sold across Europe, but UK buyers are expected to take the lion’s share, amounting to a quarter of the plant’s total production.

The temptation to give this car a different name must have been huge, but there’s clearly plenty of life left in Vauxhall’s little star.

Auto facts Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi Elite

  • Price: £21,085
  • Insurance group: Six
  • Fuel consumption (Combined): 55.4mpg
  • Top speed: 112mph
  • Length: 424.9cm/167.3in
  • Width: 175.3cm/69in
  • Luggage capacity: 12.3 cu ft
  • Fuel tank capacity: 11.4 gallons/52 litres
  • CO2 emissions: 138g/km
  • Warranty: 3 years/60,000 miles