ATLANTA -- The drawback with most economical compact cars is that they look, well, economical. Or worse, cute.

The 2008 Saturn Astra, on the other hand, offers striking styling that will turn some heads.

Photo by GM (ENLARGE)

Saturn Astra.

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The sportiness isn't just skin deep. The Astra, built in Europe where it's sold wearing the Opel badge, is fun to drive thanks to taut steering and a tight suspension.

Just don't expect it to be too fun to drive.

The 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine generates 138 horsepower, just enough to be adequate, not enough to be fun. If you head to the mountains looking for twisty roads, you'll strain a bit on the uphill stretches.

The interior is well built but retains some of the European quirks of the Opel. There is a single front seat cupholder, for example. And it's stuck on the center console behind the driver's seating position.

But, on the plus side, there are two sunglass holders, one above the driver's side front window, one above the front passenger's window.

The Astra offers rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlights, a couple of nice features you wouldn't expect at this price.

There are two trim levels Ñ XE and XR.

The XR, with a starting sticker price of $17,545, comes nicely equipped with air conditioning, a CD player, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls and alloy wheels.

The EPA estimate for the Astra equipped with automatic transmission is 24 miles per gallon city and 30 mpg highway. The test vehicle got about 25 mpg in mix of driving that included many miles climbing steep mountain roads.

Clint Williams writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: cwilliams AT ajc.com