Weekend Athlete: 2008 Saturn Astra Two-Door

I had hoped we’d get the five-door version in the fleet but the three-door arrived. Here are some differences between the Saturn XR three-door hatchback and the Saturn XR five-door hatchback, based on Cars.com’s Side-by-Side comparison tool:

Luggage volume with rear seats up: 12.0 cu.ft. (three-door), 12.2 cu.ft. (five-door)

Passenger volume: 89 cu.ft., 92 cu.ft.

Height: 55.8 inches, 57.4 inches

MSRP: $18,375, $17,425

For a Weekend Athlete, they are comparable, but a five-door version would make stowing gear fractionally easier, and in XR trim, it’s cheaper. I’d prefer the five-door, but anyway, on to the car at hand.

The cargo area with the seats up is the most impressive feature of this car. You could get camping gear for four back there and leave the cargo shelf in place. That’s a rarity. I had to remove the headrests to get the rear seats to fold down, but shorter folks might not have to.

For a small car, it also holds a bike OK. The front wheel has to come off, and larger frames will still be tight (as you can see from the photos). My 58-cm frame was a tight-ish fit. One thing: Unless you’re a shorter athlete, don’t stand the rear wheel upright behind the driver’s seat — there’s just not enough room to do so and sit comfortably. The passenger seat would be the preferred place for that wheel.

With all the gear, you’re reminded it’s a small car. I tried it a couple of different ways to make sure which was best and, honestly, I’m still not sure which I prefer. I expect to make tradeoffs in this size car, but I’ve been in other small cars that do just as well. I’d hoped before the drive this would be a clear winner.

Bottom line: It seems like it’d be handy for the non-athletes and trips to the grocery and shopping, possibly even for young families to take on road trips. It is a good car for campers and a passable car for bikers, but not so great if you do both at the same time and want to keep the bike inside. But that’s the Weekend Athlete test: It has to carry the bike and the gear or it doesn’t win the race. Also, it has to be said: A 58-cm road bike frame ain’t the biggest. If a car holds that size frame snugly, then it has to lose some points.

Sadly, the Astra just can’t carry things as well as other vehicles can, so it’s going to get hammered in the rankings.

Weekend Athlete Scores (Out of 10)

• Ease of loading gear – 5: It’s OK if you’re camping or racing, but only fair if you’re doing both. I can’t rank it much higher than this.
• Ease of seat operation – 6: Removable headrests are nice and the levers make sense to me. I had to remove the headrests, though shorter folks might not have to.
• Bike hauling ­– 4.5: If it’s just carrying the bike, it’s OK, but my wheel really had to come off. In other cars, it didn’t.
• Locker-room cred – 6: I really like how this looks and if you don’t have to go off-road it’s a practical car.
• All-around – 5: I hate to rank it so low, but there are other cars that perform better. Those who don’t carry bikes and camp might find it suits them better than it did me.