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Seldom do TV car commercials capture our interest, especially not when professional drivers are zipping around mountain curves, through sand dunes or over frozen lakes. Real folks, after all, snooze at 10 m.p.h. below the speed limit in the passing lane.

But a recent Saturn TV spot wins kudos-and no car is being driven. A young man walks into a dealership, sees very attractive hardware, and with a quizzical look peeks back out the door to make sure the sign says Saturn.

Saturn products had been invisible for too long. Those days look to be over, though, thanks to a new midsize Aura sedan and Outlook crossover, a new Sky roadster and Vue crossover, and now a new compact Astra coupe and sedan.

The newest member of the family, the 2008 Astra, comes from General Motors’ Opel subsidiary in Europe as a global compact.

It’s offered in base XE hatchback and uplevel XR coupe and sedan versions. As with all Saturns, except the Sky roadster, XE is the base, get-you-from-here-to-there model, while XR gets you from here to there a little quicker and a little more poshly.

We tested the Astra XE four-door hatchback. Until Sky came along, Saturn hadn’t been blessed with much styling imagination. The Astra that replaces Ion benefits from the attention to fashion that started with Sky and carried into Aura, Vue and Outlook. The wide-bar chrome grille common in all Saturns graces the Astra nose as well.

But Astra lacks what originally set Saturn off from the crowd-plastic dent-and-rust resistant body panels that added to resale value but created a few problems as well. For one, openings or gaps in plastic body panels expand and contract when temperatures rise and fall. No problem on the metal Astra.

About the same size as Ion, the cabin is a little snug upfront, but adequate in back with decent leg and abundant head room. Dark cloth seats hide dirt, but seat backs are more than a tad stiff. The rear seat is well in front of the rear wheels, distancing occupants from the point of contact with the road.

Seats are manually controlled, not power, in all models and there’s only a single cupholder between the front seats. But it’s so far back it’s easier for rear-seat occupants to reach than for the driver.

Cabin noise, which seemed a part of Saturn DNA, is noticeable by its absence.

The rear cargo hold is very large. A parcel shelf hides whatever you store there from onlookers. Rear seat backs fold to expand cargo space, but not flat so it creates a bit of a balancing act.

Nice touches include automatics that shift into neutral at stops to save fuel and eliminate the typical “crawl” while waiting at the light, cell phone/iPod holder in the center console, easy to reach door lock/unlock controls in the center dash and a power plug in the center console.

A screen in the top center of the dash provides time, temp and radio station readings, but time is the military type used in Europe and, sorry, but 18:30 hours is of little utility. A change to the 12-hour clock is coming soon.

The suspension in the XE is softly sprung to minimize road harshness, but that means you won’t make tight turns or take corners without lean. At speed, it feels as if riding on the sidewalls. The uplevel XRs get a sports suspension for a stiffer ride but far better handling.

The 1.8-liter 4-cylinder develops 138 horsepower and is teamed with a smooth-shifting 5-speed manual. Not a lot of off-the-line snap; leave that to the XR. With the sports suspension the XRs are more nimble and react quicker to pedal input and steering response.

The XE we tested, with its 24 m.p.g. city/32 m.p.g. highway rating, is a commuter for singles or newly marrieds; XR is aimed more at enthusiasts who want a little fun.

The XE starts at $15,375 with manual, $16,700 with automatic. The XR sedan starts at $16,925 with manual, $18,250 with automatic and coupe at $17,875 with manual, $19,200 with automatic.

The XE has anti-lock brakes, side-curtain air bags, power heated mirrors, power windows and locks, remote keyless entry, AM/FM radio with CD player, rear window wiper/defogger and tilt/telescoping steering wheel.

The XR sedan adds air conditioning ($960 in XE), AM/FM radio with in-dash CD/MP3 player, steering-wheel radio controls, and fog lights; the XR coupe adds stability control with traction control ($495 XE), sport suspension and 17-inch radials. A power sunroof runs $1,000-XE or XR.

Read Jim Mateja Sunday in Transportation. Contact him at transportation@tribune.com.