Drivers Log.(News)(Product/service evaluation)

MANDEL: Holy Toledo! You will say that when you open the solid-feel door, when you slide behind the wheel, when you touch the steering wheel and feel there's something good about how it comes to rest in your hand. The fit and finish of the high-quality plastic, the shift detent, the level of throttle delivery and the power-assisted wheel turn-in-this car has it all.

To say I was overly impressed is an understatement. This is a new, better player in the game. General Motors has delivered a B- segment competitor of the highest order. It used to be that the Volkswagen Golf was the exemplar. No more: The Saturn Astra is the one.

What worries me is what others have been asking and will continue to ask: Why has it taken GM this long to recognize talent when it has it in its own (European) backyard?

Thank goodness Saturn is the beneficiary. Strike that. Thank goodness the buying public is the beneficiary.

Four months ago, I bought a Scion for my boys. I wish I had waited, because the Astra is every bit as strong and more sophisticated. Yes, that's what this is: It puts a level of unexpected and delightful sophistication into an entry-level vehicle.

This is another Saturn home run. With this in the lineup, Saturn becomes the best GM division when it comes to product, top to bottom. There is not a clunker in the lineup.

WILSON: The Astra is a giant leap beyond the Ion, with strong exterior and interior design, stout build quality and great driving manners. Saturn is on a roll, though public perception has not caught up with reality. Saturn is up against a reputation earned when it was building junk that was supposed to "prove'' that GM could build competitive small cars in America.