IF you’re beach wear diet isn’t going quite as well as you’d like, take some inspiration from the new generation Astra which has lost a whopping 200kgs to get fit for company car sales.

One of the UK user-chooser’s favourite set of business wheels may be more svelte and smaller than the out-going model but yet it boasts more cabin space.

Vauxhall’s seventh-generation Astra will reach production later this year at the company’s Ellesmere Port manufacturing plant in Cheshire.

A new lightweight architecture plays a major role in the weight loss with every component checked for compact design and weight-saving materials. The body shell weight alone was reduced by 20% from 357kg to 280kg.

However, despite the anorexic diet plan and smaller overall dimension, company car drivers will welcome the increased cabin space.

The wheelbase may have been reduced by 2cm but the amount of space inside increased. In combination with newly-designed seats, the passengers in the rear can enjoy an additional 35mm legroom.

The highlight of the engine range is the all-new 1.4-litre 145PS ECOTEC Direct Injection Turbo, a four-cylinder unit from the same family as the one-litre, three-cylinder engine seen in Corsa, Adam and Viva. The engine delivers maximum torque of up to 250Nm, with maximum power available between 1,800rpm and 4,000rpm.