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Nifty Astra feature #1

One of the neat things about the Astra (at least to me!) is the number of little doodads that the car has. As we run across these non-obvious things I'll try to remember to blog about them. As I'm one of the three people on the planet that actuallly reads their owner's manual, I'm likely to find a bunch of these. :-)

Today's nifty feature is appropriate as the weather is starting to heat up here in DC. It's called "Comfort Open Windows" and uses your remote keyless entry (RKE). Once you've unlocked your doors using the RKE, you can open the windows remotely by pressing and holding the "unlock" button. The windows will lower, allowing you to release the heat that's been building up in your car as it sits in the sun. No need for the driver to unlock, open doors, insert key, turn on the ignition, then roll down the windows - all done with one button press. Very neat.

11 Comments

Comment by Kevin Keller on May 6, 2008 at 11:31pm: so, since I also read the manual cover to cover (downloaded & read the Vauxhall manual several months ago to get a head start), I wonder if we can find that 3rd person...

Comment by Rob on May 7, 2008 at 5:05pm: I'm right here. Have read every owner's manual for every car I've bought.

Comment by Taylor on May 7, 2008 at 7:10pm: You probably should focus on more important things like the pathetic 24-30 mpg. But at least your dashboard can light up and do neat things when you can't afford the gas to run it.

Comment by marlin on May 7, 2008 at 7:37pm: I finally saw one up close! Would I ever get one? Prob not! Saturn has yet to introduce something I can see myself driving other than what I currently have. I will be content until then! However, it does look sharp and I believe the RL version will be a fun ride lol

Comment by Rick Murphy (RicksVue) on May 7, 2008 at 9:46pm: In response to the MPG comment, ours is running at 27 MPG so far for the first 150 miles (according to the DIC display). We'll see on the first fill-up how accurate the DIC is, but that's already twice the mileage that the Jeep Cherokee Diane was driving was getting.

Comment by Rob on May 8, 2008 at 8:24am: I'd hardly call 30 mpg pathetic. And lets compare apples to apples and not apples to Hybrids. Least the Astra doesn't have as termed, pathetic mileage like these 2008 vehicles.

http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/overall-low.htm

Comment by Me&MyAstra on May 9, 2008 at 1:54am: Whoa! Make that four of us cover-to-cover folks. And I'll even admit I found some sections to be lacking in the details. Although I still haven't made the time to sit down and view the OnStar CD. It probably would've come in handy when I accidentally hit the emergency OnStar button while adjusting my rearview mirror ... oops!

This "COW" with "RKE" is one of the niftier features that I use the most here in sunny SoCal. I won't spoil the fun by listing any of the others that I like.

Comment by Joel on May 9, 2008 at 9:26am: Very cool feature. Too bad there is no remote start option on the Astra's though... Then you could get the AC cranking too.. Hope in to a nice chilly Saturn.

Comment by Rob on May 12, 2008 at 3:14pm: Only thing about starting a vehicle with the a/c on is the initial load on the engine and electrical system from the a/c compressor. But yea, to get into a nicely cooled off car is a great idea.

Comment by SirRaven on May 16, 2008 at 10:58am: I have used this already a few times, mostly just to show it off. I could see this being really nice when its out in the sun all day. Havent hit that point yet, but summer is just starting. I have not read the manual cover to cover, but I have picked up on a lot of these features throuh other literature and most of the manual is boring to me since it wont say anything I already dont know.

And I would not call my 32 mpg+ city driving to and from work pathetic. EPA is a load of crap and I constantly have beaten the EPA estimates in all the cars I have owned.