This model is part of the Best of British police cars series series
The Vauxhall Astra is a small family car that has been built by Vauxhall since 1979. For its first two generations, the nameplate was applied to right-hand drive versions of the Opel Kadett for use in the UK. Since 1991, Opel has used the Astra nameplate on its B/C-platform. General Motors' Saturn division in the United States of America also offered a Belgian-built version of the Astra as a captive import from late 2007 until Saturn was discontinued following GM's 2010 bankruptcy.
The Astra Mark V or H was first launched in early 2004 as a five-door hatchback, which by the end of the year was joined by a five-door estate and a sporty three-door hatchback called the Sport Hatch in the UK. The Sport Hatch had the option of a "panoramic windscreen" (unique for a production car at the time of its launch) which extended the windscreen into the roof area.
The main variants were Life, Club, Design, SXi, SRi, Elite, and the flagship VXR (Sport Hatch only), which had 240 bhp. However, special edition models included Active, Energy, Breeze and VXR Nurburgring. The latter was only available in white with a distinctive black (and white) chequered stripe across the bonnet, roof & tailgate.
The Petrol Models included 1.4 90 bhp, 1.6 105 bhp or 115 bhp, 1.8 140 bhp, 1.6 Turbo and 2.0 litre Turbo (VXR).
The Diesel Models included 1.3 90 bhp, 1.7 with either 80 or 100 bhp and 1.9 with either 120 or 150 bhp.
All Diesel models feature the initials CDTI and the majority of engines have 16 valves.
From 2006 the TwinTop 2-door coupé convertible was available in the Vauxhall Astra range, having already been a variant on the Tigra.
The Astra Mark V was also the first Astra to feature a Euro NCAP 5 star crash test rating.
The five-door Astra was replaced in late 2009 (although various models were still available throughout 2010), while the three-door Sport Hatch wasn't replaced until late 2011.
This was the last Astra to include an Astravan variant, production ceased in 2013 and was effectively replaced by the Fiat Doblo-based Combo van.
Thames Valley Police, formerly known as Thames Valley Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley area covered by the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. It is one of the largest territorial police forces in England covering 2,200 square miles (5,700 km2) and a population of over 2.1 million people. The police force consists of 4,244 constables, 506 special constables, 466 Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) and 2,576 police staff.
Policing in Thames Valley dates back to 1773 when Newbury Borough Police were operating as a small police force; their officers' duties included usual policing activity as well as repairing gates and bridges. The force was one of around twenty borough forces that amalgamated with their county police force. These were Buckinghamshire Constabulary, Oxfordshire Constabulary, Berkshire Constabulary, Reading Borough Police and Oxford City Police founded in 1857, 1857, 1856, 1836 and 1868 respectively. Under the Police Act 1964 these five forces were amalgamated on 1 April 1968 to form Thames Valley Constabulary.
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The Peugeot 505 is a large family car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1979 to 1992 in Sochaux, France. It was also manufactured in various other countries including Argentina (by...
