Astra H

The Astra H was launched in March 2004 as a five-door hatchback, whilst a five-door estate launched late 2004 and a sporty three-door hatchback, designated the GTC (Gran Tourismo Compact) for European markets, Sport Hatch in the UK and the Coupé in Australia, launched in 2005. The GTC has the option of a windscreen called "panoramic windscreen" (unique for a production car at the time of its launch) which extends into the roof area.

Based on the then-new Delta platform, its size was increased compared to the previous version.

In the 2005 European Car of the Year contest, the Astra H was just edeged out by the top three, Toyota Prius, Citroën C4 and the Ford Focus.

In 2005, a Diesel-Electric Hybrid prototype was presented but not put into production, whilst the aging Vectra B was replaced in Brazil with a sedan version of the Astra H, named Chevrolet Vectra. The model was matched with the others models offered in Brazil. This version was offered as an Opel in some Eurasian markets in 2006, following a debut at the international auto show in Istanbul, Turkey. This was manufactured in Gliwice, Poland. Also in 2006, the Astravan, a 3-door van variant of the estate, was launched.

In September 2007, a version of the 5-door Astra was launched in Brazil, marketed as Chevrolet Vectra GT to differentiate from the already existing Astra G, which remains in production with a lower price.

In 2008, the Astra sedan was launched in Ireland as the Opel Astra Saloon, one of the countries in Western Europe where it was sold. In Spain it is sold as Astra "Sedán".

GM Russia launched SKD assembly of Astra on a temporary production site near Saint Petersburg in February 2008, with a potential capacity of 25,000 vehicles annually.

The Chevrolet Astra was withdrawn from Mexico in 2008 as a result of withdrawal of Opel products from the brand, replaced by the Chevrolet Cruze sedan for the 2010 model year.

A first for any major European car is the availability of digital radio on some versions of the new Astra, while for the Astra product class first are electronic Continuous Damping Control (CDC) and AFL (Adaptive Forward Lighting).