If you don't believe the global market can reap dividends for car enthusiasts and consumers, you don't know about the Saturn Astra.

With base prices ranging between $15,375 and $17,875, Astra is a slightly redesigned German Opel, a General Motors European brand made in Antwerp, Belgium.

Spend five minutes behind the wheel of the Astra and you'll be singing the praises of this little car.

The front-wheel drive Astra comes in XE and XR versions, and two- and four-door models. Though it competes with Honda Civic, Volkswagen Rabbit and Mazda3, it gives each of them a run for the money in terms of performance.

And that's a pretty strong statement when you consider that Astra replaced the Saturn Ion, a car with quality control issues, poor materials and fit and finish and -- until late in its product cycle -- a forgettable appearance.

Standard equipment on the Astra includes six air bags, anti-lock brakes, traction and stability control, active head restraints, OnStar, rain sensing windshield wipers, cruise control, air conditioning, driver information center and a seven-speaker AM/FM stereo with MP3 player.

Power comes from a 138-horsepower, 1.8-liter, four-cylinder engine. With an automatic, the Astra is rated at 24 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.

It's not perfect, of course. The back-seat area is cramped. Thanks to that dynamic-looking roofline, visibility can be challenging at times. And the steering wheel was a bit too thick and large for my taste.

But it handles like it's on rails. The dashboard gauge arrangement and the shape and look of the center stack remind me a bit of BMW. Its brakes are superb -- so strong, in fact, that it will take you a while to get used to how quickly they engage. And the fit and finish is absolutely impeccable. There are nice, solid thunks -- the noises you associate with high quality materials -- when you close the doors and trunk.

And as for acceleration and performance -- wow. It's fast and responsive to the point that you have to watch yourself, or you'll be getting a close-up of the trunk lid of the car in front of you. You'll have to spend thousands of dollars more to get the same level of excitement you can experience in the Astra.

Truly, Saturn's come a long way.