Sporting Tourer
always felt willing and able to cope with the Tourer - which is considerably larger than the hatch. If you are planning on carrying heavy loads you will probably need more grunt in the shape of one of the diesel units. With a top speed of 121mph, the 1.0-litre takes 11 seconds to reach 60mph and has emissions of 103g/km. It is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox and if you make good use of it you will have no trouble keeping pace with most traffic. This version of the Tourer should also be very economical to run with stop/start and a claimed combined figure of 62.8 miles to the gallon. Estates have to be practical and the Tourer offers a 540-litre boot which can be increased to 1,630 litres if you drop the 40:20:40 split rear seats. The tailgate opening is a useful square shape and with no lip it is easy to load larger objects. Room for passengers is excellent with five adults being able to travel in comfort and there are plenty additional storage areas and power sockets. In SRI Nav trim the Tourer is loaded with standard features. Externally you get 17-inch alloy wheels, front fogs, rear spoiler,silver-effect roof rails, automatic lighting, door to door illumination as well as LED daytime running lights. The smart cabin features bags of equipment including a leather steering wheel with audio controls, sports seats, air conditioning, trip computer, electric front and rear windows and electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, cruise control and a tyre pressure monitoring system. You also get Vauxhall’s Navi 900 IntelliLink system and their OnStar personal connectivity and service assistant - which is free for the first 12 months. The Tourer also boasts the latest safely equipment including a driving assistance pack with an intelligent camera system and hill start assist. It drives and handles well and at £20,585 feels good value for a quality product. It provides all that is good about the hatch plus added space and versatility. Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer SRI Nav 1.0i Turbo ecoFlex £20,585
105PS, 999cc, 3cyl petrol engine driving front wheels via five- speed manual gearbox 121mph 0-60mph: 11 seconds 62.8 10E 103g/km Warranty: 3yrs/60,000 miles