Griffin door
The eighth generation Vauxhall Astra is a car we very much like in its generic hatchback form It might not be the most exciting thing in the segment but anyone looking for trusty transport will find many of their boxes ticked At first glance it looks as though that might have translated through to the Sports Tourer too
The estate certainly looks handsome Vauxhall’s signature is that striking Vizor front end and you’ve got sharp creases on the bonnet and over the wheel arches Plus the Sports Tourer gets a redesigned rear end with the numberplate moved up onto the bootlid to give a larger rear opening Clever
The bhp petrol engine can be combined with a six speed manual or eight speed auto and it pulls well for a little turbo cyl It also sounds good the benefit of odd cylinders
Vauxhall will sell you this powertrain in bhp flavour too or there’s a bhp plug in hybrid that pairs a litre cyl with a single e motor and a kWh battery And despite wanting to be an all electric manufacturer by Vauxhall is one of the few brands that’ll still sell you a diesel estate in the UK
This efficient more powerful petrol is the one to go for though The PHEV compromises on bootspace and starts at almost k although it’ll be the one that company car buyers go for thanks to low tax rates
We’ve only driven the Sports Tourer on smooth German roads outside the factory in Rüsselsheim so far but the ride certainly seems firmer than something like a Skoda Octavia Estate The lighter combustion engined examples steer reasonably well though and both tyre and wind noise are well suppressed Vauxhall says the ST’s Calibra worrying drag coefficient helps with the latter
At litres the boot is slightly smaller than the Peugeot SW’s built on the same platform and much smaller than the Octavia’s litre chasm The interior is a pleasant place to be though with supremely comfortable seats actual buttons for the climate control and two inch screens for all your dial display and infotainment needs
Like the hatch the Astra Sports Tourer is a very worthy and complete package then Plus IC engined versions are well priced with plenty of kit as standard It’s worth a look before you buy that MkVIII Golf Estate that’s for sure