Vauxhall’s Astra has always had a bit of a humdrum reputation but the current, seventh generation model deserves to be spoken of in far more exalted terms.
It was crowned 2015 Scottish Car of the Year then 2016 European Car of the Year and has won a slew of other accolades.
Earlier this year Vauxhall added an estate version into the mix. Called the Astra Sports Tourer, it’s available with the same petrol and diesel engine options as the hatchback.
There’s a 1.6 litre diesel unit with 109bhp. This is the most frugal engine in the range, returning 83mpg with emissions of just 89g/km.
There’s a pokier 1.6 diesel that has 134bhp and still manages to return 74.3mpg. There’s Vauxhall’s excellent, turbocharged, three cylinder 1.0 litre petrol engine. Another option is a turbocharged 1.6 litre petrol unit with nearly 200bhp that, though unlikely to be a big seller, makes it a very quick estate car.
Prices start at a little over £17,000 and top out at £25,575. The trim levels are also the same as those on the hatch, with Design, Tech-Line, Energy, SRi and Elite trims. You get the top-spec SRi and Elite versions with sat-nav under the SRi Nav and Elite Nav names too.
Vauxhall has packed the car with technology. The touchscreen control system is one of the easiest I’ve used in this class and there’s Vauxhall’s OnStar system which has a 4G wifi hotspot – perfect for passengers or children wanting to use tablets or mobile phones.
I spent a week with the 1.0 litre petrol model in SRI Nav trim, which sits in the middle of the range at £21,205.
A few years ago a such a small engine would have been terribly weedy but thanks to a turbocharger the 1.0 litre unit churns out 105bhp. That gets it from 0-62mph in a not bad 11 seconds.
It’s a smooth and refined little powerplant. If you regularly fill the car with heavy items a diesel might be worth going for – its extra pulling power will give more oomph when the car’s fully laden – but otherwise the little petrol engine should do nicely.
The Sport Tourer has the same amount of passenger space as the hatchback. That means it has more legroom than you’ll find in a Volkswagen Golf and around the same amount as in the very roomy Skoda Octavia Estate. There’s room for four adults to ride comfortably and a fifth can squeeze in the rear middle seat if necessary.
The boot’s what counts on an estate car and the Astra acquits itself well here.
With 540 litres, it’s significantly bigger than the previous Astra estate. It falls short of the Octavia Estate, which has 610 litres, and the Honda Civic Tourer’s massive 624 litres. It’s bigger than Focus and Golf estates, however, and the Vauxhall further redeems itself with a flat load lip and square opening that makes it easier to load bulky items.
The biggest change over the old Astra estate and the new is not a bit more boot space. It’s the terrific way it drives. The new model (wisely abandoning the option of sports suspension) offers an excellent ride that soaks up bumps and potholes with aplomb. Handling has been improved too and reduced cabin noise makes it an excellent cruiser.
Ride comfort, if not handling, is now at least on part with the Focus and even comes close to the majestic Golf.
It’s competitively priced – Vauxhall don’t want it to cost more than its arch rival the Focus Estate. Reliability should be reasonable although the three-year 60,000 mile warranty looks stingy compared to five and seven-year efforts from Hyundai and Kia.
Overall, though, the Astra estate and turned itself from an also ran into one of the leaders of the pack.
jmckeown@thecourier.co.uk
Price:
£21,205
0-62mph:
11 seconds
Top speed:
121mph
Economy:
62.8mpg
CO2 emissions:
103g/km