Estate version of newly facelifted family car arrives with plug-in hybrid powertrain
The Sports Tourer – read, estate – version of the latest Vauxhall Astra has arrived in the UK.Our test car is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric plug-in hybrid (there are also conventional 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrols) in GS trim, rather than fully sporty Astra GSe; so it has a 148bhp, 184lb ft engine and a 109bhp, 236lb ft motor for totals of 178bhp and 265lb ft (they don’t both blow their strongest at the same time).The battery has a capacity of 12.4kWh, can charge at a rate of 3.7kW (7kW is a £500 option) and gives an electric-only range of 42-45 miles. Officially, anyway: our hatchback Vauxhall Astra PHEV long-termer broached 30 miles only a couple of times, and then only in warmer weather.That might be enough for most commutes and daily travails. But a private buyer will need to be sure that the PHEV is the one to have: if you’re unable to plug it in frequently enough, the pure-petrol variant is not only lighter and cheaper but also, in our experience, more economical by a margin.However, with a WLTP CO2 figure of 23-24g/km and economy of 256mpg, the PHEV sits in the 8% benefit-in-kind tax bracket for company car drivers. No petrol can do that.We’re fans of the design of the basic Astra hatchback. Vauxhall’s latest design language is dashing, and the Astra looks good. As a hatch it’s well proportioned and, although the world prefers SUVs to estates these days, the Sports Tourer adds practicality with no less visual sophistication.With a 597-litre boot, shaped so it can swallow a washing machine, the Astra Sports Tourer lives up to its billing in the practicality stakes. A split-level floor, electric tailgate and in-car storage for the tonneau cover, when you need to fold the 40:20:40-split seats forward (increasing capacity to 1634 litres), are sure to earn it brownie points with families.The estate’s wheelbase is up 57mm on the hatch’s, increasing rear leg room to generous levels, with 268mm going into the overall length to expand the boot volume. That’s down to 516-1553 litres in the case of the PHEV, which gets 81 litres less boot volume than the petrol. There is, however, a cubby for the charging cable back there.The front cabin features broad and comfortable if flat seats and good primary ergonomics, but the touchscreen – and sorry to go on about this – is given rather too many functions that could have been made buttons (you can still swap the temperature via a real button). At least moving key things off the centre tunnel, with small Stellantis group buttons in their lieu, means there’s lots of oddments storageThe Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer hybrid is smooth and undemanding, if unmemorable, to drive. In its lightest petrol form the Astra hatch is respectably agile and sprightly; those are not adjectives you would necessarily level at the PHEV estate, which at 1717kg is 341kg heavier than the petrol estate, let alone its equivalent 1266kg hatch. It steers smoothly, and the drivetrain offers easy-going progress, but good braking modulation is difficult.The official figures say this is a 7.7sec 0-62mph car, and full throttle from rest can trouble the front wheels. That’s almost as fast as the upcoming 222bhp GSe (7.5sec), but in mixed driving it doesn’t feel that urgent or responsive.The additional mass has done the secondary ride no harm, though – the estate in this heaviest form absorbs lumps and bumps confidently and with ease.As usual with electrified cars, a lot of numbers are involved in the justification of this car. But the key ones might be that the Sports Tourer costs £8000 more as a PHEV than as a petrol.How often you plug it in, and how much BIK tax you pay, are the ones that will swing it. And if your choice is more subjective, the lighter Astras are the more pleasing ones.
