Vauxhall Astra Electric Sports Tourer (2023 - ) review

The bottom-line price difference between a petrol-engined Astra Sports Tourer and this electric version might make you flinch but, of course, this doesn’t reflect the way most people buy their cars these days and Vauxhall is doing its best to make the monthly numbers look better. It’s done this by introducing a five-year finance term for the electric version to spread the cost, and claims parity with an equivalent petrol Sports Tourer when you factor in the potential savings in running costs. That will depend on how and where you charge, but if you’ve got space at home to install a wallbox Vauxhall can sort that out as well, adding the cost to the monthly payments so you’re not hit with a big upfront bill. You also get a card from Octopus with access to over half a million public chargers across various networks and billing to one account to help track your spending. Should you so wish you can combine this with your home energy supply, meaning charging costs are absorbed into your domestic bill whether at home or away. At the time of writing a monthly PCP was only a few quid more than the MG5, which even after a recent facelift is based on a pretty old design. And feels it compared with the Astra.

While still too new to really make meaningful judgements on reliability Vauxhall is now part of a wider group of brands including Peugeot, Citroën and others, all of which have shown good results in reliability studies of late. Shared technology across all these brands means greater investment and, hopefully, quality than if Vauxhall were going it totally alone. That and the fact electric cars are inherently simpler than their internal combustion and hybrid equivalents should be a cause for hope.

All Astra Sports Tourers will slam the anchors on automatically in response to a hazard if you don’t, the system even able to detect pedestrians. Various sensors also keep you in lane on the motorway with warnings and then interventions if you don’t heed them, cameras read the speed limits on road signs and replicate them on the display and there are parking sensors front and rear. A more advanced package of assistance systems comes with the Intelli-Drive 2.0, which can actually adjust your speed according to the posted limit and will apparently perform ‘semi-autonomous’ lane changes, though we didn’t get to test the theory on the country lanes we drove the car on. While we remain to be convinced of the actual benefit of such systems more useful features include blind spot alerts, super-fancy LED headlights and alerts if you’re backing out of a parking space or driveway into the path of unseen traffic. A pity this package is only available on the top-line model, then.

People often rave about the supposed confidence boost you get from sitting up high in a crossover or SUV but, too often in our experience, the reality is visibility is often worse because of chunky bodywork and the taller stance. Many higher riding cars also suffer in terms of ride comfort because the suspension needs to be stiffened up to stop them flopping about in the corners. All of which makes driving a low-slung estate car like the Astra a breath of fresh air, helped by details like a good driving position and seats designed in cooperation with a German body dedicated to improving posture and comfort when sitting. On the twisty roads we drove on the Astra also carves corners rather than flopping into them, showing the advantages of carrying less weight and being closer to the ground. This also helps for access, the load lip of the large boot space lower for dogs, heavy items or whatever else you want to carry in there. A pity there’s not as much room for your rear seat passengers, the Astra (like the related Peugeot 308) not especially generous in terms of legroom. While we’re having a moan for all the advantages in refinement you get from a silent electric powertrain there was a bit too much road noise for our liking, and that could get intrusive on a longer run on faster roads.

Paired 10-inch screens for the instrument cluster and central display give the Astra a high-tech feel, and if the system powering them isn’t the flashiest in the business it is at least logical and easy to get your head around with a swipeable, tile-based menu system. We’ll take that! We also appreciated the physical volume knob and row of proper switches under the screen for shortcuts to frequently used features like ventilation and the rest. It’s all pleasingly no-nonsense, and in keeping with Vauxhall’s brand values. But, whisper it, the related Peugeot 308SW does it with a bit more style and pizzazz, though the odd ergonomics of its i-cockpit and tiny, low-set steering wheel might not be to all tastes. So, if you put function above all else the Vauxhall claws back some points. To help affordability the electric version is now available on all trim levels including the entry-level Design, which is part of a policy of simplification to ‘de-tox’ the buying process. While this basic trim has all you really need we’d probably go up a level for the more sophisticated Pure Panel Pro infotainment system and its increased functionality, those ergonomically enhanced front seats (also with heating) and a few ‘nice to haves’ like ambient lighting to help liven up what an otherwise dark and featureless interior space. The top trim meanwhile gets stuff like faux-suede upholstery, a panoramic roof and a power tailgate.

In a world where some similarly priced electric crossovers have over 400 horsepower and supercar chasing acceleration on tap the numbers for the Astra look on the modest side. Which is just fine, because on the road the performance is perfectly adequate for the kind of driving you’ll be doing. It also means Vauxhall can get away with a smaller battery, saving weight, reducing cost and meaning less time plugged in and charging. By Vauxhall’s numbers you’ll get just over 250 miles on a full charge, our efficiency over an enthusiastically driven rural test route in chilly November not playing to an electric car’s strengths but suggesting 200 miles will be perfectly achievable as a worst case. It’s a bit too easy to mistake for the gear selector at a glance but the driving mode switch makes more of a difference here than in many cars, Eco mode holding the motor’s output back to 109 horsepower from the full 156 in the name of saving energy. It makes a noticeable difference, and is fine for around town, Normal a good all-round compromise while Sport is perhaps a generous description for performance in the top mode but makes the point about its intended use. Performance, overall, is best described as ‘just about fine’, which is actually a pretty good summary of the car as a whole. And meant more generously than it perhaps sounds at first glance!