Hot on the heels of its hatchback sibling, the estate version of the Vauxhall Astra has arrived in the UK with P11D prices starting from £16,530.
More spacious than before and up to 190kg lighter, the first of the next-generation cars will be arriving in showrooms in late March 2016.
The Sports Tourer has proved a popular car in the UK, with sales making it the third biggest-selling estate car in 2015 with key rivals including the Ford Focus Estate and the Volkswagen Golf Estate.
Like the hatch there’s a wide range of engines available, but no 2-litre diesel will make the line-up this time. Likely to be a popular choice with company car drivers will be the 1.6-litre 108bhp diesel, which achieves up to 83.1mpg and emits 89g/km, placing the car into an 18 percent BIK tax band for the current 2016/17 tax year.
Looking for more power? In combination with a six-speed manual transmission, the diesel range-topping 1.6 BiTurbo CDTi is available with 157bhp and can achieve up to 67.3mpg. Despite the extra performance, CO2 output is as low as 112g/km, placing the car in a 22 percent BIK tax band for the 2016/17 tax year.
Up to £1,870 less expensive than the outgoing model, the new Astra Sports Tourer range includes Design, Tech Line, SRi and Elite trims, with Nav versions of the SRi and Elite models also available.
As standard all cars come equipped with 16-inch alloys, black roof rails, Bluetooth, DAB radio, air-con, cruise control, LED daytime running lights and automatic lights and wipers.
Inside the Astra has been de-cluttered and more luxurious materials are used throughout. There are plenty of safety systems on offer too including traffic sign recognition, lane departure warning and collision mitigation systems.
Like on the hatch, this latest Astra Sports Tourer is available with the firm’s OnStar telematics system with a concierge service, and you can also specify a keyless boot as an option.
“The all-new Astra and Astra Sports Tourer are of critical importance to Vauxhall and its manufacturing facility in Ellesmere Port,” said Rory Harvey, Vauxhall’s chairman and managing director. “I’m very proud of the men and women who build this vehicle to world class levels of quality and productivity.”
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