Vauxhall Astra Electric Sports Tourer verdict
Should you buy one?
You haven’t got a lot of choice if you want an electric estate car now. Your only choices at the affordable end of the market are the MG5 EV, the Peugeot e-308 SW and the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer.
It’s a perfectly agreeable electric estate car. It’s comfortable, well equipped, reasonably practical and even quite good to drive. In cash terms, Vauxhall has priced it quite close to other objectively better electric car that we can easily justify spending the money on, such as the Tesla Model 3 and the Smart #1.
Compared with its most immediate rival, the MG, the Astra is better built, more refined and better to drive. But it costs a whopping £9,000 more in cash terms than the MG. However, competitive monthly PCP finance deals from Vauxhall significantly close the monthly gap, improving overall affordability greatly.
But if you’re a (rare) cash buyer, we don’t think the Vauxhall is worth the extra money, especially when you consider its boot is hardly any bigger and it only offers an extra eight miles of maximum range.
What we like
The electric Astra estate is one of the sharpest cars on Stellantis’ EMP2 architecture, and it offers keen drivers just enough engagement to keep them awake. Its slightly longer wheelbase compared to the hatch also means it’s a little more comfortable on the motorway. We’re also very happy that Vauxhall decided to retain the Astra’s physical climate controls.
What we don’t like
While it might be one of the better cars to drive from the Stellantis stable, it can’t compete with its rivals from other makers, such as the MG4 EV, Smart #1 or Tesla Model 3. We’d have liked a bit more boot space, too.