When you are considering buying an estate you need to look at the figures. Doubtless you’ll look at the loadspace, fuel economy, tax bands and then, just to be sure, you’ll revisit the loadspace figures. All very sensible behaviour but buyers still want something that looks good and in this department the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer does have an edge over its rivals. With its tapered profile, falling roofline and prominent slash lines on the sides of the car it does cut a dash. In a bid to underscore those svelte looks Vauxhall has ditched the ‘estate’ moniker and plumped for the Sports Tourer name instead. You might consider this nothing more than a cynical marketing ploy, but you’d have to be hugely stubborn to write this off as another ‘boxy’ estate. To compete with the like of the Ford Focus Estate and the Kia Cee’d SW this car has a range of highly efficient petrol and diesel engines which offer a mixture of performance and economical, low CO2 motoring should that be what you want. Carbon dioxide emissions and fuel economy are helped further by the implementation of Vauxhall’s ecoFLEX technology, which comprises tech such as stop/start that cuts the engine out when stationary in traffic. It’s all designed to keep things are efficient as possible. In total there are seven engines available: two petrol engines displacing 1.4 or 1.6 litres and 1.3-, 1.7- and 2.0-litre diesels. The diesels will be of particular interest to company car drivers who are after low CO2 emissions so their BIK bills stay nice and manageable. The chassis feels accomplished, handling much like the hatchback and a large step forwards over the previous generation Astra. Safety has been worked on too, and we’d expect the Astra to be seriously reliable as the technology in use is tried and tested. So, the Sports Tourer certainly looks the part and it has pretty impressive economy and efficiency figures, but do its sleek lines compromise practicality? How does it stack up in the economy race compared to the competition? Read for our comprehensive Vauxhall Astra Sport Tourer review to find out.

Parkers top buying tips

As with all used purchases, do remember to get a car history check. It might just save you from an unpleasant surprise later down the line. Also, don’t forget you can use our valuation tool to get an idea of how much you should be paying for a car. You can also check our reviews section for more information about the cars you are interested in.