Vauxhall Astra Electric Sports Tourer review

It’s the handsome estate alternative to the already quite handsome Vauxhall Astra Electric hatchback. Both of which you can get in petrol and plug-in hybrid form. Because variety is the spice of life, right?

The recipe for the ST is not complicated: take the Astra Electric, and add bigness. Overall it’s 250mm longer than the hatch, 57mm of which comes from stretching out the wheelbase. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that the major win here is boot space, which gets almost half as much bigger again in estate guise.

I know estates aren’t exactly in vogue, but hubba, hubba…

We know, right? The Astra Sports Tourer is the latest Vauxhall (we refer you to the Mokka and Corsa) to gain that distinctive black strip across the nose, while the sharp creasework along the bonnet and body gives the ST undeniable road presence. Gone are the days a Vauxhall looks dated the moment it rolls off the production line.

It’s also fairly early to market, as far as the electric estate segment goes. It currently consists of the MG5, Porsche Taycan Cross/Sport Turismo, VW ID.7 Tourer, and the SW version of the e-308, which is effectively this car's cousin. Welcome to the House of Stellantis. Keep an eye out for the Audi A6 Avant e-tron in 2025.

Gimme those powertrain numbers.

The Astra Sports Tourer is driven by a single synchronous motor, good for 154bhp and 199lb ft through the front wheels. It is… not quick. 0-62mph takes 9.2 seconds, placing it in the middle of the ST pack if you factor in what the turbo petrols are capable of.

Range from the 54kWh battery amounts to 256 miles; just shy of what the hatch can do with a full charge. So a long way shy of what the longest range EVs are capable of, but - as we discuss over on the Driving tab - Vauxhall’s big play here is efficiency.

An 11kW AC charger will top up the cells in under six hours. On a 7kW home unit, it’ll be more like eight hours. DC charging maxes out at 100kW, so stopping at a public charger or service station will get you from 20-80 per cent in under half an hour. Ample time to stretch, pee, eat and doom scroll through X. In that order, naturally.

What’s it like inside?

When the Astra and Astra ST were revealed in 2022, we were very relieved to see that Vauxhall had spent some actual budget on the interior design of both cars. Unlike the latest Corsa, which is hobbled by what might be the biggest smart-exterior-to-dull-interior ratio of any car designed this side of the discovery of electricity. Lord almighty is it drab in there.

We digress. The Astra is in a different league, centred around a twin set-up of 10in infotainment and driver displays, housed in one unit that mimics the front strip on the outside of the car. Meanwhile the rest of the dashboard has been shaped in a visually arresting way, and there are buttons for stuff like the climate and volume controls. Hip hip hooray!

Come on then, what’s it gonna cost me?

Not much more than the hatch, actually. Although that’s already an expensive thing. There’s a £2,200 uplift between body styles, meaning the Astra Sports Tourer starts from £37,195 (which, coincidentally, is cheaper than when it first launched thanks to a new entry-level trim), and tops out at £45,460. Kit levels are very generous indeed. For full trim details, you want the Buying tab.

We’re torn with this one. There are lots of things the Astra Electric Sports Tourer gets right, chiefly those dashing looks, grown up interior, and its focus on efficiency rather than massive range and performance. If you really need the space in the back, it doesn’t cost much to make the jump from hatch to full estatehood.

Having said that, there’s virtually no appreciable benefit for passengers so legroom remains modest, nor is it especially comfortable. And far from making the most of its relative lightness (we use that word very cagily) the ST gives no reward to the driver. Come on Vauxhall, we know you can do better.