Vauxhall Astra Sport Tourer Long Term Review

When Nicola handed over the chunky key of the Astra Estate Sport Tourer over to me, I was perhaps a little more excited than anyone expected. You see, I like a ‘normal’ car which isn’t trying to be an SUV or a coupe. I had also already driven the Astra for the original review video and thought it was a likeable car. 

The other reason for liking the Astra electric range generally is the efficiency. On one particularly mild day I managed to eke more than 5 miles per kWh out of a hatch without really trying, which is a record for me. After a few weeks of big cars with 2.5 mile/kWh it will make a real difference to the amount Octopus demand from me every month for electricity.

So I was a crestfallen to hear from Nicola about her experience. The 3.8 figure is still pretty good but not the revolution I'd been hoping for. So I reset the trip computer, drove it for a week and got.... 4.2 miles. After a full charge the car regularly shows 250 miles or more. I can only assume Nicola's dogs are very heavy.

I also really like the seats. That sounds like a little thing, but if you spends a few hours in some of the rivals I find myself pining for the Astra's multi-adjustable chairs. There's electric adjustment too, but not for the forward and back movement. This might seem penny pinching, but it's actually really handy if one of the Electrifying team's smaller - or taller - drivers has been in the car before me. I don't have to spend ages waiting for the motor to wind it back.