Battery size: 54kWh
Max charge rate: 100kW
Range: 256 miles
Efficiency rating: A+
Real world miles per kWh: 4.1
All is not well in the world of the Astra. It started with something I assumed was my fault, as the driver’s door wouldn’t open from the inside. The handle didn’t doing anything and no amount of button pressing would fix it. Oddly, (and luckily) it opened from the outside though.
This meant exiting the car involved winding the window down, opening the door using the exterior handle, wedging it open with your foot, putting the window back up before turning off the ignition and then finally escaping.
As you would expect, it magically started working again just after it had been booked into a dealer but luckily went on strike before I arrived at the workshop - so I didn’t look totally nuts.
Leaving the car at the dealer gave me two new experiences though. The first was putting my bike in the back, which is a very estate type of test. It fitted with room to spare, and was a lot less comfortable than the Astra one the ride back from the dealer.
The other experience was a Corsa Electric which was sent to tide me over. I really liked it. It didn’t have all of the Astra’s luxuries or space but with the same motor and battery pack it’s nippier and more efficient. I was sorry to see it go - at least until I needed to carry my bike again.
The Astra eventually returned with a new lock mechanism, but also with a new on board charger. That was done as part of a recall - and is a big job. No wonder it took them more than a week.
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