Review: Vauxhall Astra Sport Tourer – Alpine Fun

The car is the Sport Tourer estate derivative of the new Vauxhall Astra, officially voted for as the European Car of the Year 2016 by a healthy margin a few days beforehand while I was out in Geneva covering the annual Motor Show.

'Our' Astra is an SRi, forecast by Vauxhall to be the most popular model in the UK, with this example is fitted with the smooth and unfussed 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, developing a useful 200bhp with 221lb ft (300Nm) of torque throughout most of the rev range.

The Astra’s 1.6 turbo delivers a relaxed and easy-going power delivery at regular traffic speeds, with little evidence of the potential 200bhp on tap. Bury your right foot hard though and the Sport Tourer hunkers down and flings itself along the tarmac with unexpected enthusiasm, but with the power delivered in a remarkably calm and civilised manner.

For a man who grew up with powerful front-wheel-drive cars – the steering wheel writhing through my hands due to savage torque steer – the Vauxhall’s lack of drama is almost a disappointment, as a 200bhp front-driver rarely feels this cultured.

It really goes when you want it to though, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for speed cameras and excitable gendarmes, as you will invariably be travelling faster than you imagine. The Astra completea the 0-60mph dash in 7.2 seconds, running out of puff at a respectable 146 mph.

Despite similar external measurements to the previous Astra, the interior dimensions of this new seventh-generation model are bigger than before, combined with a weight saving of up to 190kg lighter than the previous Astra.

Vauxhall claims that this lighter construction helps to improve the new Astra’s handling, agility and comfort, and these attributes shone through both on the smooth Swiss motorways and poorly surfaced snow-strewn A and D roads in France and the Benelux, making the many miles pass by with little drama, surprise or discomfort.

The car’s braking and steering systems have also been re-engineered to help save both space and fuel, with the steering being nicely weighted and the brakes consistently pulling the Astra up with no fuss.

The Vauxhall’s ergonomics are also a noticeable improvement over previous Astras, with the main instrumentation clear and easy to read, and the 8–inch flat screen infotainment system intuitive and straightforward to use, even if we never managed to work out how to convert the digital read-out from L/100km to mpg for the average fuel consumption display.

We're sure that was down to our own failings, but we did manage to work out that the petrol Astra achieved an average mpg fuel consumption in the high 30s; not too bad considering the varied terrain and frequent high-speed blasts.