Review of the new Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer

When what you need to fit in your car just won't, you need a bigger car. Family hatchback owners confronted with this nightmare scenario have a number of options at their disposal. They could take the rugged route with a compact 4x4, choose the versatility of a mini-MPV or step up to a medium range saloon. Alternatively, they could turn to an extended version of the family hatchback they already have. The estate car isn't the trendiest or most exciting option but when you need a little bit more room, it does the job. Vauxhall's Astra Sports Tourer is little more than an extended Astra hatch but it could be all the car you need.

Many of the leading lights in the family hatchback sector have an estate version. Focus, Golf, Megane - the manufacturers of all these models see the value of tagging another few centimetres onto the rear of the five-door hatches to give customers the option of extra carrying capacity. Vauxhall has a history of following suit with its Astra but like its rivals, sales of Astra estates have traditionally been way down on those of the standard hatchback versions. The compact estate market looks likely to remain a niche one but with flashy Sports Tourer branding for the first time, this generation Astra estate could be designed to take a bigger slice of it.

No major surprises in the Sports Tourer's engine bay. The estate uses the less powerful options from the Astra hatch range in line with its practical, economical remit. There's unlikely to be a barnstorming VXR version. What there is, is a 1.4-litre petrol unit with 98bhp, a 1.6-litre petrol with 113bhp and a 1.4-litre turbocharged option with 138bhp. That turbocharged powerplant gives the Astra a lively turn of pace and is likely to be a popular choice as it also achieves respectable economy.

"It's just an Astra hatchback with an extended rear but that's precisely what some buyers will want"

Not as popular, however, as the 1.7-litre CDTi diesel. 108bhp and 123bhp versions of this common-rail injection oil-burner are offered with an attractive mix of muscle and economy. Completing the diesel range that's predicted to account for the majority of Astra Sports Tourer sales is a 158bhp 2.0-litre CDTi unit at the top and a 1.3-litre CDTi at the bottom that's fitted to a high efficiency ecoFLEX model.

Like the rest of the Astra Sports Tourer, bar the bit behind the rear wheels, the suspension is shared with the Astra hatchback. Traditionally, the Astra has had a simple torsen beam suspension at the rear end while rivals like the Focus and Golf used more advanced fully-independent set-ups. Today's Astra, however, uses a Watt's linkage rear suspension that helps distribute cornering forces more effectively than a conventional torsion beam while retaining the cost and space saving advantages.

The wheelbase of the Astra Sports Tourer is identical to that of the Astra hatch, so the extra capacity the estate version gains inside is all the product of an extension to the rear overhang. The maximum load length rises by 28mm compared with the five-door car to 1835mm and the 500-litre volume is a 30-litre improvement. So the Sports Tourer Astra gives you extra space but we sort of knew it would. What are the other benefits?

Vauxhall has done some nice work on increasing the Astra's dimensions without scuppering its styling. The trademark Astra design cues, like the cutaway 'blade' section that runs along the doors and the distinctive headlights with their LED embellishments, remain but there's a longer roofline that dips towards the tail and the side windows also taper off at the back to sporty effect.

The boot has flat sides making it easy to slide bulky items in and higher specification versions of the Sports Tourer are fitted with the FlexFold seating system. This allows both sections of the 60:40 split rear bench to be folded down at the touch of a button inside the boot. It means that you don't have to traipse around to the back doors to fold the seats before loading. With all of the rear seats folded down, the Sports Tourer gains a flat load floor and a total capacity of 1,550 litres. There's a further 25-litres of space in cubbyholes and pockets doted around the cabin, if you can find them.

Buyers get the usual wide range of engine options and trim levels, not to mention a bulging options list. Standard equipment on all Astras includes ESP, six airbags, air conditioning, LED daytime running lights and electric windows. Amongst the available options, there's ambient mood lighting that lights up areas of the cabin with bulbs hidden in the trim, ergonomic sports seats and adaptive front lights which adapt to the weather and road ahead.

The Astra Sport Tourer ecoFLEX features various mechanical and aerodynamic modifications to help it deliver the best fuel economy figures in the range at around 65mpg. Fuel economy for the 1.7-litre diesel models isn't much worse at close to 60mpg and the 2.0-litre diesel registers in the high 50s on the combined cycle, so there isn't a whole lot to split the diesel models on cost once the upfront price is taken care of. Go for the petrols and you're looking at around 50mpg for the basic 1.4-litre unit and 45mpg from the 1.4 turbo. Again, this is pretty good going. .

With all the other options facing family car buyers in the modern marketplace, the estate car is sometimes overlooked. Admittedly, it's not the most exciting option next to the plethora of tough-looking compact 4x4s and MPVs with their elaborate seating arrangements but it is reassuringly simple in what it offers and surprisingly practical too. Vauxhall's Astra Sports Tourer seems to fit the bill very nicely. It's just an Astra hatchback with an extended rear and a few other practical features but that's precisely what some buyers will want.

TOP 5 ASTRA DEALS

The results below show the top ASTRA deals on buyacar

Vauxhall Astra 1.4i 16V SRi 5dr Hatchback
Price £13,451 Read Astra Reviews	Save £5,184
Vauxhall Astra 1.4T 16V SRi [140] 5dr Hatchback
Price £14,439 Read Astra Reviews	Save £5,646
Vauxhall Astra 1.6i 16V Elite 5dr Hatchback
Price £15,122 Read Astra Reviews	Save £5,998
Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi 16V ecoFLEX SRi 5dr Diesel Sports Tourer
Price £15,562 Read Astra Reviews	Save £6,598
Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi 16V ecoFLEX SRi 5dr Diesel Hatchback
Price £15,095 Read Astra Reviews	Save £6,050
VIEW MORE DISCOUNT ASTRA DEALS