ASTRA WITH EXTRA SPARK (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_vauxhallastraelectric_2024

By Jonathan Crouch

Vauxhall's Astra Electric delivers a fourth powertrain option to this eighth generation family hatch. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 69

Vauxhall aims to be an EV-only manufacturer by 2028, so it needs to get on with delivering us more full-battery models. Like this one, the Astra Electric. It shares all its engineering with a Peugeot E-308 and, like that Stellantis Group cousin, is available in hatch and Sports Tourer estate form with smart looks but quite ambitious asking prices that aren't now quite as ambitious as they once were.

Backgroundword count: 188

Vauxhall finds itself in a dilemma. With the latest range of Griffin-badged models, marque owner the Stellantis Group has instructed the brand to push up prices, aim at private customers and switch away from the low-margin fleet sales that have sustained this manufacturer for the last few decades. Yet here, it's brought us its first all-electric family hatchback, the Astra Electric, into an EV market 70% of which is dominated by registrations made to fleets and businesses. How these people will feel about plump pricing which from the mid-2023 launch pitched this car in the £38,000 to £45,000 bracket it'll be interesting to see. There's certainly no sign of pricing for electric vehicles getting anywhere near the figures being asked for their combustion-powered counterparts. As with its identically engineered Stellantis Group cousin the Peugeot E-308, the Astra Electric (available in either hatch or Sports Tourer estate forms) joins an L-series range that offers three different combustion alternatives: a conventional 1.2-litre unit, a 1.2-litre Hybrid and a 1.6-litre Plug-in Hybrid. No shortage of choice then. So why would you pay the extra for this full-EV model? Let's find out.

Driving Experienceword count: 270

We wondered what we might get here. The smaller Corsa Electric hatch does, after all, feel rather dynamically compromised over the equivalent combustion version. Fortunately, that's far less of an issue in this case, helped by the fact that the Vauxhall Opel designers, aided by the relatively light EMP2 V3 platform, have managed to keep weight in check; this EV Astra actually only weighs 68kgs more than the Plug-in Hybrid version. Mind you, that still means a Gross weight of 2,100kgs - which doesn't help the car's slightly over-firm ride over pock-marked services. As with this car's identically-engineered Stellantis Group close cousin, the Peugeot E-308, you get a 54kWh battery pack powering a front-mounted 152bhp electric motor putting out a healthy 270Nm of torque. This kind of output ought to be enough for a car of this size, but because of that plump kerb weight, the initially rapid start-off punch tails off pretty rapidly, the 62mph benchmark finally reached in just 9.2 seconds, on the way to a modest top speed of 105mph. Through the corners, you'll feel the extra weight of that big battery, but as usual in an EV, its central low-down positioning minimises the downside by lowering the centre of gravity. There are no steering wheel paddles to alter brake regeneration, but Vauxhall does provide a transmission 'B' setting which provides some of that. And there are three driving modes - 'Sport', 'Normal and 'Eco' - with the non-'Sport' settings delivering a little less power in order to preserve driving range, which is quoted at between 252 and 260 miles. Which isn't especially noteworthy by current standards.

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