Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer 2026 (2022 - )

The Vauxhall Astra is one of those cars that seems to have been around since the year dot. In reality, it is 46 years old and is now in its eighth generation - a version that was launched back in 2022.

Now the vehicle has been given a mid-cycle refresh with numerous styling enhancements, improved powertrains and a completely revamped pricing structure that will make the selection process far simpler for would-be buyers.

Until now, anyone opting for an Astra Sports Tourer (estate) rather than a hatchback faced an extra £1,500 step-up fee, but Vauxhall has axed that charge so there is total parity between the two body styles.

Additionally, regardless of whether you pick an EV, hybrid or plug-in hybrid model, the powertrains are also identically priced.

So, choosing between the three trims called Griffin, GS and Ultimate is the only cost difference on the 2026 Astra line-up, which starts from £29,995.

With the all-electric models gaining a larger capacity battery, we opted for the Astra EV in high-end Ultimate grade with Sports Tourer styling for our test drive in sunny Croatia.

Our Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Electric featured the larger 58kWh battery which sees an increase of 4kWh which, in turn, results in an extra 22 miles of range. The new combined figure is 274 miles between charges, or a city range of 347 miles.

With 156PS and 270Nm of torque, the vehicle can complete the 0-62mph dash in 9.0 seconds and has a top speed of 106mph. While those figures are hardly breath-taking, its worth remembering the Astra Sports Tourer also caters for all the practicality needs of any active family.

And it’s certainly no slouch either. It can cruise effortlessly at 70mph on motorways, is well-balanced and grippy through twisting country lanes and shows its all-round agility when manoeuvring through busier towns and villages.

Drive modes called Eco, Normal and Sport alter the dynamics and handling accordingly, while the steering wheel-mounted paddles can be used to adjust the strength of the regenerative braking with three settings to choose from.

Driver visibility is good and the refinement levels really impressed with barely a sound filtering through into the cabin. The ride was silky smooth with excellent suspension, although we should probably point out at this stage that our test drive was in Croatia with road surfaces akin to a Billiard table. It will be interesting to see how the car’s refinement levels cope with the UK’s pitted surfaces.

Another area worth discussing is the Intelli-Lux HD adaptive, glare-free headlights that feature more than 50,000 elements and cut out preceding and oncoming road users faster and more precisely than previous Matrix technologies. Objects are detected quicker meaning the driver has more time to react and the beams also prevent glare in fog or wet driving conditions. We went on a night drive to explore how these new headlights work and they did impress in the main. The roadside illumination was excellent, but when we met fellow oncoming Astra test cars, the lights were quite dazzling.

Developing cars with distinctive design cues featuring all manner of clever signature lighting is all the rage these days, and Vauxhall has just adopted that policy with its updated Vizor front end. The illuminated Griffin emblem takes centre stage on the grille with vertical and horizontal LEDS creating a Compass effect. The Astra is the first Vauxhall to feature this lighting signature that takes its inspiration from the 2023 Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo concept car.

Elsewhere, there are sleek streamlined curves, rear privacy glass, body-coloured door handles, a black contrast roof, a sunroof, and our test car featured new metallic Clover Green paintwork along with model-specific 18-inch alloys with ASTRA lettering.

Move inside and, while there’s no real wow factor, the interior is modern, clutter-free and has a nice blend of touchscreen and physical controls. Vauxhall has removed any surface materials that could be prone to scratching over time, although there is still quite a significant amount of hard plastic coverings.

The Ultimate cars have upgraded ReNewKnit upholstered seats with 100 per cent recycled vegan suede, and these are mainly powered, can be heated and offer a massage function too. There are twin 10-inch infotainment screens, a head-up display and a generous amount of on-board tech to explore, with creature comforts including sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity, a reversing camera, DAB radio, Bluetooth, ChatGPT AI assistance and lots more besides.

The Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer boasts a strong road presence and, despite having estate-car dimensions, it has a beautifully proportioned profile.
It stretches 4,642mm in length, is 1,859mm wide, 1,498mm tall and has a 2,732mm wheelbase. By comparison, the Astra Hatchback is 4,374mm long, 1,859mm wide, 1,472mm in height and has a wheelbase of 2,675mm.
The cabins are almost identical size-wise and that means there’s ample room up front for a couple of six footers and two more can fit in the back. Three adults across the rear seats becomes a little too cosy, but a trio of youngsters will be just fine.
The boot on the Sports Tourer Ultimate features a powered tailgate and an adjustable boot floor for added convenience. It can swallow 516 litres of luggage, a capacity that can be extended to 1,553 litres with the split-folding rear seats lowered. This is superior to the 310 to 1,236 litres offered in the Astra Hatchback.
Additionally, there are plenty of practical storage options throughout the cabin, including a glovebox, central cubby, door bins, front and rear cup holders, a wireless charging pad, a small compartment hidden in the lower dashboard and some trays. There are two USB-C ports up front, but just a single one in the back which may lead to a few arguments – after all, teenagers need to keep their devices plugged in at all times!
And speaking of charging, the Astra Sports Tourer’s 58kWh battery supports 100kW fast charging so a 20 to 80 per cent boost can be achieved in 32 minutes. The same percentage charge takes 3 hours, 20 minutes via an 11kW charger or five hours if using a 7.4kW wallbox. 
The Astra Sports Tourer Electric also offers Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability, so it can be used to power up external appliances, such as e-scooters, e-bikes, laptops, camping lights and lots more besides.
 

With the latest changes, the pricing structure for the 2026 Vauxhall Astra could not be simpler. Gone is the additional £1,500 step-up fee between hatchback and estate and all powertrains are identically priced too.

That means the entry-level Astra Griffin in either hatch or estate guise, with any of the three powertrains, is priced from £29,995. The GS costs £31,495, while the high-end Ultimate grade is £33,995. The only option on our test car was the metallic Clover Green paintwork which added £650 to the final price-tag.

The first-year road tax fee for EV owners is just £10 and that increases to the standard charge of £200 after 12 months (based on the new April 2026 prices).

There is no Expensive Car Supplement to worry about as all models fall well below the new £50k government threshold, and for any business drivers considering the Astra as a company car, it comes with an attractive four per cent Benefit in Kind tax rating (three per cent until April 2026). 

Vauxhall has some additional incentives for its EV customers via its Electric All In package. Buyers can choose from £500 credit towards an Ohme wallbox charger, £500 Tesco charging credit, £500 Octopus Electroverse credit or £500 kerb charging credit.

The Astra Sports Tourer Electric comes with roadside assistance, including emergency charging, for eight years, along with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty that increases to eight years or 100,000 miles for the battery.

With 46 years of history under its belt, there’s no denying the success of the Vauxhall Astra. In fact, it was once claimed that one in four drivers in the UK had owned an Astra at some time.

So, keeping the car in the limelight amongst the raft of competitors in the busy C-Segment is no easy task. But Vauxhall has certainly delivered a number of improvements to the 2026 model, including increased performance, enhanced comfort and that simplified and more attractive pricing structure.

There are more engaging and dynamically-styled competitors out there, but, just like a good wine, the Astra does seem to improve with age.