Other than the Astra badges, this has 'how much' in common with any previous Astra? Other than badging, I'd say zero. It's a Peugeot 308 wearing Vauxhall Astra badges and different skin. I think that it's a beautiful skin, though. If I could, I'd choose the Astra body with a Peugeot iCockpit interior. I'm in love with the iCockpit. Interesting to hear about the ride and handling. Sounds as though it also gets the Citroen Progressive Hydraulic Cushions in THIS sister-car? Why not, right?
Another top review Tish, I have to agree that aesthetics of this version and bang up to date with modern attractive styling. The Astra for me for many years was that 'almost' car to purchase. Others options just edged it out for one reason or another. When I decide to change my car I'll be testing the Astra, and the equivalent sister cars that share the same parts. It really is great to see such a thorough review these days of an every day car. Thanks for sharing Tish.
Damn fine looking car - way better than the 308 in my opinion. Good amount of kit, drives well, comfortable and VX, again, are trying to keep prices sensible. It's also good to see VX not having gone all electric yet too, which would have made these a LOT more expensive - most will be perfectly happy with an ICE for a few years yet.
@@AutoSocialUK I don't think there's any question that the full 'e' version will be the same shape - VX did it with the Corsa-e, so they'll do it with the Astra-e. I was in the VX dealers the other day, and was up close to this new model, and it's even more impressive in the flesh. Despite VX appearing to be the 'budget' brand in the Stellantis group, I think they're out-doing their sister companies in some respects, and still realising that people just don't have £40k+ to spend on a new car!
Test driving this next Wednesday. I have a feeling I’ll be placing an order for the GS line, manual, petrol and now the only decision is Black or Vulcan Grey
Great review Tish as ever i do like the styling of the new vauxhall opels it is very striking and love the visor front and bold colours i owned the previous generation of astra and it was a great car both in quality and in driving enjoyment and this one looks much better it seems they have taken a lot of design cues from the golf 8 and the dash design looks familiar as i have the golf but it’s better having those piano keys i am not sure of the driver air vent design but at least it’s in a better place than the golf for face level air i would definitely look at one especially if it was a hybrid or electric well done Tish look forward to the next one
I feel this is the most striking Astra since the MkII in the mid 80s... not that I would know as I am obviously not that old... ahem... anyway, no, I like this Astra, nice sleek lines, not too SUV looking (you know what I mean 🤣), Electric Yellow is alright too, but yellow is my fav colour! Brave girl for doing this on That Day, cor blimey was it scorchio! And again, fab review as per.
The Astra has grown somewhat! It will be interesting to see how this sells now that two of its rivals, the Ford Focus and Renault Megane are to end production. Thank you for the review Tish.
Definitely a positive step change in design from previous gens, that said it does scream Mk8 Golf vibes in the rear light cluster. Hopefully reliability is somewhat improved since joining the PSA group. My one criticism js the instrument cluster, there is quite quite hard edge from the screen to the plastic surround and looks a bit cheap and old.
The rear looks like carbon copy of the current Golf. Not as daring and different as people portray the new Astra as being. Not on the outside anyway. The inside is certainly abit different. The dashboard looks vaguely like the one in that Honda E car.
I’d have melted into the pavement. Brave of you to wear black or do the video on that day at all! As someone who spends quite a lot of time driving, I’m obsessed with keeping my car clean. Those shiny black bezels around the screens are COVERED in fingerprints already. Why? Likely because people need to leverage their fingers to use the infotainment screen. That’s telling of its user interface. I’m not a fan of that. In the end, how infotainment/gauges looks has to take a back seat to its usability, don’t it?
I was very close to not filming it but I knew I would only have to do it again another day so I powered through and had regular ice cream breaks. God I despise gloss black… also the plastic used to cover the cup holders were not good 😳
Great colour, similar to Austin Yellow on the F80 M3. The screens look like they have been inserted into a cheap black plastic surround, the driver's vent also looks weird, the overall instrument housing and screen combination is poorly executed in my opinion. The engines are usual weedy UK spec, the PHEV would be the way to go. I live here in Perth Western Australia, summer here is very hot but I have never seen more than 44 degrees on the car gauge, not sure the outside temp gauge is completely accurate! Thanks Tish, a really good sum up review.
Yes, also like Tumeric yellow on the Volkswagen. Agree with you, it looks good until you look closer at some parts. I personally think there needs to be something inbetween the 130 petrol and the PHEV. Even a 150 petrol would be just enough
Nice looking car , seen a black on the road and looks very space age. Like all new cars prices are silly money now. Around 25k for the entry level up to nearly nearly 40k for the top of the range. Unless you have massive a deposit the monthly payments are just not affordable for a lot of people. I think in time manufacturers will do like in the states and extend finance out for 6 or 7 years. Ok it’s costs more long term but at least keep the monthly payments down. It just means you have to keep the car longer.
I've not had an Astra since an 07 GTC as in my opinion they went bland on the last model of the Astra. Great to see an up to date stylish car and worthy of the Astra badge. Well this review worked, now test driven and ordered. Many thanks for a very accurate and unbiased review Tish. Kind regards Chris
What’s the fuel consumption like? Am I going to be stuck in the petrol station all the time? I would probably use this 5 days a week 20 to 30 mins journey
I'm nota fan of Vauxhall to be honest but they gave made some nice looking cars over the last few years but this one looks like a pig its vile it looks like a Korean car so yeah yak
Tish. Do you know Underwoods Dealer group announces second showroom closure in a fortnight as boss again hits out at manufacturers chasing online sales Underwoods Vauxhall Colchester to close down after 25 years in business Managing director Gerry Wiggins said the decision was ‘not one of Underwoods’ making’ and blamed a desire to chase online sales over physical retailers.
I disagree on your opinion about the previous generations of Astra. The last one was one of the most stylish cars in its class and the last one was not bad either and certainly a lot more interesting than a dull VW Golf as for this new one I think it's so dull just like a VW Golf so. KIA do there touchscreens much better than Vauxhall/Opel. KIAs looks classy Vauxhall_Opels looks cheap.
I think this new astra looks great inside and out. The little design touches like the driver's air vent and the bonnet crease and front grille are a nod to the original mk1 astra. Well done Vauxhall!
I’ve currently got a 2017 Astra 1.4 turbo. It’s been a brilliant car for the 2 years I’ve had it from 55k miles to 90,600 on it now. It’s been super reliable and all I’ve ever done to it is servicing and tyres. Currently looking to trade it in as the mileage is getting higher by the day (I’ve done 10k miles since September!). I’ve never liked the PSA/Stellantis stuff but this new Astra is certainly luring me in gently!
I have owned a few Astra cars 🚗 over the years but this is simply in another league. .unfortunately I can't afford a price tag of over £30k...l mean £30k for an astra at the very least...the world 🌎 has gone bloody mad & I ain't falling for it....lovely car 🚗 though 👌 well done peugeot/Opel/Vauxhall 😁👍
I have to disagree with you on this looking better than the previous generation Astra. It's looks like they went backwards. It's so dull this car even that horrible vent in the right of the dash is horrible. The previous generation was far more stylish.
That air vent on the right of the dash looks bloody awful, looks like a throwback to something from the 1980s. The whole car just looks like a mishmash of various designers ideas.
I feel the same way. It lacks design cohesion, likely as it was a battle between design and parts compatibility of other designs of the same car. The Opel/Vauxhall version had to be on a stricter budget than the Peugeot or DS, which have more cohesive looks to them. That said, it’s a good option, although I’d be wary of the 110bhp turbo. Given the car’s weight, it will wear that turbo out quickly. I’d go with the PHEV myself.
I went and sat in one a few weeks ago and in the flesh those big piano black bezels make it look a bit cheap. It's like they're trying to create the illusion of it having bigger screens than it really does. Also that stuff is a dust magnet.
Finally the Astra review is here. As always niece Tish, great review. I went to a shopping mall in Slovakia, and inside was the new Opel Astra in that colour in that trim level. And interestingly, the 110PS 1.2 3cyl and the manual versions of the 130PS 1.2 3cyl and 130PS 1.5 4cyl diesel are offered in the Peugeot 308 MK3 in Continental Europe. Quite strange for Stellantis to not sell the Peugeot 308 MK3 with the 6MT in the UK, but at least we get it in the Vauxhall Astra.
Love the review, Tish (love the way you did your hair up, too!). Sadly, we don't have the Astra brand here in the States, but from your description it looks quite nice to drive (and I happen to like that electric yellow color!). Also, I quite like that you mention your height when you talk about the rear seating (you're quite beautiful, by the way! ;) ). In this case, I would have a difficult time sitting in the rear (I'm 6' as a reference), so I'd probably have to sit lengthwise in order to be comfy. Looking ever forward to more reviews from you, Tish (one of the highlights of my day!) and by all means, get on to that ice cream and try to stay cool, my beautiful friend (hugs)!
My Vauxhall had an engine block made from inferior metal. Vauxhall denied any liability and lost my full service history in the process - how very convenient. Had to pay for a new engine, as a consequence I would not touch another Vauxhall if they were the only car manufacturer on the planet.
@@dontpanicblink Apologies, I thought you meant it was a model that doesn’t get a manual gearbox like the Peugeot. At least there is an option to have manual.
@@AutoSocialUK thats ok , pity vauxhall dont have a vxr model ( yet ) with a manual the 308 gti should also get a manual as an option, not every body likes a manual , and i cant help think that all theses youngsters passing their tests in manual dont have a great choice to choose from theses days