Vauxhall Astra gets frugal mild hybrid option for 2024

Whether it's switching to a cheaper energy tariff or cancelling a rarely-used subscription service, lots of us are looking to save money at the moment. And while the Vauxhall Astra can already help lower your costs if you can charge up at home, because it's available in fully electric and plug-in hybrid forms, now there's a green option for drivers who can't plug in.

That's because both the regular Astra family car and the Astra Sports Tourer estate can now be had with mild hybrid technology. This takes the form of a small electric motor which is housed within the eight-speed automatic gearbox of each car, and works with the regular 1.2-litre petrol engine to deliver short bursts of electric power. And thanks to that extra assistance, the official fuel economy for mild hybrid models is up to 60.1mpg and 58.9mpg for the Astra hatch and Astra Sports Tourer respectively. Vauxhall says this represents an economy boost of up to 19% compared with non-electrified versions of the Astra.

Unlike some other mild hybrids, the setup fitted to the Astra can allow the car to move for short distances on electric power alone, but only at speeds of up to 18mph. Indeed, the car only has a small 0.89kWh – far smaller than the full hybrid setup of our reigning Family Car of the Year, the Toyota Corolla, which has a 1.3kWh battery. Like other electrified models, regenerative braking harvests energy as you slow down to feed back into the car's battery.

The combined power output of the Astra's 1.2-litre petrol engine and electric motor is 134bhp, resulting in a relatively nippy 0-62mph sprint time of 9.0sec for the Astra hatch, and 9.3sec for the Astra Sports Tourer.

As well as savings in terms of fuel economy, these mild hybrid models should also be cheap to tax, with C02 emissions starting from 106g/km for the hatchback, and 108g/km for the estate. That means both cars will cost you slightly less in first-year tax rates than their non-electrified siblings, with both cars costing £185 in the first year, then £180 annually thereafter.

The new mild hybrid versions of the Astra are avaible aross Design, GS and Ultimate trims. It's mid-range GS trim which we recommend, since this comes with useful luxuries including adaptive cruise control, keyless entry and heated front seats.

Prices for mild-hybrid versions of the Astra hatch start from £30,025, and from £32,225 for the Astra Sports Tourer. In both cases, that's a reasonable hike over the price of a non-electrified model, but, as we've outlined above, the long-term savings could be significant.

Because Vauxhall is part of a wider group of car brands which includes Peugeot, it's likely that mild hybrid technology will also come to the Peugeot 308 before long.

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