Refreshed Vauxhall Astra to offer longer electric range

On Sale Spring 2026 Price from £27,000 (est)

We all yearn for self-identity. Not for any reason so shallow as to stand out from the crowd, but to be true to ourselves and to be seen as confidently doing so. The Vauxhall Astra can relate. For generations (eight of them thus far) it has stood as a solid family car choice, if one that has struggled to assert itself against strong rivals, such as the Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia and – especially – the Volkswagen Golf.

Time, then, to pull itself into the limelight with a defining new look. One, in fact, that promises to make the Astra (and Vauxhall Astra Electric) more recognisable than ever before. Especially at night. That’s when the most notable change will be easiest to spot, with a new “compass” light signature that crosses the full width of the car, punctuated by an illuminated vertical strip that runs onto the bonnet and below the grille. At the centre of the compass is a light-up Vauxhall badge that – as with the Vauxhall Grandland SUV – only goes dark when the car is parked and locked.

This means you’ll finally be able to recognise the Astra when you see it in your rear view mirror (at least until future Vauxhall models adopt the same style… and they will), but what does the Astra do to stand out on your shopping list? Well, in a lot of ways, the changes have been about keeping up with the competition. 

The Astra Electric now has a bigger 58kWh (55.4kWh usable capacity) battery, as also used by the closely related Peugeot e-308. That brings the official range up by 22 miles, to 282 miles. That just beats the e-308 (279 miles) as well as some entry-level versions of several similar-sized pure-electric cars; the Kia EV4 Air officially manages 273 miles, while the cheapest Volkswagen ID 3 promises 241 miles, but those models also offer longer-range versions with bigger batteries – the Astra offers no such option.

The battery tweaks also bring Vehicle To Load (VTL) compatibility to the Astra Electric, meaning you can plug in and use small electrical devices up to 3.5kW. That means you could rock up at a campsite, disgorge your e-bike and charge it ready for day’s scrambling. And, if you’ve turned up in an Astra Sports Tourer Electric, that e-bike will fit in more easily than in the Peugeot e-308 SW; that car’s 1402 litres of boot space (measured from floor to ceiling with the rear seats folded down) pales against the Astra’s 1634 litres. That figure is the same for the petrol and electric versions, and it’s not far short of the 1700 litres you get in the super-practical Skoda Octavia Estate (of which there’s no fully electric version).

The updated Astra has been tweaked inside, too, and anybody who hates fingerprints will welcome the disappearance of the previous glossy black plastic on the centre console. This has gone in favour of a new satin silver finish that can also be found higher up on the dashboard, where it meets new textures that elevate the feeling of quality over what went before. We reckon it’s now up to par with the Seat Leon and Skoda Octavia.

Also new are the Astra’s seats, which follow the same orthopaedically honed “Intelli-seat” design that debuted in the Grandland. Inspired by principles used in the design of bicycle saddles, a recessed channel running along the seat base is intended to reduce pressure on the tailbone in a bid to increase comfort on long trips. Our experience of the Grandland suggests that it’s not just aesthetic hokum, either.

The facelifted Astra and Astra Sports Tourer will be publicly revealed at the Brussels Motor Show in January, with sales beginning soon after. Prices are expected to rise only modestly; at current, the entry-level Astra 1.2 Turbo Griffin is priced just above the equivalent Leon and below its Octavia rival.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here

Read more: Vauxhall Astra review