Item: Used Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer 2016-present
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

The Seat Leon ST is almost as inexpensive as the Astra Sports Tourer, looks a little sharper and feels a bit smarter inside. However, the ride is a touch firmer and you have to pay quite a lot more for the smarter versions.

If space is your primary concern, the Skoda Octavia Estate should be on your list. It offers the biggest boot in the class and loads of room for rear passengers, as well as a good range of frugal yet gutsy engines

Or if the Astra’s reliability is a concern, you could always try the Toyota Auris Touring Sports. It isn’t as comfortable, spacious or good to drive, but it is one of the most reliable estates out there and comes with a long warranty. It’s almost as cheap to buy as the Astra, too.

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What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

We don’t have specific information for the Sports Tourer model, but the Astra as a whole scored well in the 2018 What Car? reliability survey for cars aged 0-3 years.&nbsp;

Vauxhall as a manufacturer did better, scoring 94.6%, placing it 11th out of 32 car makers – an excellent result.

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Estate

Vauxhall has an incredibly diverse range of cars on sale, a few of which stand out above the class average. Add in the fact that it still offers some of the largest Target Price discounts in the market (something it is trying, without huge success, to cut back on), and there are very good reasons to consider buying one of its better models.

However, you need to choose carefully, because it is also a brand in transition. It has a newish parent company – the same one that owns Citroën, DS and Peugeot. And while Vauxhall’s newer models tend to be competitive, some of the others feel dated; a quick check of our star ratings will reveal which is which.

Still, given the recent success of sister brands Citroën and especially Peugeot, each new launch should make its range more appealing to buyers.

VAUXHALL

ASTRA

The Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer is a terrific all-rounder – a practical, comfortable used estate that’s good to drive and cheap to buy and run

Used Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer 2016-present

Very little. The Ecotec diesel version is one of the most efficient estates around, with an impressive official fuel consumption of 83.1mpg, while most other diesels return similarly impressive figures and even petrol versions’ fuel economy is on a par with their rivals’. What’s more, the Astra Sports Tourer’s real-world efficiency is one of the best around, so you’ll get closer to the official figures than you will in most cars.

If you buy an Astra registered before 1 April 2017, its tax rate will be linked to its emissions – and since the Astra is so efficient, it’s a smart move to do so. Most versions will cost £120 a year or less to tax, with the 108bhp diesel completely free. Astras registered after that date, by contrast, will cost a flat rate of £140 a year to tax, no matter how efficient they are.

Servicing costs are very competitive. Vauxhall doesn’t operate a transparent fixed-price servicing scheme like other manufacturers, but if you sign up to the company’s free-to-join Service Club, you get a 15% discount on all servicing and repairs once your car is two years old and 25% discount once it’s three, as well as half-price MOTs.

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The Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer is a terrific all-rounder – a practical, comfortable used estate that’s good to drive and cheap to buy and run

This is where the Astra Sports Tourer really comes into its own because, like for like, it’s about the cheapest car of its type you can buy. Prices start at around £8000 for a car with a higher than average mileage, or £10,000 for a good 2016 car, which makes it something of a bargain. Up the folding to between £11,000 and £13,000 for your choice of smart used STs from&nbsp;2017, and if you can splash out around £13-15,000 you could net a 2018 model from a franchised dealer, with a low to average mileage and a full service history.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Unless you’re a high-mileage driver and really need the efficiency of a diesel engine, we’d go for a petrol-powered Astra Sports Tourer – preferrably the potent yet smooth 1.4-litre turbo, which is well-suited to the car whether you go for the 123bhp or 148bhp version (badged 125 and 150 respectively).

As for which model to choose, any version – even the entry-level Design – will come with a decent amount of equipment. But since the top-of-the-range Elite and Elite Nav (which has sat-nav) aren’t a huge amount more to buy, if we could stretch that far, we would.

Our favourite Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer 1.4T 150 Elite Nav

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Huge boot and excellent practicality</li> <li>Plenty of interior space so you can carry passengers as well as luggage </li> <li>Strong engines to pull a heavily laden car</li> <li>Comfortable ride, especially on the motorway</li> <li>Low running costs for company car drivers</li></ul>

If you’re after bags of space but you don’t want to commit to the van-like dimensions and styling of an MPV, there are some great estate cars on offer that should do the job.

Tricks to look out for include an electric tailgate&nbsp;that opens automatically when you wave your foot under the rear bumper; this is&nbsp;particularly handy if you’re trying to load in a heavy or&nbsp;bulky item. You should also look for handles in the side of the boot itself that can drop down the rear seats; these are much more convenient than having to walk around the side of the car to do it.

There are some terrific estates at most price ranges. The humble Skoda Fabia Estate offers cavernous space for not much cash at all, for example.

Further up the price range, another of our perennial favourites is the Skoda Superb Estate;&nbsp;it’s great to drive and as practical as most people should ever need. Meanwhile, for serious mile-munching ability and a premium, well-finished interior, it’s hard to look beyond the BMW 5 Series Touring.

To date, we’ve heard of relatively few problems on the Astra Sports Tourer, but it’s not known to be the most reliable car around. With that in mind, it makes sense to spend a bit of time checking all the buttons and switches work and that the infotainment screen functions as it should.

One common issue we have heard of is water collecting in the doors when the car is parked on a hill. Owners tell us this can be solved with some modification to the door seals, allowing water to drain more effectively, but it’s something to be aware of if you do buy this car because, long term, moisture within the door panels themselves can lead to corrosion.

Let’s face it: buyers of a family estate car are not usually looking for something that’ll offer thrills aplenty. What matters most of all in cars like these is space, comfort and – in particular – value. And while that last point is the trump card of the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer, the fact that it offers so much else besides makes it a tempting used car.

For starters, there’s a plethora of engine options, from a basic 1.4-litre unit through to 1.0-litre and 1.4-litre turbo petrols, plus three 1.6-litre diesels, and up to the top-of-the-range 1.6-litre turbo petrol.

These are paired with a range of variants. Entry-level Design trim gets air conditioning and cruise control; SRi features sports seats and a leather steering wheel; Tech Line comes with sat-nav as standard; then there's SE, which has heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. The Elite model is the priciest and gets automatic headlights and wipers, heated rear seats and ambient lighting. All trims from SRi upwards (apart from Tech Line) have the option of sat-nav.

Variety isn’t all the Astra can offer, though; it’s impressive to drive, too. Granted, it can’t quite match the class best <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/focus/estate/used-review/n943">Ford Focus Estate</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/golf/estate/used-review/n783">Volkswagen Golf Estate</a> for ride and handling balance, but it comes ever so close. In corners, it’s responsive, stable and grippy, with steering that’s sharp and direct, if a little on the light side. And yet it rides smoothly, too, particularly out on the motorway, where it soothes away all but the harshest bumps.

Diesel versions can get a little vocal when you ask more of them than a steady cruise, but the petrol models are commendably quiet, while every Astra is a doddle to drive, with easy controls and a progressive clutch.

Of course, space is a big priority in an estate car, and here the Astra performs well. Both front and rear passengers will find there’s plenty of room to stretch out; more so than in most rivals, in fact. And while the boot isn’t the biggest in the class, it’s a very practical, square shape, and when you fold the rear seats down the space that’s left is flat and very usable.

Further forward, the dashboard is less impressive; top-spec Elite models look decent enough with gloss black inserts, but cheaper versions get a plasticky-looking matt silver lump that stretches across the dash. Still, most cars get a smart 8.0in touchscreen that works well and all the buttons and controls are well placed and slick to use. If you can live with the way it looks, you’ll have no complaints.

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Used Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer 2016-present review

Alternatives

What alternatives should I consider to a used Vauxhall Astra estate?