The facelifted Vauxhall Astra came with a rather neat and equally keen pricing strategy which saw the all-electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains, plus the hatchback and the Sports Tourer estate, all starting off from the same £29,995 price tag. The return of the pure petrol has upset this unusual balance somewhat, however, as it brings the Astra hatchback and estate down in price to £27,495.
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The 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine is the same 128bhp unit offered in the pre-facelift Astra. While currently available exclusively with an eight-speed automatic, we expect the return of the Astra’s six-speed manual later this year – the only manual gearbox in the Astra range. There’s no return in sight for the old 109bhp engine in the pre-facelift car.
In terms of efficiency, the facelifted Astra with the 1.2 turbo returns the exact same fuel economy (48.7mpg) and, unsurprisingly, the same amount of CO2 emissions (132g/km) as before.
That headline price which brings the entry Astra down by £1,500 is for the Griffin variant and it gets the same amount of kit as you’d find with the other powertrains. There’s adaptive cruise control, LED headlights, front and rear parking sensors, heated front seats, keyless entry and a heated steering wheel all as standard.
Step up to the £28,995 GS trim and you get 18-inch wheels with black exterior accents, a 180-degree reversing camera, sports seats, keyless go, dual-zone climate control and heated door mirrors.
The £31,495 Ultimate adds diamond-cut alloy wheels, a wireless smartphone charger, heated and massaging seats, a heated windscreen and noise-insulating side windows. Like other powertrains, on the Sports Tourer estate version the Ultimate also gets a powered bootlid.
All Astra trims get a black roof as standard with metallic black as the only no-cost exterior paint option. If you want blue, yellow, white, silver or grey paint, it’ll cost an extra £650.
While the 1.2-litre turbo option lowers the Astra’s list price by £1,500 – don’t forget there are deals to be had on the Auto Express Buy A Car service where you can grab current-generation Vauxhall Astras from just over £11,000 with less than 50,000 miles on the clock.
