Opel Astra Sports Tourer
A dash of Skoda
The rear is handsome
© press-inform – the press office
A few months after the five-door, Opel introduced the Astra Sport Tourer as a station wagon, which was already the more popular body variant for the predecessor.
The Opel arithmetic is simple: for 1,100 euros you get 175 liters to 295 liters more trunk space and 26.8 centimeters more metal with the Sport Tourer. Incidentally, the plug-in hybrid version has a loading advantage of 224 to 285 liters. Fans of the Rüsselsheim brand know immediately what it’s all about: the Astra Sports Tourer, of course. Eagerly awaited by the fans, because last year two-thirds of the Astras sold were Sport Tourer station wagons. Of course, this raises the question of why you don’t start with the loading master, which is 4.64 meters long, with the new model.
On the one hand, this is traditional, on the other hand, you want to sell the five-door model right away, even if the top-of-the-class Golf is weakening a bit. Then the French group brother Peugeot is already on the market with both variants of the Astra competitor 308. In the Stellantis group, French business raison d’etat reigns supreme. So the Lademeister Astra will be available from the Opel dealership this summer. There is no question that both Astra variants are impressive. We find the station wagon almost an idea fancier.
The two are identical up to the A-pillar, so let’s take a look at the XL luggage compartment. The Opel interior designers have also recognized this and have mainly taken care of the trunk. It holds 516 to 1,553 liters for the plug-in hybrid, and 597 to 1,634 liters for the traditionally powered versions. So far, so neat. But pure space is not a resounding sales argument, so the Rüsselsheim-based company took the Skoda Simply Clever recipe to heart and integrated a few practical details.
It starts with little things that aren’t actually worth mentioning, but which are noticeable if you don’t think them through to the end. The loading sill, which is only 60 cm, does not angle the hatch, nor does the interior. There are solid metal lashing eyes at the back. “This is what professional associations demand,” explains Stefan Arndt, Chief Designer Interior. With the rear seats up, the loading depth of the trunk is 1.03 meters, which is identical to the width. If you want to access the compartment under the loading floor, it can be locked in such a way that it is at a 45-degree angle and does not have to be turned off. There is also space for the roller blind. For example, the Tirefit set or the first aid kit fit in the two compartments behind the back seat. “You can reach them from the inside without having to get out of the car, which is very reassuring on the freeway,” says Stefan Arndt.
The interior is similar to that of the Astra and offers an optional massage function for the ventilated driver and front passenger seats and heated outer rear seats. At the rear, due to the wheelbase of 2.73 meters, which is seven centimeters longer than the predecessor (5.7 centimeters longer than the current five-door model), there is also reasonable space beyond the 1.85 meters. The Pure Panel with the two ten-inch screens also fits the Sports Tourer. The prices for the station wagon start at 23,565 euros for the 1.2-liter three-cylinder petrol engine with 81 kW / 110 hp and a six-speed manual gearbox. An eight-speed automatic is only available from the 96 kW / 130 hp expansion stage of the unit. If you want a diesel engine, you have to be satisfied with the 1.5 liter four-cylinder, also with 96 kW / 130 hp, which is also available with both transmission versions. Only the PHEV models have more steam under the hood. The plug-in hybrid currently has 133 kW / 180 PS, the version with 165 kW / 225 PS will follow later. All of this is already known from other models from the Stellantis Group. Opel fans would certainly be happy about an OPC model with all-wheel drive and 221 kW / 300 hp to keep up with the Golf R Variant, which has 235 kW / 320 hp. What is certain is that Opel will be launching a fully electric variant over the next year.