Opel Astra Sports Tourer review: A pretty accomplished beast for the money

I know it’s not PC anymore to describe anything as being ‘workingman’ in nature, so you have to find another way of doing it.

As a makey-uppy word such as ‘workpersonlike’ won’t cut it for me, I’m left in something of a quandary when it comes to this week’s tester, the new Opel Astra estate, er sorry, Sports Tourer.

Without dissing this car in any way at all, one of the first thoughts that came to mind when I considered the Astra ST, was that outside of van territory, this was one of the most ‘workmanlike’ cars I have had the pleasure of driving in many a long day.

Consider the facts: it is an estate and therefore hugely practical for both working people and families; the tester was equipped with a 1.5 litre turbodiesel – very much on the money for business users; and, it is, simply, a workhorse.

But it’s good-looking, well specified, drives really well (as you might expect given how accomplished the Astra hatch is) and thus it has the potential to appeal to broad cross section of punters. It is, therefore, if you’ll pardon the single gender tone of the words, both an ‘everyman’ car and a ‘workmanlike’ one too.

The Astra estate has been with us for many years and the current one is possibly one of the best looking of the lot of them. Sure, the lauded ‘Visor’ front end look which Opel has been banging on about as if it was a design of Bauhaus importance, is there and it looks good, albeit a little different because of the necessity for air vents to cool the engine.

It’s still attractive nonetheless, as is the rest of the body shape, which manages to look both aesthetic and purposeful. The increased wheelbase, however, is aimed more at increasing the load space in the rear than it is on providing more legroom for the rear seat passengers.

Décor within the car is minimal and, on the tester, was of generally dark materials which although pleasing to look at and touch, bring a gloomy air to the interior. The double screen layout which incorporates the infotainment system and the instrumentation is a lift from Peugeot, as is the shifter for the automatic gearbox and the centre binnacle.

Indeed, there is a lot of Peugeot design going on here and this is hardly a surprise as the two companies are now as one under the Stellantis banner.

That said, there is a lot of applaud in the layout and there are enough physical buttons to ensure minimal distraction from the road and the combination of switchgear and modern technology is good.

There are other similarities in terms of the running gear too and the 1.2 three-cylinder petrol and the 1.5 turbodiesel are both French in origin, as is the eight-speed auto gearbox.

These are not bad common elements to have and anyone who has driven the petrol engine (under whatever nameplate you’d like – Jeep, Peugeot, Citroen, DS or Opel) will tell you it’s a diminutive cracker.

Similarly with the 1.5 diesel we have here, it is only rated at just under 130 bhp, but it drives really well too. The advantages to the diesel include increased torque and much better fuel consumption.

The increased torque amounts to some 300 Nm which gives you great pulling power, while the fuel consumption worked out at 4.9 l/100km during the test (57.1 mpg), although I have to say that most of the motoring I did with it was of non-stress nature, largely due to the car’s personality.

It is not, by any measure, a car which will give you anticipatory chills at the forthcoming speedy pleasures; indeed, it will only hit the 100 km/h mark from a standstill in or around the eleven second mark and top speed is a touch over 200 km/h.

That should indicate to you that the Astra ST is more of a comfortable motorway bruiser than a cross country rambler – and so it is. Being honest, this is not thrill-a-minute motoring, but then there is a place in our world for such, em, workmanlike beasts.

The steering is precise and weights up nicely when you do get a head of steam going, while the car will understeer noticeably if you get too enthusiastic in the corners. Otherwise the handling is acceptably good and body roll is well contained.

Standard 18” alloy wheels are good to look at although on Irish surfaces probably exaggerate some of the bumps and make a handling feel a touch nervy. It is not crashy in this regard, more rubbery.

One area where the Astra estate will win with the punters is with regard to the boot space. There is just shy of 600 litres with the rear seats in place and that increases to 1,634 when they are folded down. There is also a moveable load compartment floor which is handy.

Specification levels are also thorough for a car of this nature and stuff like adaptive cruise control, heated steering wheel, electronic climate control, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, a 360-degree panoramic camera and parking sensors all came on the tester.

So, what we have here then is a pretty accomplished beast for the money; one which is wildly practical and will accommodate all the family and their luggage. As a non-family workhorse, it will allow itself to be burdened with pretty large loads and it will cover long distances in relative comfort and with great economy.

It does go against the grain of the fervour for SUVs – and the seemingly diminishing appeal of EVs – but in my view that makes it even more appealing. There is a generous mix of practicality with style going on here and I think that Opel might have found something of a niche player here.

It might seem funny to describe a diesel estate as being ‘niche,’ especially given that they were once the soup du jour for anyone with a practical motoring mien – farmers, taxi drivers and other cute hoors – before becoming swamped by SUV-mania.

Irish people have shied away from the genre in recent years – to the point where VW don’t even bother selling the Golf estate here anymore, although subsidiaries Skoda and SEAT still have skin in the game.

This one, though, is something of a minor and largely understated gem and those – men or women – who appreciate such things and don’t get bothered too much by gender-based words, will find it very workmanlike and maybe even a journeyman.

Indeed, it should not fly under anyone’s radar.