Vauxhall Astra GSe PHEV long-term test: family hatch has its fair share of flaws

Verdict

The Vauxhall Astra GSe has a lot of positives, including its long-distance ability and hybrid drivetrain, but it’s hard to ignore the various technological foibles and frustrations that surface on most everyday journeys. 

• Mileage: 2,825
• Economy: 55.2mpg

It might look like it’s getting to be something of a habit for me to make the final road trip in my fleet car to the Ring headquarters in Leeds, but it is nothing more than coincidence.

As with the Volkswagen T-Roc farewell, the trips for our annual headlight bulb test and the firm’s Ringmechanika showcase allowed me to enjoy what the cars did best – long trips in decent comfort. 

The Astra’s cabin is a good place to spend a few hours, with adaptive cruise taking some of the stress out of the long schlep up the busy A1 – all controlled from the steering-wheel buttons and monitored on the head-up display. The latter is one of my favourite features on the Astra, alongside the wireless Apple CarPlay connection, which we enhanced with an aftermarket MagSafe phone holder to keep my iPhone charged for the six-hour round trip that we comfortably completed in one day.

Another plus is the 222bhp motor which, despite the car’s sporty GSe badge, is no tyre smoker but provides useful urge for A-road overtakes and seamlessly joining motorway traffic. The gearbox is super-smooth, which is great for our long trip, but it’s sluggish to kick down when pressing on.

And while the feature was hard to appreciate in summer, we were grateful for the heated seats and steering during the winter months, along with the super-quick clearing of an icy screen.

These are all good features, but on everyday short trips I’ve struggled not to be irritated with the Astra. And that often starts before I get into the car, because the keyless entry system has a mind of its own. It seemed it was guaranteed to refuse to open when I had an armful of shopping and the like, making me hunt for the key in my pockets. It then rubs salt in the wound by opening as I walk past while it’s parked. 

When in the driving seat, if I remember, I need to navigate a couple of menus to turn off the intrusive lane-keeping assist system. If I don’t, I need to stop before I get too far and turn it off. I also need to select battery-regen mode. The battery has little enough range as it is, so why would you not select regen to eke it out as much as possible? I reckon it should be the default setting.

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There were more electrical gremlins as the Astra neared the end of its time on the fleet: a warning that briefly told me a service was just under 15,000 miles overdue. Tricky on a car that has yet to complete 5,000.

Fuel consumption varied depending on the number of short journeys, but averaged just over 55mpg. We never saw the claimed electric range of 40 miles, with the onboard computer rarely showing more than 20, which proved pretty accurate. In the winter, when ice was on the ground, the range was often in the low teens. The £500 optional 7.4kW on board charger ensured a full charge could be completed in around two hours and progress in battery-only mode was smooth and quiet, with the added bonus of regenerative braking often negating the need to use the middle pedal. 

Irritations aside, it’s tricky to see where the appeal of this car lies. The plug-in hybrid aspect will appeal to some, but its real-world range needs to be nearer the claimed 40 miles to be genuinely useful. Its styling and badge may nod towards sporting performance, but this is no hot hatchback. Plus many buyers may well go for the convenience and high driving position of a similarly specced SUV instead.

Vauxhall Astra GSe PHEV: second report

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Our plug-in hybrid is all white on the night after the winter grime is washed away

• Mileage: 2,026
• Economy: 55.2mpg

White cars may be growing in popularity, but not in the Adams household, where keeping our very pale long-term Vauxhall Astra clean during the winter months is a never-ending chore.

When temperatures were low and the risk of my drive becoming an ice rink was high, it meant regular trips to a hand car wash. As the weather has improved, I’ve been able to save a few quid and tackle cleaning the Astra myself. Even if I think it’s not that grubby, a quick swipe with a wash mitt proves me wrong, because the Arctic White paint really pops after removing the grime, and the car looks really sharp.

With a few thousand, rather than a few hundred, miles under the Vauxhall’s belt since our first report in February, I’m pleased to say there have been no repeats of the puncture, although I have scraped the nearside rims, again no fault of the Astra’s.

As always with a plug-in hybrid, there’s a greater focus on the running costs, because that is one of the attractions of driving one. We’ve averaged a little over 55mpg during our 2,026 miles, which is a useful increase on the original 48mpg that is no doubt due to the increased range of the high-voltage battery in warmer temperatures. In the freezing winter months we sometimes saw an EV range barely in the teens, but more than 20 miles is regularly achieved now.  

During that time we’ve used 208.5 kWh of electricity, costing just over £67. Despite the optional £500 7.4kW charger being fitted, full top-ups are taking around four hours, which needs to be investigated.

Many local trips have been completed without the petrol engine, meaning some 400 miles between fills, which cost around £50. The shortage of trips to the pumps has meant I forget without fail to hit the fuel- flap release before getting out and heading to the rear of the car, only to promptly return.

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The Astra drives well on electric power alone and I’ve got used to the regen mode, and actually prefer the added off-throttle stopping power, although the electric range never gets anywhere near the claimed WLTP distance of 40 miles. The petrol engine has a useful turn of speed when required and I’ve no complaints about the Vauxhall’s silky-smooth eight-speed transmission.

Not so smooth is the adaptive cruise control, which has a heavy braking foot and a slow-moving one for the accelerator. I’d rather have it than not, but it could be better. Its settings are all monitored via the head-up display, which is a real asset and controlled via buttons on the steering wheel. These took a while to master, but the effort was worth it.

While most trips have been local, my wife and I managed a trip to France for the Le Touquet Enduropale bike and quad beach races. The Astra was in its element on the smooth French autoroutes, easily eating up the miles. But with the audio off, there was a fair amount of intrusive road noise from the Michelin Primacy 4 S1 tyres on tarmac. This is exacerbated when in electric mode, but is still present when the quiet internal-combustion engine is running.

Talking of noises, in recent weeks the alarm has been going off for no apparent reason, twice prompting supermarket announcements to return to BG23 OAM. Simply unlocking and relocking the car silenced the alarm and set it again, but why it went off in the first place is still a mystery.

The other puzzling thing is the keyless door locking. Usually I just need to walk up to the car with the key in my pocket, but often it doesn’t respond. This happens most when I’ve got my hands full of shopping. Frustrating is being polite about it. I also hate having to turn off the lane assist every time I start a journey, plus I’ve not found a quick way back to Apple CarPlay, which is my default setting for the Pure Panel Pro infotainment. The latter works well and the wireless connection is great for short trips.

After a few thousand miles, I’m getting used to the plug-in hybrid Astra, but the various niggles I’ve experienced mean I still have reservations about it at this price point.

Vauxhall Astra GSe PHEV: first report

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British brand’s new plug-in hybrid hatch joins our fleet

• Mileage: 305
• Economy: 48.0mpg

The return of a car with a plug to the Adams’ drive required a few spiders to be made homeless before I could take advantage of our Astra’s PHEV tech.

The Wallbox charger had been dormant for almost a year when the Astra arrived and had become clogged with webs, leaves and other debris. A quick wipe and the charger was ready, but there was no chance to use it before the Astra was parked up for more than a week through no fault of its own.

A country lane at night, low-profile tyres and a pothole added up to a three-hour wait for recovery and another hour to get home in our ill-fated first trip in the GSe. There’s no spare in the Astra thanks to its batteries, (which also squeeze boot space), and no sealant can fix a pothole pinch puncture in the sidewall a couple of centimetres long.

Then, Vauxhall’s tyre partner ATS hardly covered itself in glory getting the Astra back on the road. Thanks to a missed appointment, it was a week later before we could tackle our second trip in the car.

After running a series of pick-ups and SUVs, the hatchback’s low-profile tyres, combined with the state of the roads where I live, have left me feeling a touch vulnerable to another tyre failure, particularly at night.

The ride has also taken some getting used to. Compared with my previous cars, the Astra is on the firm side, particularly on uneven surfaces at low speed. And despite the nod to previous Vauxhall performance models in its name, the GSe doesn’t seem all that sporty, with the steering lacking feel.

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The problematic start to life and a long break abroad over Christmas mean I’ve done few miles in the car so far. Without battery assistance, the Astra showed fuel economy of 38mpg, but that jumped to 48 after we began to plug-in each time we were at home.

Charging from the Wallbox takes around four hours, thanks to the optional 7.4kW charger (£500). Each full charge saw 11kWh or so being used, not far off the battery’s 12.4 capacity. Despite this, we’ve yet to see an electric range of more than 20 miles, while the WLTP figure is 40. No doubt this is due to the colder temperatures, and it will rise when the weather improves. The Astra works well in electric mode, but while the regenerative mode does add some charge to the battery, it makes driving smoothly with the already-sharp brakes even more tricky.

While the GSe doesn’t beg to be driven hard, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the power on full throttle once the slow gearbox has dropped a few ratios.

It’s one of several elements we already like. The head-up display is an asset, too, and works well with the steering wheel controls, while the infotainment is clear and links with Apple CarPlay wirelessly, although a few of the menus take some fathoming out. One we know well is turning off the lane assist to remove the intrusive tugging on the wheel when moving from the centre of the lane.

The cold weather may have hit the electric range, but there’s plenty to keep the driver warm, including heating for the front seats and steering wheel; the latter works very well and has been welcome during the cold snap.

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The electrically heated windscreen has also been appreciated, clearing the screen in a few minutes, and saving on the de-icer and frozen fingers on frosty mornings. Another bonus is the wipers with built-in washers, which have been working overtime, thanks to the filthy winter roads. They clean very effectively, with no missed spots, although the momentary loss of vision as they start to pump takes a little getting used to.

It’s also been a while since I’ve run a white car and the grimy roads have left their mark. Normally I’d deal with it myself, but with temperatures close to freezing, I’m reluctant to turn my drive in to a skating rink. Until it warms up, I’ll leave it to the local car wash.

*Insurance quote for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.