Vauxhall Astra - MPG, CO2 and running costs

While the latest Astra will doubtless attract attention for its striking looks and impressive infotainment set-up, its fuel efficiency is also a major selling point. The petrol models all offer around 50-52mpg on the WLTP combined cycle, according to Vauxhall.

The Astra has proven itself to be a fairly economical family car during our own testing, too. After covering over 5,200 miles in our Astra 1.2 Turbo petrol long-term test car, we averaged 49.3mpg. However, hybrid rivals such as the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla are even more frugal, and during some of our group testing, we’ve seen 50.3mpg from the Civic, and an even more impressive 54.2mpg from a 1.8-litre Corolla.

The petrol Astra’s CO2 emissions range from 123g/km to 132g/km, so business users will be looking at Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) rates of 29 to 31 per cent – not the most competitive figures in a growing age of electrification where the Corolla and Civic are in bands 25 and 26, respectively.

Fortunately, Vauxhall has introduced a plug-in hybrid model which is able to travel up to 43 miles on electric power alone. With CO2 emissions of 23-24g/km, the PHEV has a much more attractive 8 per cent BIK rating for company car drivers. Recharging its 12.4kWh (10.4kWh useable) battery using a 7kW wallbox will take around two hours.

If that’s still not good enough, then there's an all-electric version of the Astra, simply called the Astra Electric. It’ll cover up to 258 miles on a single charge and sits in the two per cent BIK band, at least until 2025. If you can find a rapid charger capable of supplying 100kWh of charging speed, you can charge from 20 to 80 per cent in less than half an hour. Refilling a flat battery at home using a 7kW wallbox will take eight hours.

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Insurance

Insurance premiums for the Astra won’t be particularly cheap as even the entry-level 109bhp Design model sits in group 16 (out of 50). In comparison, the least powerful 123bhp Ford Focus in Titanium trim is one insurance group lower, while the least expensive Kia Ceed is in group 14.

Moving through the Astra line-up, both the 178bhp plug-in hybrid and Astra Electric models are in group 26, while the most expensive version to insure will be the performance-oriented GSe as it sits in group 31. That’s the same as the much faster and more desirable 316bhp VW Golf R.

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Depreciation

According to our expert data, the eighth-generation Astra should prove to be a relatively strong performer on the used market. After a typical three-year/36,000-mile ownership period, it’ll retain around 46-50 per cent of its original list price, with the entry-level Design Astra Electric and GSe plug-in hybrid offering the best residual values across the range.

That’s on a par with its closest rivals. However, the Corolla, in either Excel or GR Sport form, will be worth almost 57 per cent of its value after the same time and mileage period.

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