Sports Tourer Adds Room And Practicality To New Opel & Vauxhall Astra

If you dig the new compact Astra but need a whole lot more cargo space, Opel and sister firm Vauxhall are placing the finishing touches on a Sports Tourer variant.

Now, don’t let the ‘Sports Tourer’ moniker fool you, as this iteration of the Astra places focus on practicality and roominess rather than style and…sportiness. It should retain the same wheelbase as the latest-gen Astra hatch upon which it is based, but it will be notably longer with all that extra metal going to the rear end.

The current Astra Sports Tourer has 500 liters of luggage space with the rear seats in place and 1,550 liters when they’re folded down. Expect the new model to offer the same, if not improved, cargo area. Rear passengers are likely to benefit from increased headroom, thanks to the reshaped roofline.

Opel and Vauxhall’s rival to the Estate versions of the Ford Focus and VW Golf should boast similar weight savings to the five-door hatch that lost up to 200kg (440 pounds) over the previous model.

Under the bonnet you’ll find a familiar array of petrol and diesel engine options producing between 95PS (94hp) and 200PS (197hp), all sourced from the hatch, while it’s been said that the Sports Tourer could also get a livelier GSi edition pushing out around 250-horses to go up against the Ford Focus ST and Seat Leon ST Cupra 265.

The new Astra Sports Tourer will arrive in Euro dealerships early next year.

Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops