First deliveries are beginning of the new British-built Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer.

Priced from £16,585 on-the-road, the Sports Tourer is based on an all-new lightweight vehicle architecture with a new design, powertrains and technology. It is built at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port manufacturing plant in Cheshire. 

“The all-new Astra and Astra Sports Tourer are of critical importance to Vauxhall and its manufacturing facility in Ellesmere Port,” said Rory Harvey, Vauxhall’s Chairman and Managing Director.

“I’m very proud of the men and women who build this vehicle to world class levels of quality and productivity.”

The vehicle range was designed by a team lead by Britons Mark Adams and Malcolm Ward.

The latest generation Sports Tourer has almost the same dimensions as the outgoing model- length 4,702mm, width 1,871mm and height 1,510mm- however, it offers more space for passengers and luggage. The driver gets 26mm of additional headroom, and passengers in the rear have 28mm more legroom.

The new Astra Sports Tourer can take up to three child seats in the rear and can also carry up to 1,630 litres of luggage.

The diesel with 110hp, achieves 83.1mpg while emitting 89g/km of CO2. All diesel units have a displacement of 1.6 litres – including the range-topping BiTurbo engine. In combination with six-speed manual transmission, Start/Stop, the 1.6 BiTurbo CDTi with 160PS can achieve up to 67.3mpg and emits 112g/km of CO2.

Pricing has been revised - the new car is up to £1,870 less expensive than the outgoing ST with a simplified range. The range includes Design, Tech Line, SRi and Elite, with Nav versions of the SRi and Elite trims also available.