Published:
19 February 2024Vauxhall/Opel’s product planners freely admit that, in today’s SUV- and crossover-dominated era, traditional hatchbacks need to be designed differently. Those who want a more spacious, versatile and convenient compact car than the new Astra aren’t short of options, after all.
For that reason, Astra designers will tell you that they gave aesthetic appeal higher priority over cabin packaging this time round than their previous equivalents probably did.
And while the success of that philosophy must be judged from the outside of the car, the inevitable consequences are to be found within the cabin. The Astra is a lower-slung car than it used to be, and has a lower driving position as well.
But while occupant space is fairly generous for the driver and front passenger, it offers less second-row space than its predecessor did. Our tape measure indicated 680mm of typical rear leg room, 20mm less than we recorded in the Mk7 Astra we tested in 2015. Rear head room is also a little short of the standard needed for taller adults to travel comfortably, even though good-sized rear doors make access easy enough.
Despite a 57mm-longer wheelbase, the estate version doesn’t seem to have gained much rear occupant space, as we measured an identical amount of rear leg room. Head room, on the other hand, is more generous. As you’d expect, the estate’s boot is much more capacious, at 597 litres for the petrol version (versus 422 litres in the hatchback) and 516 in the hybrids (352 in the hatch).
