Vauxhall Astra gets a bit of a facelift, new engines and new tech

Vauxhall has given the Astra a bit of a facelift to keep up with the competition, and added new engines and new technology to the Ford Focus rival.

Vauxhall has just delivered a new Corsa, complete with new underpinnings from PSA, but this new Vauxhall Astra is actually just a facelift – and a mild one cosmetically, at that – of the current model, although there is more new going under the slight titivate.

In terms of looks, about all that marks this new Astra out from the current model is a slightly different grille, and as far as we can see there’s nothing new on the inside.

But under the bonnet it’s turbo-petrol time (with a bit of help from PSA) with a trio of 1.2 litre options – 108bhp, 128bhp and 143bhp – and a single 1.4 litre which actually has the same 143bhp as the most powerful 1.2 litre, but does have a bit more torque and comes with a CVT ‘box rather the the standard manual ‘box fitted to the 1.2 litre engines.

It’s not just the petrol options in the new Astra going three-pot, the diesels do too with a 1.5 litre offering 104bhp or 120bhp, with the 120bhp version getting an optional nine-speed auto and the promise of 60mpg.

There’s new tech on offer too, with a new digital front camera for improved sign recognition – and a rear camera with the same resolution too – a new interface for the multimedia screen, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless phone charging, new Bose Sound and heated windscreen. Although most of these are optional.

The new Vauxhall Astra goes on sale next month, and although Vauxhall hasn’t revealed prices yet we can’t see them going up much.