Could the Astra Sport Tourer be the electric car to cure us all of our addiction to SUVs?
It’sspacious, efficient and good to drive. But do the financials add up?Electric SUVs make sense because the battery is underneath where you sit, so the raisedseating position makes sense from a packaging point of view.But the problem is one of physics.
The tallness of SUVs mean they are less aerodynamic,which means you use more energy pushing them through the air.
Because they are moretop heavy, they don’t drive as well either.
So if you want the space of an SUV with more efficiency and a better driving experience, youneed an estate.It’s a bit of a rarity – the only other electric estates are the MG5 and the Porsche Taycan.
The MG has been a bit of a success story, especially among company car drivers who needto carry stuff around.
Most of these Astras will go the same way.
The tax incentives make electric much moreattractive for company car drivers.
The Astra is unusually efficient, with a claimed official range figure of 256 miles from a 54kWh battery.
Which means this big old car uses about the same amount of power to move it around as a supermini.It should mean that you spend less time – and money – charging compared to the SUV competitors which have bigger batteries.
But is it worth more than a Skoda Enyaq or the same as a Tesla Model Y?
Youtube
It’sspacious, efficient and good to drive. But do the financials add up?Electric SUVs make sense because the battery is underneath where you sit, so the raisedseating position makes sense from a packaging point of view.But the problem is one of physics.
The tallness of SUVs mean they are less aerodynamic,which means you use more energy pushing them through the air.
Because they are moretop heavy, they don’t drive as well either.
So if you want the space of an SUV with more efficiency and a better driving experience, youneed an estate.It’s a bit of a rarity – the only other electric estates are the MG5 and the Porsche Taycan.
The MG has been a bit of a success story, especially among company car drivers who needto carry stuff around.
Most of these Astras will go the same way.
The tax incentives make electric much moreattractive for company car drivers.
The Astra is unusually efficient, with a claimed official range figure of 256 miles from a 54kWh battery.
Which means this big old car uses about the same amount of power to move it around as a supermini.It should mean that you spend less time – and money – charging compared to the SUV competitors which have bigger batteries.
But is it worth more than a Skoda Enyaq or the same as a Tesla Model Y?
Youtube