Vauxhall Astra – economical car which just happens to be a lot of fun to drive.

Vauxhall Astra estate is one of the most immediately recognisable cars on the road but will it turn the neighbours’ heads? In a word, no. However, if you can live with the fact that the Joneses are more likely to glaze over than go green you can congratulate yourself in the knowledge you’ve got a sensible, economical car which just happens to be a lot of fun to drive.

The Vauxhall Astra estate is one of the grand old men of the British road. Fashion may come and go but the good old Astra estate just keeps going.

Very impressive. The ride is very easy to live with, this reviewer used it for a motorway run to drop off and then pick up his wife at the airport and the Astra won glowing reviews for the comfort of the journey. It’s no slouch when it comes to handling either – the Astra is very responsive and corners excellently.

There are five petrol and four diesel engines to choose from, ranging from the entry level 1.4-litre cylinder model which offers a top speed of 111mph and a 0-60mph time of 13.2 seconds. The model we drove came with a little more oomph. Boasting a top speed of 129mph, the 1.9-litre CDTI model can hit 60mph after just 8.6 seconds. It’s got plenty of muscle at the lower end of the rev counter and a flick of the Sport Switch only adds to that performance with a sharper throttle.