Opel Astra Facelift: Front Smoothed, Battery Enlarged

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Opel has undoubtedly experienced easier times. In the first eleven months of this year, 32.499 Astras were newly registered in Germany. On the one hand, that's about twice as many as Ford could sell of the now discontinued Focus, but on the other hand, it's not even half of what VW could achieve with the Golf. The compact models from VW and Opel were once close together at the top, but that was a long time ago. Nevertheless, the Astra is an important pillar of business in Germany – after all, it ranks second internally behind the Corsa (Test). A minor facelift is intended to make the Astra fit for the second half of its production run. This is likely an optimistic hope, as not much has changed.

Improved Matrix Light

Like the Grandland (Test), the Astra now also has an illuminated logo on the front. More importantly for many customers, the optional matrix light resolves much finer than before. Opel states 51.200 pixels per headlight, which opens up the possibility of precisely defined shadow cones. Apart from that, a few plastic panels have been reshaped; the sheet metal remains untouched.

Gloss Gone

There are also only a few changes in the interior. The new "Intelli Seat" uses more sustainable recycled materials and upholstery designed to reduce pressure on the tailbone through "special cutouts." Opel has also banished glossy plastic from the Astra cockpit. Satinized trim elements are intended to be less susceptible to fingerprints and scratches. The hardware supplied by Qualcomm and the Snapdragon Cockpit platform are said to react faster to inputs than before.

PHEV: Still Only Single-Phase Charging

Opel has been rather reticent about changes in the engine range beforehand. The plug-in hybrid received an update only this year. The traction battery's energy content increased to 17.2 kWh. Unfortunately, Opel missed the opportunity to finally increase the charging power at the same time. It remains single-phase charging with 3.7 kW as standard. For an extra charge, a 7.4 kW AC charger can be ordered, which is quite cheeky. The fact that this option, costing 500 Euros, does not accelerate charging at an 11 kW wallbox because only one phase is still addressed, will hopefully be explained in detail by the friendly salesperson before the contract is signed.

Battery in Astra Electric Only Slightly Larger

Opel is likely to disappoint some interested parties with the hesitant further development of the battery-electric drive. The traction battery's energy content increases by four kilowatt-hours to 58. Opel has not yet disclosed the charging power, even when asked. However, it is likely to remain at 100 kW. Currently, there is a bit of confusion on this platform. The revised Peugeot e-308 retains 100 kW DC charging power, while the DS N°4 gets 120 kW charging power. In WLTP, the range of the Astra Electric increases by 34 to 454 km.

However, more important for the sales success of the electric Astra is probably that Opel finds a way to offer it cheaper than before. The list price of at least 37.990 Euros for the base model of the Astra Electric is hardly achievable given the circumstances. With slightly better equipment, the bill quickly exceeds 40.000 Euros, and by then, the electric Astra has plenty of competition. And that includes internal competition: with the somewhat gruff but absolutely sufficiently powerful three-cylinder engine, the Astra is currently sometimes available as a day registration for less than 22.000 Euros. The selection of Astra Electric models is significantly sparser on the major car exchanges – and noticeably more expensive.

(mfz)