The article was originally produced on May 18, 2016, some facts and prices may have changed since then.

Opel Astra Sport Tourer 1.6 CDTI

A station wagon with sky-high expectations.

The German car brand Opel has had a bit of a bad reputation for quite some time. Now it's new times and the brand has really sharpened itself up. So much so that they even scooped the award for Car of the Year for the new Astra. It is not the first time that Opel has won this award, the Insignia and Ampera models were also awarded the Car of the Year title. Last out to strengthen its status is the combi version of the Astra. A model that is now in its tenth generation since the first Kadett rolled off the assembly line in 1936. Since then, 24 million Kadetts and Astras have been sold. The Astra Sport Tourer competes with the likes of the Volkswagen Golf Variant, Renault Megan Grandtour and Kia Cee'd SW to name a few. To enter this hornet's nest, a well-built car is not enough, you have to fill it to the brim with equipment to literally spoil the customers. Opel has done exactly that in the new Astra Sport Tourer. Equipment details that were previously only found in Mercedes, BMW and Audi's most luxurious models are now found in the Opel Astra. Such as ventilation and massage in the seats, steering wheel heating and pocket parking assistance.

In addition, the new Astra Sport Tourer has a nice infotainment system that includes Apple Car Play. Two very nice and practical details are that with a simple foot movement under the rear end of the car you can open the tailgate when you arrive with your hands full. Then also the function that automatically starts the seat heating on cold days and when it's cold, lowers the temperature as the heat rises in the passenger compartment. Normally, a car with all this equipment would fetch a price tag well beyond the pain point of many customers. But that is exactly what Opel made sure not to do. A fully equipped Astra Sport Tourer ends up at just over SEK 300,000, a price that is guaranteed to attract many customers. With the turbocharged four-cylinder engine of 1.6 liters and 160 horses, the Astra Sport Tourer makes its way in a very pleasant way. Especially if you chose the six-speed automatic transmission. It is easy to find a comfortable sitting position in the electrically operated seats with leather upholstery.

Something that Opel has really taken care of is to reduce the number of buttons since the previous model. Nowadays, everything is easy to see, which in turn makes driving safer because you don't have to search among a lot of buttons and knobs to change something like AC etc. Externally, the new Astra Sport Tourer reminds a lot of its predecessor, but they have improved a lot of the car's exterior lines. A nice detail is the chrome strip that runs along the upper edge of the windows and down along the c-pillar. Opel has definitely done its homework and the Astra Sport Tourer is exactly what the brand needs to keep its sales numbers up.