Skip advert
Advertisement

2016 Vauxhall Astra review – new Astra is best yet, but can it excite? - Interior and tech

With an excellent engine and an outstanding ride the new Astra has some great attributes, but sadly it isn’t a drivers’ car

Evo rating
RRP
from £15,295
  • Great engine, unexpectedly fast and feels well built
  • Overall, just not very exciting

Interior and tech 

The Astra’s interior seems light and airy. The dash is littered with touches of chrome that nicely breaks-up the amount of black. The plastics used do feel luxurious and pleasant to touch. However you do find these plastics where you’d expect to find leather or metal, the gear knob in particular. Overall though, it feels very durable and well built.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The seating position is good, if a little bit too high. Find me a car that doesn’t feel like that, though. The steering wheel has a decent amount of adjustment, so getting comfortable isn’t difficult.

The main satnav screen seems to be angled upwards towards the roof of the car. It’s not difficult to see because of this, but you don’t expect the main source of the infotainment to be pointing in a different direction to the occupants. However, with DAB, satnav, Bluetooth it adds to the Astra’s pleasant environment.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Used Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7, 2014 - 2020) review: the original hyper hatch for under £10k
Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7) front
Reviews

Used Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7, 2014 - 2020) review: the original hyper hatch for under £10k

We were always huge fans of the Mk7 VW Golf R. That its successor has never quite lived up to its high standards has only underlined how good it was
11 Nov 2025
ZeroNine Ford Focus ST review – Ferrari 599 pulling power in a hatchback
ZeroNine Ford Focus ST – front
Reviews

ZeroNine Ford Focus ST review – Ferrari 599 pulling power in a hatchback

Leicestershire tuning firm ZeroNine has given the last-of-the-line Focus ST a new lease of life with a series of performance upgrades – and Ferrari 59…
14 Nov 2025
The Audi RS6 saloon is making a return to fight BMW's M5
C9 Audi RS6 saloon
Spy shots

The Audi RS6 saloon is making a return to fight BMW's M5

It’s been 15 whole years since Audi’s RS6 saloon met its end, but we might be about to see it return to challenge BMW head-on
17 Nov 2025