Vauxhall Astra Ultimate PHEV
Not so many years ago, it would have been hard to over-estimate the significance of this new Vauxhall Astra Plug-In Hybrid to the new car market.
Like the Focus and Golf, the Astra was such a huge player in the car market that they would soon be commonplace on every street and car park. Except that I’ve been driving this new Astra long-termer for two weeks and have seen less than a handful of others on the road – something that would have been utterly inconceivable until the rise of crossovers to British roads.
And that, ironically, seems to me an even better reason to be driving one. Plus, I’m the perfect candidate, having stepped out of a Ford Kuga, the kind of family car that the Astra needs to convince drivers out from.
Certainly the numbers stack up. A 1.6-litre turbo petrol linked to a 12.4kWh battery, giving it 180bhp, 24g/km emissions and, on paper at least, a 42-mile electric range – more on which in a moment.
Those stats are backed up with looks too and I love the look of the new Astra, especially in the optional metallic Electric Yellow of my test car (a £700 option) – it certainly makes it easy to spot and find in busy car parks.
Except that my first impression wasn’t positive. And the reason, ironically, had nothing to do with me or even the car, but clearly the previous incumbent who must have had a right foot like an anvil. The reason was that despite a fully charged battery, the electric range was showing as just 19 miles. That’s not just not in the same postcode as the claimed 42 miles, that’s not even in the same country.
While I’m not naïve enough to think that I’ll be able to match that EAER 42-mile figure, I wasn’t too impressed with a figure less than half that. An explanation from Vauxhall however said that the trip computer learned from the previous usage and it would soon correct itself to a higher number. Sure enough, that figure has climbed and now often gets close to the elusive 42 miles from charges.
Petrol power-wise, regular trips to Wales have dented my overall mpg, but having reset the second trip to experiment on the return journey, the Astra is still returning in the region of 50-55mpg without any charge, which I don’t think is all that bad. It’s even more impressive as while the motorway miles are eaten up with ease, I’m tackling plenty of twistier roads too.
Nat Barnes
THE NUMBERS
PRICE £40,845
BiK* 12%
ECONOMY 41.5 - 44.8mpg
CO₂ EMISSIONS 24g/km
MPG 256mpg
EV RANGE 42mls
ON FLEET 92.6mpg
Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line 1.5 TSI 150 DSG
What better way to get to know a car than to load it to the roof and take it on holiday for a couple of weeks? Starting from the point that the T-Roc is the SUV equivalent of the VW Golf, it offers 17% more luggage carrying ability than the Golf with all seats up. We were travelling three-up and also carrying some items for two others who would be joining us for part of the holiday. That meant we could fold the two-seater part of the rear seat to maximise luggage space. Since our T-Roc is not equipped with a spare wheel, we could also exploit the considerable space under the boot floor to pack in more. The T-Roc swallowed all we needed, although we had to leave the luggage cover behind.
I have driven a variety of VW Group models fitted with the TSI turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine, equipped with cylinder de-activation to maximise fuel economy.
I am recording 43.6mpg on the car’s trip computer at present, which seems reasonable and fairly close to the WLTP combined figure. I’m a long-term fan of the company’s DSG automated twin-clutch gearbox, available as a seven-speeder with the 1.5 TSI engine. Although slow on pickup as the system engages, it follows this up with lightning quick gearchanges and will change down readily to provide more engine braking when needed..
Comfort is one of its strengths, where long travel suspension and large wheels and tyres help to smooth out the worst of our roads. I’m still exploring the different drive modes, so more on those next time, but for long distances, it gets the thumbs up.
John Kendall
THE NUMBERS
PRICE £33,275
BiK* 33%
ECONOMY 46.3mpg
CO₂ EMISSIONS 138g/km
ON FLEET 43.6mpg
Škoda Scala 1.0 TSI 110PS 6-speed
The annual Middleton holiday is always a good test of the family credentials of any car. We’ve subjected many Škodas to this trial by jury over the year – and all have performed highly thanks to an omnipresent combo of practicality, handy onboard features, good levels of equipment, robust interiors and capacious space; regardless of model.
This year it was the Scala’s turn – and, as I’d already expected, it proved more than up to the task. Boot space came up trumps, with the 467 litres of space housing everything we threw at it. Cabin area was also put to the test too; all of us, not just the kids, seem to be growing wider but the Scala accommodated everyone well and I remain impressed by its leg and headroom in the rear.
The interior was functional, with everything to hand and the 9.2-inch touchscreen in our top-rung Amundsen infotainment system is clear to see and quick to use. The Scala rode well and cushioned from potholes. We also found visibility good, even to the rear. Perhaps the best bit was that the Škoda came out looking unscathed thanks to its hard-wearing interior.
Over the whole trip, we averaged 50.6mpg across mixed routes despite being well laden for a lot of it; only a smidge under the official 53.4mpg.
Natalie Middleton
IN NUMBERS
PRICE £22,030
BiK* 29%
ECONOMY 53.4mpg
CO₂ EMISSIONS 120g/km
ON FLEET 42.2mpg
FIRST REPORT
BMW iX1 xDrive30 xLine
My latest long-termer arrived just as we were sending the previous issue of Fleet World to the printers, which meant no time to pass judgement before going to press.
This BMW iX1 comes equipped with Technology Plus Pack (£2,750) and Comfort Pack (£1,050) that bring a whole host of additions to an already pretty impressive spec.
The claimed driving range of 270 miles is plenty and, in my previous experience of electric BMWs, likely to be pretty accurate, which is more than can be said for some other models on the market. It’s helped by the addition of a heat pump, which comes as standard. Charging times, even at home, appear to be pretty decent too – AC charging up to 22kW enables the battery to be fully replenished from empty in under four hours.
Away from the cost and efficiency stuff, however, I was drawn to the car’s wheels. The 20-inch multi-spoke bad boys (a £1,390 option) look stunning, but the subsequent ride quality is impacted and often gets a few comments directed to me from Mrs Challen when she’s alongside me.
Once venturing inside the iX1, there were a few teething problems – of the ‘modern day’ making. I’m the first to admit that I’m a) not that great when it comes to technology and b) a creature of habit.
So, when a new car arrives at Challen Towers, I’ll preset the radio stations before I do anything else – and hope and pray that navigating between them doesn’t require going through a series of taps on the touchscreen. Thankfully, those days are mostly over, but I wasn’t quite prepared for what I had to do to complete that relatively straightforward task in the BMW.
It turns out that the driver can’t choose their favourite stations as presets without logging into their car through either the app or their BMW account. Bit weird and certainly something I’d not encountered. But it transpired that getting connected was more straightforward than I thought – and five minutes before a meeting was all I needed for the iX1 and I to be, er, one with each other. Choices made and I was able to flick between channels with ease. Meanwhile, on the app, I still need to do something else in the car’s setting to allow me to see a record of my previous journeys. When I popped onto the app to find out the exact details, I kid you not, dear readers, it froze on me! Trying again, I eventually discovered I was instructed to “Activate ‘My Trips’ in your BMW”.
Technology, eh? At the heart of creating solutions to problems that didn’t exist!
John Challen
IN NUMBERS
PRICE £53,240
BiK* 2%
RANGE 270 miles
ON FLEET 284 miles
EFFICIENCY 3.5mi/kWh
Cupra Formentor V2 1.5TSI 150PS DSG
A strange thing happened the other week. I was parking the Formentor on the street in central London and noticed a suspicious looking character wandering around with an electronic device... somewhere between a phone and a tablet in size. I didn’t think too much about it until I then noticed him seemingly following me, still holding said device, and trying to stand near me while pretending to cross the road, but not actually crossing the road himself. Basically, loitering near me.
Fleets will no doubt have read a reasonable amount in the last few years about vehicles with keyless entry (like our Cupra) and recommendations to place their keys – when not in use – in a ‘Faraday pouch’ so signals from the keys can’t be relayed or amplified by the more nefarious members of society. So, after parking the car in a different location, and being glad to find it still there, present, correct and locked upon my return, I resolved to get a Faraday pouch for the key to make the car as secure as possible.
Using the Formentor on an everyday basis, keyless entry definitely makes it more user-friendly, and I’ve lost count of the number of times this has been beneficial while carrying either shopping or work paraphernalia. The boot isn’t electronically operated though... for that, another £3k would be needed to upgrade to the VZ1, which would seem a little extravagant just to save your shoulder a bit of exercise.
That said, the VZ1 trim is only available starting at 245bhp so this could have some appeal given that it only adds 1% to the BiK tax band figure. For the record, and as we’ve said before, our model commands a just-below-the-top-rate 36%.
The boot has proved a very useable size and shape too. As holiday season has been upon us, various airport runs filled to the gunwales or a very occasional trip with two or three sets of golf clubs have been dispatched with relative ease.
Driving the Formentor everyday, you tend to forget that those 19-inch ‘Exclusive’ machined sport matt black and silver alloy wheels confer a somewhat firm ride and this is probably less noticeable in the Cupra too as the seats are brilliant and everything feels so well made and devoid of squeaks. I should qualify this by saying that I haven’t driven a Cupra Formentor on the smaller and slightly less dramatic looking 18-inch ‘Performance’ wheels back-to-back but I imagine they would prove slightly more compliant. Also, while recently driving a 2016 Honda Civic i-DTEC with 90,000 miles on the clock, back-to-back with the Cupra, it struck me how much softer the Honda felt, despite a few unwelcome cabin squeaks. In contrast, the only chirp from the Formentor in the last few weeks has been the over-zealous tyre pressure monitoring system, which proved to be a false alarm, and was easily reset.
Luke Wikner
THE NUMBERS
P11D £33,185
BiK* 36% I £199 (20%) /£398 (40%)
ECONOMY 41.3mpg
CO₂ EMISSIONS 155g/km
ON FLEET 45.1mpg
*2023/24 Tax year – Benefit-in-Kind tax cost per month for 20% taxpayer / 40% taxpayer
