Vauxhall Astra GSe 2023 car review, UK price, pictures

Astra GSe prices start from £40,550

The Astra GSe is a top-of-the-range Astra that comes with lots of sporty badging, but the performance labelling is a bit deceptive, said Autocar. What we have here is a comfortable, nicely rounded, everyday plug-in hybrid. Softly suspended, it has a fair bit of roll in corners and the grip from the Michelin Primacy 4 tyres is OK, but not tenacious. It’s “quite satisfying on a twisty road, but it’s never exciting”.

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Available in hatchback or estate forms, the GSe may be the most powerful Vauxhall available, but the powertrains are “lifted straight from the parts bin”, said Car Magazine. The widely used Stellantis Hybrid 225 combines a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor and a 12.4kWh battery, to create 222bhp combined and an electric-only range of up to 39 miles, with a 0-62mph of 7.5 seconds.

The GSe is nicely proportioned and classy, with comfy seats and a sweeping dashboard, said The Daily Telegraph. You can fit three adults in the back, at a push. But at £40,550, it’s no bargain, and you’ll pay £355 a year in luxury car tax (applied to all cars over £40,000). You’ll also need to fork out an extra £500 for a 7.4kW charger to plug it into a household wallbox and cut charging from 5.5 hours to just under two.