► Living with an Astra GSe
► The interior is smart, but not special
► Read month 4 here
The Astra GSe is a really good idea: a regular hatchback with a sprinkling of extra magic. And yet an idea is all it amounts to, for the most part. Nowhere is this more true than with the interior. I keep finding myself saying: ‘I like the Astra bits, but the GSe bits barely register.’
I’ve previously grumbled at length about the powertrain being nothing special. I’d love to say that the GSe-ness really kicks in with the interior, but in truth it doesn’t bring the sparkle you’d hope for.
That’s not to say it’s bad – far from it. I do like spending time in here. As I briefly talked about last month, the seats and driving position are fantastic. You sit quite low, but not so low that you feel like you’re falling into the car. They’re supportive and upholstered with some tough-yet-soft materials that look great and have plenty of adjustment.
The dashboard design is clean, with some discreet nods to older Astras such as a central air vent that reminds me of the one in the interior of the H-generation model from 2004, for example.
I also like having physical climate control buttons that are really easy to operate, and having a place to rest your finger as you reach to tap the central infotainment screen is a simple yet effective solution.
The lower cubby where the dashboard meets the centre console, which holds the car’s wireless phone charger, is weirdly shaped but still useful.
GSe kit includes pretty fierce bum warmers and a steering wheel that can cook your hands in minutes, as well as a heated windscreen which left me feeling snug and smug by doing all the hard work for me while my partner spent time scraping ice off his own car alongside me during winter. The head-up display is a nice bonus, too.
Not everything works so well. My Google Pixel 7 phone has a love/hate relationship with this infotainment system, acting in the same way as it did with a Peugeot 308 and DS 4 (Stellantis group buddies that share the same tech). That is to say it can’t wait to connect and run wireless Android Auto seamlessly for the first couple of months, then the two seemingly never want to talk to each other again without a physical connection. No biggie, but not great either.
There are so many missed opportunities. There’s not even a GSe-branded welcome graphic when you first get in; no hint that you’re getting into something designed to be different. Why no specific GSe graphics or colours for the instruments? VW does it with the Golf GTI and R, Honda with its Civic Type R, and Hyundai makes a big fuss about designing specific dials for its N models.
Then there’s some of the fit and finish, which is more of an Astra thing than a GSe thing. The seats and steering wheel feel good, and there’s a satisfying thunk from prodding those physical climate buttons. But the button for the lidded cubby just below the infotainment screen (which acts as a sunglasses holder – very handy) is badly aligned and feels tacky. The rollover cover for the cupholders, too, feels tinny.
You can understand the cost-cutting to a degree; the Astra in general is one of the better-value hatchbacks on the market. But when mine comes with a price of more than £40k, and the only appreciable difference is some bolstered seats, that excuse wears a bit thin.
Read month 1
Read month 2
Read month 3
Read month 4
Logbook: Vauxhall Astra GSe
Price £43,250 (£43,750 as tested)
Performance 12.4kWh battery plus 1598cc four-cylinder, PHEV, 222bhp, 7.7sec 0-62mph, 146mph
Efficiency 256mpg (official), 47.6mg (tested), 25g/km CO2
Energy cost 15.7p per mile
Miles this month 837
Total miles 8537