Vauxhall Astra receives price cut and manual gearbox

Vauxhall has announced that the Astra hatchback and Sports Tourer estate have received a price cut and can now be ordered with a manual gearbox.

The Astra is one of Vauxhall’s most popular and longest-serving models, while the latest car sits on the Stellantis ‘EMP2’ platform – the same as the Peugeot 308.

Customers can now order the Astra with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that sends its power through a new six-speed manual gearbox, producing 128bhp and 230Nm of torque. The new transmission also means that the entry-level Griffin model is now priced at £26,495 – that’s £1,000 less than the automatic model, which is priced from £27,495.

Vauxhall has also updated the Astra range with a new Denim Blue paint colour, while Electric Yellow is available on the hatchback and Clover Green is available on the Sports Tourer estate.

The Astra can also be specced with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, which uses a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine mated to an electric motor and 17.2kWh battery pack that Vauxhall claims can take the car up to 52 miles on electric power.

There’s also a regular hybrid model that uses a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a 48-volt battery, and an Astra Electric that’s hooked up to a 58.3kWh battery pack with an electric motor that provides a claimed range of up to 281 miles.

The updated Vauxhall Astra range with the manual gearbox is available to order now, with deliveries expected to commence later this year.