Louth Motoring: Perfect for so many, bought only by the knowing few

Regardless of the name used by car companies to describe the shape of this week's car it will always be an estate to people if asked if they have even the smallest passing interest in cars.

Opel calls their estates Tourers which seems a pity and may mislead you into thinking this is a car geared for trips and tours whereas in fact it is an everyday car that makes more sense than their hatchback or saloon equivalents or a crossover or SUV.

But who is going to believe me since estates/tourers don’t sell nearly as well as they should here in Ireland? We prefer crossovers and SUVs or the hatchback, the leader, which is all the more flummoxing since the estate is a better executed 5 door version of the hatchback.

I currently own a saloon and for my pleasure interests I'd be better off with an estate - I’ve owned two in the past - but I could not pass up the opportunity to buy this one as it was meticulously looked after.

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In doing that I got a fab car but I have to add a roof rack to carry my bicycle everywhere.

I’ve yet to drive an estate that won't swallow two bicycles without the need to take the front wheels off. The extra faffing about is something I could do without.

In this week's Astra tourer it would simply be a case of dropping the rear seats so I can feed the revealed tardis of space. In the Astra Tourer’s case there's 597 litres of space before the seats are folded and 1,634 litres when they are.

I won't be persuaded away from the belief I have that the estate version of the car is a more cohesive and better looking design of the model, and the Astra Tourer is no different.

The hatchback is a looker to start with and the later release date of the Tourer may have some initial buyers regretting that purchase seeing as it looks so good.

The creases on this car really enhance the look and make it very futuristic and modern looking and the scampering away shark fin C pillar looks brilliant. Mine was white with a black roof for added badass appeal and it had a single red insert on each wheel that was not only simple but ingenious and desirable.

The creases at the sill level are probably aerodynamic but look fabulous and crisp. The whole car looks low and planted and suggests it handles like a track car.

The inside is well laid out with the driver not being overloaded with data and information and Opel has struck a great conventional balance here. The driver’s display as expected nowadays extends to the left towards the driver angled central, infotainment display in a seamless panel.

There's a bit connecting the two that doesn't do anything and looks like a blank plate making you feel like you are being left out.

Mercedes would call it a hyperscreen but Opel are mute on it despite achieving more or less the same effect. Materials are good but I don't think it gets the same level of quality as other Stellantis brands like Peugeot and DS.

ABOVE: Interior of the Opel Astra Tourer

They could also benefit from scaling back the black piano plastics that attract fingerprints the way lights attract moths.

It's not in any way a deal breaker but Opel should have quality that at least matches them. The AGR seats were very comfortable and supportive, especially for your back, looking and feeling expensive.

On the road you will always be reminded of your better decision to buy an estate over an elevated CrosSuv because it feels so assured and adhered to the road regardless of surface or conditions proving lower down always delivers a better ride than up high.

What I really adored about the Astra Tourer is its ability to do lots of things for lots of journeys effortlessly and unfussed. It is a car that you don't have to think about knowing it can do what any other shaped car can do better.

The coup de grace though with the Astra Tourer is the engine. It is a 1.5l diesel with 130 bhp delivered via an automatic 8-speed gearbox. My fuel return based on my use was 1,150 kms from a tank of diesel.

Not everyone is sold on all-electric and it has to be said some manufacturers are rowing back their gung-ho, all-electric, chest beating conceding quietly, nod/nod-wink/wink, that there is still a place for petrol and diesel cars and there will be for some time.

The EU politics push is at odds with the emerging reality that everyone driving all-electric by 2030 is simply not going to happen.

It may be later but 2030 seems totally aspirational and unrealistic which is why it was anxiety free driving in this diesel estate.

Still Opel are playing their part and there is an all electric Astra Tourer available too that provides the same levels of practicality albeit with lesser range and greater anxiety.

Bizarrely, there is a PHEV version that is currently not available here which Opel should offer that would assuage a lot of fuel choice concerns and get more people used to the electric experience.

Make no mistake this is a car that will provide for the needs of any demographic of driver you can think of. It is well made, spacious, frugal, technology and safety feature laden and has that all important abundance of versatility we all need and, more importantly, should want.

And the price for this kind of glorious motoring completeness starts at €32,095 for a 1.2 petrol version with my automatic GS 1.5l diesel version costing €43,195 placing it firmly in the new normal €40k family car bracket. This car was quite simply the most enjoyable one I’ve driven all year.