Vauxhall slashes price of Astra PHEV and increases electric range

• Astra PHEV prices cut by up to £4955
• Hatch and Sports Tourer estate models now all below £40,000
• Battery size increased to 17.2kWh
• Electric range now up to 52 miles

Vauxhall has upped the electric range of its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Vauxhall Astra models, while simutaneously slashing the price by up to £4955.

The move means that the Vauxhall Astra PHEV now has an official electric-only range of between 49 and 52 miles, depending on spec, up from a maximum of 35 miles.

That drops one model – the Vauxhall Astra GS 195PS hatch – into the 9% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) bracket for company car drivers, meaning it would cost just £53.97 a month.  

The price cuts across the range mean that all models cost less than £40,000 when new and therefore avoid the annual £420 expensive car surcharge on Vehicle Excise Duty (car tax).

The Astra is also available with petrol, mild-hybrid petrol and full-electric power.

2026 Vauxhall Astra PHEV prices and release date

You can order the revised Vauxhall Astra plug-in hybrid now. Prices start at £36,145 on-the-road for the hatchback Vauxhall Astra GS (down £3570) and the mid-spec Ultimate trim costs from £38,145 (a saving of £4835). The top-spec Vauxhall Astra GSE costs from £38,795, down £4955.

For the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer estate, prices start at £37,365 for the GS (a reduction of £3600), while the Ultimate costs £39,345 (down £4835), and the GSE costs from £39,995 (down £4955).

2026 Vauxhall Astra engine, gearbox and performance

All the Vauxhall Astra PHEV models use the same engine - a 150PS 1.6-litre petrol engine with a 125PS electric motor and a 17.2kWh battery, up from 12.4kWh units in the previous generation models.

Combined, this makes 195PS – a small increase from the 180PS delivered before – with 360Nm of torque. The GSE models get an extra boost of power to reach 225PS.

The electric range in the old PHEV was up to 35 miles but you'll get up to 49 miles in the Astra Sports Tourer GSE, 50 miles in the Astra GSE hatchback while the Astra GS hatch will cover an official 52 miles.

The new PHEV also has a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions. Drivers can choose between three driving modes – the default Hybrid mode balances performance and fuel efficiency, Sport maximises performance and Electric prioritisies battery use rather than the engine.

You can plug in your Vauxhall Astra PHEV to fully charge from 20% battery capacity in just under three hours using a 7.4kW home charger, as long as you've added the optional 7kW on-board charger, which costs an extra £500.

However, this would take the top-spec Sports Tourer GSE over the £40,000 mark and therefore incur the expensive car surcharge on your road tax. Without the optional upgraded charger, boosting the battery will take just over four hours at up to 3.7kW.