Opel Bets on Modest Tweaks to Make a Big Splash: Astra Hybrid Grabs Attention with Just the Numbers

The refreshed Astra hybrid is stepping back into the spotlight, armed with a restrained list of upgrades and a determination to make its presence felt. The fanfare, for now, circles mainly around a modest power boost and a handful of mechanical refinements.

The headline improvement is a bump in electric motor output, up from 110 to 125 horsepower. The 1.6-litre combustion engine remains untouched, holding steady at 150 horsepower. Combined, the system now delivers a total of 196 horses. Torque holds at a familiar 360 newton metres.

Perhaps the most notable mechanical shift is the gearbox swap: the traditional automatic has been ditched in favour of a pre-selective robotic transmission, allowing the car to decide when and how to change gears on its own.

But the real centerpiece is the battery. Its capacity has climbed from 12.4 to 17.2 kilowatt-hours, giving the Astra an electric-only range of up to 83 kilometres.

Surprisingly, the upgrade doesn’t carry a new price tag. In Germany, the hatchback still starts at €38,460, while the estate version lifts its chin slightly higher at €39,960.