Fresh Look Teased For Vauxhall Astra

We hope you’re sitting down, because we have some absolutely huge news for you: the Vauxhall Astra is getting a facelift. Oh yeah.

The new look has been teased by Vauxhall’s European counterpart, Opel, which has shared a shadowy pic of the revised front end as well as a couple of other details. It’s at the front where the biggest changes appear to have taken place, with Opel saying it’s been inspired by the Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo concept.

That, sadly, doesn’t mean it’s a 789bhp track beast, but just that the updated ‘Vizor’ grille looks a bit like the one on the Corsa. It’s got new, longer LED running lights that reach further towards the centre of the grille, where we can’t help but notice that the Opel ‘Blitz’ logo is now illuminated. Sigh. This is really becoming a trend, isn’t it? Presumably, the Griffin will also now serve as an extra illumination device on British-market Vauxhalls, too – we’ve already seen such a thing on the new Grandland.

Things are a bit tamer around the back, where we’ve got what look to be rear lights with a new darkened surround, but not much else. Oh, yeah, there are some swishy new aero-friendly wheels too, which look as if they’ll be absolute magnets for kerbs.

We expect the updated Astra to remain available as an EV, hybrid or pure petrol car, and it'll still come as a five-door hatch or estate. Whether the update will bring any major powertrain changes remains to be seen – perhaps Vauxhall is readying a hot GSE version with the powertrain from the Mokka, but frankly, we have no idea.

If nothing else, the refreshed Astra should have things a bit easier in the once-teeming C-segment hatch market now that the Ford Focus is no more. Will it be enough to make us remember it exists? Time will tell.