I drove the Vauxhall Astra Electric – it’s not class-leading in any particular area but it does everything really well

TODAY’S Astra is the ultimate “Swiss Army” car.

It comes in three flavours – petrol, plug-in hybrid or pure electric.

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It comes as a hatch or estate.

And if you’re on a budget, you can pick one up from £153 a month. That’s money well spent.

The Vauxhall Astra is what I’d call an eight out of ten car.

It’s not class-leading in any particular area but it does everything really well.

• It looks sharp.
• It drives nicely.
• The engines are rock-solid and do good numbers.
• It has the right mix of digital screens and hard buttons for the things we use most – like volume and air con.
• It’s comfy.
• It’ll do the Friday big shop.
• And, to top it all, it is a name we know and trust and love.

 The good old Astra has been a faithful friend for families for more than 40 years.

Today’s line-up starts at £26k for the 1.2-litre turbo petrol. The plug-in hybrid is a chunky £37k.

 Batteries are expensive. It combines a 1.6-litre turbo petrol with an 81kW e-motor, resulting in extremely good economy and lots of horsepower.

It will glide along in EV mode for up to 43 miles. The sportiest GSe version is 220hp. The latest and last engine in the series is the 54kWh battery Astra which I’ve been driving.

That starts at . . . wait for it . . . £40k and tops out at £43k.

I know. That’s a lot of money for any car, let alone an Astra.

Unless of course you’re a company car driver, then you’ll like the tax benefits.

The rest of us would go for the £26k petrol and have £14k in hand for fuel and holidays.

Pricing aside, I have few complaints about the electric Astra.

It’s calm, easy, smooth and efficient. The official range is given as 258 miles – we nudged 215 on test – and if you can top-up at home overnight once a week, you’re golden.

Actually, I do have one grumble.

 The B mode button to maximise braking regeneration when you coast is so small I didn’t see it at first.

It needs steering wheel paddles like a Hyundai or a Kia.

Everything else is on-point, with Merc-like twin screens, buttons to warm your back and pinkies, wireless Apple CarPlay, adaptive cruise control and more.

The Ultimate version adds head-up display and a panoramic glass roof.

And trust me, once you’ve tried head-up display, you’ll never want a car without it.