Of course, the difficult news to swallow is that the very plant, where all manner of Vauxhall Astras are produced (at Ellesmere Port, on the Wirral, across the Mersey from Liverpool) and which was described less than four years ago as being ‘in a profitable state’ by Vauxhall senior personnel, has been forced to endure ‘politicking’ of the highest order. As soon as PSA Group had confirmed its acquisition of both Opel and Vauxhall assets, using Chinese funds, the French company announced that ‘not all is good’ at Ellesmere Port.
Not long afterwards, it was announced that the new Astra, which is soon to be launched, would be produced at Ellesmere Port, which, under normal circumstances would have presupposed that ‘things are good’ again. That was fine, until Boris Johnson assumed the PM’s role and the reaction from PSA Group was that a ‘No Deal Brexit’ would ‘make us relocate Astra production to a South of France factory’. None of this playing political football with one of its charges is doing much in respect of brand confidence-building, which is sad and very myopic.
Yet, Vauxhall continues to highlight various models that we have written about previously by confirming their list prices. Naturally, ‘list prices’ in our context are about as dependable a guide as Official MPG figures, because the various discounts that we can apply ensure that our customers obtain only the best possible deals. Therefore, treat them strictly as a guide, because you will NOT pay anything near to Vauxhall’s bottom-lines, thanks to our powers of negotiation.
Take the exciting Vauxhall Grandland X Hybrid4 that is set to arrive in dealer showrooms in January 2020, boasting a truly low 36g/km CO2 emissions, 176.5mpg and up to 32 miles of full EV potential, the plug-in model combines two electric motors and a 13.2kWh battery pack, with a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine for a combined 297bhp. It can blast from 0-60mph in just 6.7s. The Business Edition Nav Premium is listed at £35,590, while the SRi Nav version is priced at £40,300, the Elite Nav at £42,200 and the top-of-the-shop Ultimate Nav at a pocket-bruising £45,450.
Next up is the new Vauxhall Corsa, also due in showrooms in January 2020. Available in a wide range of trim levels, with only PSA petrol and diesel options available and an all-new fully-electric model (due later, although early interest can be registered), the new Corsa is 10% lighter than before, which pays dividends in overall efficiency. The entry-level Corsa 1.2SE is list priced from £15,550 and rises through SE Nav, SE Premium, SE Nav Premium, SRi and Elite (both with Nav and Nav Premium options), to Ultimate at £25,990.
Finally, the new Astra, which is based on the former Astra platform and features several minor trim and styling upgrades, albeit with PSA engines powering the lighter and more efficient line-up, starts at £18,885, rising to £26,920. It can be ordered now.
