THE estate version of the new Vauxhall Astra will be priced from £16,858 when it goes on sale next March.

Like the new Astra hatchback, which went on sale only a few weeks ago, the latest Sports Tourer will be British built at Vauxhall's factory at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.

Prices for the six model range will top out at £24,810 which is lower than the previous versions.

Vauxhall says that across the line up some models are up to £1,870 cheaper than before.

Although the same size as the current estate the newcomer has more room inside and maximum cargo capacity has been increased to 1,550 to 1,630 litres.

It also features a remotely operated tailgate with top specification Elite models coming with Vauxhall's OnStar connectivity system which provides emergency assistance as well as a range of high tech smartphone functions.

The range will include a 1.0-litre three cylinder petrol turbo model with emissions rated at 96g/km and a highly economical diesel which has an official fuel return of 85.6mpg and a CO2 figure of 86g/km making it the cleanest medium-sized estate on the market.