In early April this year, we shared a batch of spy photos depicting the facelifted hatchback version of the Opel Astra testing on public roads with minimal disguise. It's now time to take a look at the wagon variant in this fresh series of shots taken from our talented spy photographers. Again, there's just some camouflage foil covering the front where most of the visual changes will be focused.
Speaking of the fascia, it's likely getting major tweaks as the radiator grille seems to be featuring a different mesh pattern, while the lower grille has an updated shape. These are flanked by restyled headlights, which on this prototype are of the standard halogen type. Expect to see optional full-LED clusters once the revised model goes on sale.
Taking a look at the back, everything with this prototype seems to be identical with the Astra wagon that's on sale today. Even the internal graphics of the taillights have no modifications and the only interesting thing we noticed is the EcoTec D badge on the boot lid. This indicates the car has a diesel engine at the front and chances are high it comes from PSA's engine lineup.
If that's really the case, the motor under the hood here is likely a 1.5-liter BlueHDI unit shared with the Peugeot 308 where it generates 102 horsepower (76 kilowatts) or 130 hp (97 kW). If the engineers of the French brand manage to adapt the four-cylinder engine to fit the Astra without having to spend millions on development, this will make the oil-burner a perfect alternative to the current 1.6-liter diesels of the model.
With just 158,674 examples sold in Europe last year, the Astra is in trouble as all the major rivals are performing better than the German vehicle. With the launch of the facelifted variant scheduled for later this year, Opel will try to better compete against the segment leaders Volkswagen Golf, Skoda Octavia, and Ford Focus.
