Striking STX concept previews Vauxhall EV future
The family wagon ain't dead yet - not if the Sports Tourer eXperimental has anything to do with it
Name your favourite Vauxhall concept car. Tricky one, right? They don’t tend to linger all that fondly in the memory - or really linger at all. If you can improve on the Manta GSe or the Astra VXR Extreme we immeditately thought of, then bravo. But that’s all set to change with the new STX, or Sports Tourer eXperimental. Sitting somewhere between a Ferrari breadvan and a traditional family tourer, this is Vauxhall’s vision of what the mainstream estate car could be with the freedoms afforded by electrification. This one you won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
Not least beacause Vauxhall (it says) fully plans to implement features of the STX in its future wagons. The name has been chosen very deliberately: Sports Tourer is what the estates are called currently, and this car ‘indicates that Vauxhall is showing its vision of future estates.’ Maybe that won’t include 22-inch wheels and an extendable diffuser, but they definitely will be getting the new Griffin badge, the new Vizor front fascia and the ‘even more prominent’ Vauxhall Compass (the vertical and horizontal light signatures.) The STX is wearing its heritage loud and proud - expect future production cars to do similar as Vauxhall aims to stand out in a packed marketplace.
And expect a low-slung estate of some kind to absolutely feature in that lineup. Efficiency is the name of the game for EVs, of course, so making a sleek, aerodynamic, ground-hugging estate of some description - rather than a big and bluff 4x4 - makes a lot of sense. Especially when there’s a bit of heritage to draw upon: look at the Magnum for how a rakish Vauxhall estate once looked.
Features employed here to enhance the STX’s ability to carve through the air are the GSE-aping alloy wheels, active aero including the diffuser as well as ‘vertical elements’ behind those wheels and cameras instead of mirrors. Maybe a rear end less ‘steeply sloping’ would be even better for drag, but then it probably wouldn’t look so dramatic. Vauxhall says the back of the STX, with those light strips wrapping around and the straked roof, ‘combines a distinctive appearance with the practical benefit of additional load space.’ Probably it’s the front end, with lights extending all the way from the badge out to the wings to emphasise width, that will more immediately influence a future Vauxhall.
There aren’t many technical specs yet available for the STX, the point being to marvel at the surfacing and the proportions. Vauxhall says it’s a twin-motor, all-wheel drive EV that can reach 124mph; given the single motor Corsa is already at 280hp, there’s potential for this to be a lot more powerful. And give the 285-section Goodyear tyres something to do. Vauxhall reckons the concept demonstrates that ‘efficiency, performance, and driving pleasure can go hand in hand in the electric era.’ Given the electric estate hasn’t yet got much more interesting than the ID.7 Tourer, there’s surely a niche to be explored.
Vauxhall MD Eurig Druce said: “Vauxhall was an estate pioneer in the UK as early as the 1950s. With the STX Concept, we are reimagining the estate for the electric era, combining bold, visionary design with functionality, efficiency and driving pleasure. This study previews the next step in our Bold and Pure design philosophy and explores distinctive features that could influence future Vauxhall models.” If they’re anything like this, hurry up already - there’d be no danger of this Vauxhall family car blending into the background…
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