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Turning the alternator belt and rotor is easy. An alternator that's producing power is hard to turn, but if you de-energize the field windings, it's very easy to turn. So you can retain maybe 90% of the fuel savings of removing the belt, with an alternator toggle switch.
300Ah sounds like quite a lot. If you add too much, you're adding too much weight and spending too much money. A toggle switch allows you to select just enough batteries to do your daily driving, and to use the alternator on longer trips.
Some folks have studied the Insight's electric power steering, and they say it draws considerable power, even from ordinary steering corrections on a straight strech of highway. You could pull the power steering fuse and see how you like manual steering in the Astra. I'm sure it will let you go further on a charge.
I have a charging system toggle switch, and my ABS computer is the first thing to fail as the voltage drops. This happens around 9V, and when it does, I switch the charging system back on.
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