New Vauxhall Grandland gets 53-mile PHEV and electric option

On sale: Autumn | Price from: £32,000 (est)

If variety is the spice of life, then the new Vauxhall Grandland family SUV should be a scorching dish. That’s because it’ll be available with whatever form of electrification best floats your boat, whether that’s mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or fully electric.

In the same way that most buyers will opt straight for a Korma when ordering a curry, though, we suspect that it’s the mildest electric option which will take the lion’s share of Grandland sales. This version combines a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with a tiny electric motor, meaning the motor can assist the engine at low speeds – though it can’t move the car itself for more than a few metres.

If you’d like something a little hotter, then the Grandland plug-in hybrid combines a 1.6-litre petrol engine with an electric motor that can officially take the car up to 53 miles without using a drop of fuel. That could be enough to complete your commute, the school run, or even both on electric power alone and, if you plug it in regularly, could lead to a significant reduction in your running costs.

The vindaloo in this analogy is the fully electric Grandland, which draws its power from a 98kWh battery which allows it to officially cover up to 435 miles on a charge. That’s much further than most electric SUVs can take you – in fact, you’ll need to get behind the wheel of a Fisker Ocean or Polestar 2 if you want another 400-mile-plus rival.

While Vauxhall has yet to confirm the Grandland’s maximum charge speed, its close relation to the Peugeot e-3008 means the same 160kW is likely, meaning a 10-80% top-up can take as little as 26 minutes if you use the fastest chargers. The e-3008 is also offered with a smaller 75kWh battery option, and it’s likely that this will make its way into the Grandland in time too.

The Grandland is the latest Vauxhall to have been inspired by last year’s Experimental concept. Most notable references to that car are found in its new vizor-style front end, which it also shares with the new Frontera. New elements including illuminated Vauxhall logos at the front and rear, plus alloy wheels of up to 20in in diameter, will hope to draw prospective buyers away from rivals including the Kia Sportage, Nissan Qashqai and Skoda Karoq. 

The new Grandland is longer, wider and taller than its predecessor – which, in real world terms, means more space for passengers and luggage. The old Grandland could already hold more luggage than the rival Honda HR-V, but the additional 36 litres available on the new model could help it to match the Sportage and Karoq for carrying capacity. 

We’ve already sat inside the new Grandland, and can confirm that material quality has taken an uplift over the old car. Rear space has improved, too – there’s an additional 20mm of rear leg room – although tall passengers could still find their heads brushing against the roof lining.

A new 16in infotainment screen forms the focal point of the Grandland’s interior, with digital dials and a head-up display helping to put the most important information in front of the driver. And while some rivals force you to use their touchscreens to do simple tasks like change the temperature, the Grandland features physical controls which are easier to operate on the move.

Standard driver assistance features include adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition and automatic emergency braking, while drivers can upgrade to a system which can change lanes for you on the motorway and keep change your cruise control to match the speed limit is available via the options list. There’s also an upgraded camera system, featuring a 360-degree view and all-round parking sensors to help avoid embarrassing scrapes.

Prices for the new Grandland are expected to start from around £32,000 for the mild hybrid models, meaning putting one on your driveway will cost about the same as the recently facelifted Nissan Qashqai, but more than our reigning family SUV champion, the Sportage. Electric Grandland models, meanwhile, are expected to start from around £42,000.

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