Vauxhall Grandland Car Review

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…the new Grandland Electric, the pure EV version of the Vauxhall’s mid-size family SUV that’s nothing like the Grandland that went before. The electric Grandland is a five-seater with a 550 litre boot. There’s just one 73kWh battery and one 213hp motor to choose from although the Grandland can also be ordered with a 1.2-litre petrol engine.

Vauxhall is keeping the range simple with three trim levels:

Design
GS
Ultimate

Standard equipment on the Design trim level includes dual-zone climate control, 19-inch alloys, 10-inch infotainment screen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, drive modes, 10-inch digital driver’s display and power-fold door mirrors.

GS adds uprated heated front seats, wireless charging, 16-inch infotainment screen and 2x rear USB sockets.

Ultimate specification adds surround view camera, powered tailgate and uprated stereo.

Is The Vauxhall Grandland Suitable For My Fleet

In terms of practicalities and value, the Grandland is a good bet for fleets. The boot is a healthy 550 litres, there’s a flat load area and a false floor to allow cables to be hidden underneath. Inside there’s plenty of room for five adults.

The Grandland also charges at a decent 160kW maxium which is good enough to make it suitable for longer journeys.

The only negative is that our test car had a few electrical oddities. Most noticeably, this would manifest itself by dropping connection with Apple CarPlay at random.

Leasing A Vauxhall Grandland

Gateway2lease is offering the Grandland electric in GS trim for £347 a month on a 3+36 contract with 10,000 miles a year. Gensen Report forecasts maintenance costs at £30 a month, while NIC comes in at £15 a month.

Driving A Vauxhall Grandland

While styling is very much in the eye of the beholder, Vauxhall’s Grandland doesn’t particularly have any stand out attributes externally. It sits firmly in the ‘yet another mid-sized SUV’ category.

But climb into the cabin and Vauxhall has upped its game. The look and feel of the materials used for the tops of the dashboard, top of the door interiors and the centre console are soft-touch fabrics. This provides a near-premium atmosphere. Only when you explore further down cabin, such as the door bins or the sides of the centre console does the plastic feel cheaper.

Vauxhall also claims the GS specification we tested has a 16-inch infotainment screen. And while it does, the screen is also very wide and shallow in design, like a letterbox. This means when viewing, for instance, satnav, you don’t really have much view around your position on the map. And with Apple CarPlay running, the proportions mean this only uses about 60% of the screen, with much of the rest going to waste.

And while we’re on the infotainment system, our car’s system had a few electrical gremlins manifesting in the random disconnection from CarPlay every so often.

On the move, the Grandland gains back points. The steering light and the car’s turning circle good for a car of this size. Vauxhall offers drive modes, but it’s the kind of car you’d just leave in Normal rather than worrying about Eco or Sport.

Brake energy regeneration can be adjusted using paddles behind the steering wheel although the Grandland doesn’t allow full one-pedal driving.

What is impressive is the efficiency of the electric Grandland. Without much thought to eco driving, we recorded 3.8 miles per kWh over a week’s mixed driving. A figure that’s impressive, if not quite class-leading, for a car in this class. That figure means a real-world range of 277 miles. Maximum charge speed is rated to 160kW, which again is good for a car at this price point.

Overall, the Grandland is just an easy car to live with. Plenty of room for family and luggage, decent range, and competitive lease rates.

FleetandLeasing.com Verdict On The Vauxhall Grandland

Great value and good real-world efficiency provide fleet appeal.