The Antara hasn’t been crash tested by Euro NCAP, but its sister car – the Chevrolet Captiva – picked up a respectable (though not perfect) four star score for adult occupant protection and three (out of four) for child protection.

Standard Vauxhall Antara safety equipment includes electronic stability programme, ABS with cornering brake control, three-point seatbelts, Isofix child seat anchor points along with front, side and curtain airbags. On the safety front, there’s an alarm, remote central locking and an immobiliser.

With fold flat seats in the back, an easy-to-load rear and plenty of cubbyholes the Antara ticks most of the boxes when it comes to practicality.

However the boot is narrow and with only 370 litres of luggage room, it’s considerably smaller than alternatives like the Nissan X-Trail and even the Chevrolet Captiva – on which the Antara is based. Unlike many other 4x4s the rear seats don’t slide either – limiting practicality when extra boot space is needed.

One neat option, however, is a pull-out bike rack. Vauxhall calls it the FlexFix system and it slides out from the rear bumper (see gallery for details). It means that there’s no need to fit a cumbersome aftermarket bike rack to the rear and it disappears back under the car when it’s not being used.