• Ample space for four adults
• Surprising comfort for a fifth
• Boot is a good size, but not enormous

The Grandland X’s interior space is one of its best qualities, offering plenty of room for four and adequate space for an occasional fifth occupant. Although its footprint is much the same as most of its rivals, the Vauxhall somehow conjures up an extra few millimetres of cabin space – not acres, but enough to make it a strong choice for families in the market for a mid-sized SUV.

Add in some spare carrying space for odds and ends, and the Grandland X becomes one of the more practical cars in its class.

Boot space and storage

The Grandland X’s boot is a good size, at 514 litres in standard guise. Opt for the plug-in hybrid Hybrid4, however, and that drops to 380 litres – less than you’ll find in the back of a VW Golf hatchback. That said, the standard car’s luggage bay is competitive, beating the SEAT Ateca by just five litres, but losing out to the more spacious Skoda Karoq.

It’s more than big enough to cope with most things, though, and the floor can be optionally moved higher or lower depending on whether you want outright space or a flat load bed. Other practical touches include a couple of smaller pockets to stop things rolling around, plus some hooks and a 12v socket.

And if you need more space, simply fold down the back seats to free up more than 1,600 litres of capacity – assuming you load it up to the ceiling. That makes it marginally more spacious than a Mazda CX-5, but not by much. 

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Is it easy to park? 

All-round visibility is compromised in the name of style, with bulky windscreen pillars, narrow rear windows and shallow tailgate glass. That would ordinarily make the Grandland X difficult to park, but Vauxhall has packed the car with parking aids.

There are parking sensors in the bumper to help keep you from trouble, and there are optional 180-degree panoramic cameras to show you what lies below the rear windowsill. There are also some little opera windows in the rearmost pillars, giving the driver a slightly improved sense of what’s out there.

Safety

• Five-star Euro NCAP safety rating
• Three Isofix child seat mounting points
• Autonomous emergency braking not standard

The Grandland X received a strong five-star rating when it was tested in 2017 by Euro NCAP, and that score was helped by the amount of standard safety systems included with the model. However, the Autonomous Emergency Braking system, which is designed to stop the car if the driver fails to respond to a hazard, was offered as an optional extra.

Even so, every version of the Grandland X comes with lane departure warning, rear parking sensors and a host of airbags for the driver and passenger. There are also five three-point seatbelts, and the car is available with three Isofix child seat mounting points.

Cars with the safety pack also get a driver drowsiness alerting system, a warning for drivers who miss a hazard and the aforementioned autonomous emergency braking. Individual upgrade options such as LED daytime running lights and a blind-spot alert system are also available.

WATCH: Vauxhall Grandland X Euro NCAP crash test