Overview

You’ll be forgiven for thinking that Vauxhall just makes family SUVs these days. The roads are packed with high-riding Griffin-badged crossovers – long gone are the days when the Insignia and Astra ruled the roost. But this changing of the guard is no bad thing – the firm makes some good value cars that buyers actually want.

The Grandland is not as new as you think. In 2022, the artist formerly known as Grandland X lost its ‘X’ and gained a fresh look and updated interior tech. Under the skin, it’s very similar to the Peugeot 3008 and Citroen C5 Aircross, which are made by firms owned by the same parent company – the Stellantis Group.

Despite the addition of sporty body-coloured wheelarches, the striking Vauxhall ‘Vizor’ front end and ever-so fashionable twin-screen dashboard layout, it’s still more conservative than its French cousins inside and out. As we’ll come onto later in this review, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Unlike Vauxhalls of old, there are just four trim levels to pick from, matching the three engines on offer. Entry-level Design is petrol and diesel only, while mid-range GS Line and top-spec Ultimate get the option of a plug-in hybrid. There’s also a sporty GSe version, which is covered in its own review. Only the petrol gets the choice of a manual gearbox, with automatic the default for everything else.

Four-wheel drive is off the table, so this is very much a road-biased SUV. We’d point you towards the Kia Sportage, Nissan Qashqai, SEAT Ateca or Skoda Karoq if you want it for additional traction, or the Land Rover Discovery Sport if you need a bit of off-road ability. We’d also point out that there are far sportier SUVs for the money if that’s your thing.

With virtually every major manufacturer offering a family-friendly SUV, competition in this segment is tough. In this review, we’ll let you know exactly how good the Grandland is to drive, how practical it is, what it’ll cost you and whether you’ll actually want to spend time behind the wheel. Has the Grandland got what it takes? Read on over the next few pages to find out.