Vauxhall Grandland X
New family SUV looks to take on the very best in the class. But does it stand out sufficiently to succeed?
IT seems as though there’s a new SUV launching every week, and the latest model to hit the market is Vauxhall’s Grandland X. We’re testing it in popular 1.2-litre turbo petrol form; priced from £24,595 in Sport Nav trim, it shows off what’s on offer in the brand-new range. However, given its relationship to the Peugeot, can the Grandland X beat its cousin?
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
UNDERNEATH the Vauxhall’s smooth skin, the Grandland X shares the Peugeot’s EMP2 platform. This is fairly advanced technology, which is scalable to suit different sizes of cars and areas of the market. However, the Grandland X and 3008 have the same wheelbase, highlighting just how much they have in common.
At the front, a form of Macpherson strut suspension takes care of damping, while Vauxhall calls its rear set-up a ‘compound crank’. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine is Peugeot derived, and produces 128bhp and 230Nm of torque. It’s linked to a six-speed manual gearbox and drives the front wheels. As with all the cars in this test there’s no four-wheel-drive option, although here the Intelligrip system inherited from Peugeot as part of the £200 All Road Pack allows different parameters for the ESC system to help progress.
There’s plenty of tech inside, too, as Sport Nav models come well equipped with sat-nav, Bluetooth, DAB, parking sensors, plus cruise and climate control. You can add heated seats (front and rear for £555), and adaptive LED lights (£1,100), while wireless charging (£160) is a neat option to keep your phone powered. The only other notable extra is the £695 panoramic glass roof; it’s expensive, but it does flood the otherwise drab and dreary cabin with light, brightening things up a little.
DRIVING
BECAUSE the Grandland X shares much of its engineering with the 3008, it offers a respectable level of comfort. However, it doesn’t have the 3008’s i-cockpit set-up, which features a narrow-diameter steering wheel. This means the Vauxhall isn’t quite as agile or quick to turn in as the Peugeot. The light steering is also devoid of feel, so this is definitely no driver’s car – but then, neither are its rivals here.
What the Grandland X does offer is relatively refined cruising, as the engine is quiet and the high-speed ride is smooth on this trim level’s 18-inch alloys. However, hit a sharp bump or an expansion joint, and the dampers struggle to control the energy fired up through the suspension.
At low speeds the chassis feels less settled than the Peugeot’s, and while the Vauxhall doesn’t offer the Toyota’s focus or composure in corners, it’s no more comfortable in conditions where an SUV such as this spends most of its time.
However, it was the quickest car in our test, sprinting from 0-60mph in 10.3 seconds – threetenths faster than the 3008 and seven-tenths up on the C-HR. This full-throttle performance advantage wasn’t replicated during our in-gear tests, as the Grandland’s 100kg-heavier kerbweight compared with the 3008’s dulled acceleration. This was only by a few tenths in the lower gears between 30-50mph, while the same six-speed manual gearbox as its French competitor, which doesn’t change ratios particularly quickly, meant it was just two-tenths slower through the gears from 30-70mph, taking 10.1 seconds.
PRACTICALITY
WITH a 514-litre boot, Flex Floor adjustable floor system and power tailgate, the Grandland X is as practical as you need a five-seat family SUV such as this to be.
It trails the 3008’s load bay for capacity, but features such as levers in the boot to fold the rear seats add to the functionality – even if the loading lip is a little high. This practicality is reinforced in the rear of the cabin; it’s roomy enough to accommodate even tall adults, so it won’t be cramped on long trips. Overall, though, the interior lacks a little storage next to the Peugeot. There are two cup-holders and a decent-sized central bin, but there isn’t anywhere to store a mobile phone in front of the gearlever.
OWNERSHIP
SAFETY is a strong concern when it comes to family 4x4s, and the Grandland X gets an impressive level of protection. The Safety Pack – which is standard fit on Sport Nav trim – has a drowsiness monitor, collision warning with autonomous braking and pedestrian detection, and lane assist. Six airbags are also standard, with the equipment combining to deliver a five-star result from Euro NCAP’S crash tests.
Vauxhall’s performance in our Driver Power 2017 owner satisfaction survey wasn’t quite as impressive, though. The brand scored 23rd out of 27 manufacturers, and ranked the lowest of this trio.
RUNNING COSTS
ON test, the Grandland X returned respectable efficiency of 42.7mpg, which means you’ll spend around £1,545 on fuel over a year’s motoring (12,000 miles). This lagged a little behind the 3008, but with the same 117g/km CO2 emissions, the Grandland X’s marginally higher list price means it’s not too far behind the Peugeot for company car costs; higher-rate earners will have to pay £2,574 to the Treasury, £59 more than the 3008.
The Grandland X was the most expensive car of the three on test to insure for our sample driver, with a year’s cover costing £501.