Vauxhall Grandland Plug-in Hybrid-E Review

Practicality and Boot Space

Front seat passengers are unlikely to complain about the comfort, but the same can’t really be said for the people in the back. Taller adults and lanky teens will find there isn’t much head or legroom, so longer journeys would become quite cramped. The boot isn’t that large either, with the squarely-shaped 390-litre space smaller than the majority of its closest rivals and being barely bigger than cars like the Corsa.

Tech

We tried the top-spec Ultimate model, and with it you get almost all the tech you’d expect from a car of this type. A 10-inch infotainment touchscreen is the centrepiece of the cabin which comes with smartphone connectivity with wireless charging, parking sensors and a reversing camera. There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility too.

For about £3,500 less is the GS Line model which still gets a rear-view camera, that 10-inch screen with nav and smartphone compatibility and Vauxhall's suite of connected services including the MyVauxhall smartphone app.

Safety

The independent testers at Euro NCAP haven't tested the new Grandland, but they did test a Grandland X and found it to be a five star car. The model tested was actually a diesel, but the crash performance of the hybrid version is not expected to be any different. The protection of the child-sized test dummies in the back seats was particularly impressive, with a score of 87%.

All Grandland Hybrid-e models get a full range of safety systems including land positioning assistant and adaptive cruise control.