The new Vauxhall Grandland is worlds apart from old one – but petrol and electric version have separate issues

SIMPLE question: Who is going to bargain this car? That’s a pugnacious 1 to answer. But present goes.

If you’ve ever driven a Vauxhall and sojourn your section trader each 3 years to bargain a caller one, you’re going to emotion the caller Grandland.

It’s a large glow-up connected the aged one.

But if you thrust a Kia Sportage oregon a Nissan Qashqai, you’ll instrumentality with it. Because you’ll beryllium happy. You’re not going to transverse the roadworthy for a Grandland.

That’s however I spot it, anyway.

Let’s commencement with the positives.

Plush, tech-rich compartment with tons of soft-touch materials, a super-wide 16in touchscreen and the enactment of head-up display.

There’s much rear limb country and a bigger boot. Plus a fridge successful the centre console.

Very grand.

You mightiness besides announcement the Griffin badge is illuminated connected its chemoreceptor and the connection Vauxhall glows up crossed the back.

But everyone volition beryllium pursuing that inclination soon.

Carpet of light

What impresses astir are the Intelli-Lux HD headlights, with 50,000 pixels, which task a carpet of airy 400 metres ahead. Ideal for our acheronian wintertime nights.

Now for the not-so-good bits.

The 1.2-litre petrol motor is excessively weedy for a large car. Especially if you travel into interaction with a hill.

And we weren’t loaded up with kids and each the accustomed household debris. Or trying to tow thing with it.

The aged Grandland had a 1.6 turbo.

The alternate is to spell electric.

That has much oomph (213hp) and amended suspension (multi-link rear axle). The 73kWh artillery volition bash up to 325 miles.

But it starts astatine £41k. That’s a batch of currency for a Vauxhall, right? Longer-range versions with the enactment of 4WD volition beryllium adjacent chunkier.

To beryllium fair, Vauxhall bosses person crunched the numbers to marque the monthlies equilibrium up.

The petrol is £469 a period implicit 4 years and the electrical is £469 implicit 5 years – some with £2k up front. Beyond my reach. But inactive cheaper than a Ford Explorer astatine £525 a month.

Other observations. I similar my satnav representation to beryllium northbound facing – truthful I tin spot the upcoming roundabout and which lane I request to beryllium in.

In the Grandland, I tin lone spot if the location connected the near has a large backmost garden. Personal preference. Upright touchscreens are better. The Explorer claws backmost points here.

Grandland has the comfier seats. There’s a slot down the mediate to halt your bum going numb connected agelong slogs up and down the motorway.

The aged Grandland has adjacent to nary in-car storage. This caller 1 has the equivalent of a formation bag.

To conclude, then. The caller Vauxhall Grandland. Worlds isolated from the aged one. Except the petrol is underpowered and the electrical is overpriced.