Opel grows the Grandland in size

Opel has launched the latest version of the Grandland SUV in an effort to revitalise the brand in Ireland by tackling head-on one of the most important sectors of the Irish car market.

This new Grandland is a bigger and stronger-looking car. It has a more solid feel to it, compared to the previous version and that’s coupled with a firm suspension.

Across the rural roads of south Down, I recently had the opportunity to put the mild hybrid version of the car fitted with the 1.2 litre turbo petrol engine and a six-speed automatic gearbox, to the test. This was followed by a cross-Ireland drive on a mix of motorways and challenging rural roads in less than pleasant weather.

The first impression is of a bigger car, much bigger than the most recent Grandland. And that’s confirmed by the numbers. This new Grandland is longer, wider and taller and sits on a significantly longer wheelbase.

Another key difference is the lighting. The new Grandland comes with the Opel Intelli-Lux HD light system that claims to turn night into day for the driver and provides better illumination of the road and its surroundings.

Depending on the prevailing traffic situation, the camera is designed to detect road users in front and oncoming traffic and the Intelli-Lux HD light claims to cut them out even faster and more precisely than previous matrix light technologies.

From the outside, the new lighting includes the Opel logo front and rear, but Irish winter driving conditions may lessen the logo light impact. This new Opel Grandland is clearly a very different car from the model that it replaces. This is now a big car, and the boot space has more than 40% capacity to prove it.

Two options

Opel is currently offering two power options for the new Grandland, either the 1.2 litre mild hybrid or a full battery electric (BEV) option. A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version is on the way.

The mild hybrid Grandland is powered by a neat 1.2 litre, four-cylinder petrol engine that’s matched to a six-speed automatic gearbox that houses a 48-volt electric motor to deliver extra power during acceleration. The system also allows the car to drive in electric mode some of the time, saving on fuel.

This 1.2 litre engine may seem small for a car of this size, but it is interesting to see that Opel has made the new Grandland significantly lighter, even though it is much bigger and more spacious on the inside.

The electric hybrid drive combination means that there is plenty of acceleration power. The only downside is a relatively poor towing rating at just 650kg with a braked trailer, which is almost half the towing rating of the all-electric (BEV) version of the same car.

I drove the 1.2 litre petrol mild hybrid car on two separate occasions recently clocking up more than 1,100km behind the wheel. I found that I was achieving close to the rated fuel economy of 5.5l/100km or 18.2km/litre.

The car was always comfortable and easy to drive even though my driving experience was about 15% off the rated economy level across a range of different real-world driving conditions. That converted to a practical range of about 800km on a full 55-litre fuel tank.

Modes

The car offers the driver the options of three driving styles by means of a simple mode button. The Normal mode is for a balanced drive to give a compromise between performance and energy efficiency. The Sport mode is more responsive and gives the highest top speed and torque, while the ECO model is for maximum range and energy efficiency.

That’s the mode that I drove mostly in to achieve the best economy level, and I found that the performance was very impressive.

What also makes this car good to drive is the layout of the dash with a slightly driver-oriented 16-inch central display. It was easy to get comfortable with the settings, pairing phones, etc.

Behind the steering wheel, there is also a neat wide and fully digital cluster to provide essential information, without distraction.

Entry prices start at €40,995 or £36,650 in N. Ireland and that’s a €2,400 price increase over the previous model. I’ve looked at ownership costs and with a small sample of older hybrid versions on the market, the running costs are competitive at €0.34 per kilometre over three years and 50,000km.

This is a solid and spacious car to drive with entry prices from around €41,000 before any Government subsidies. Forget the previous Grandland; this is a much bigger and better car. Electric versions need to be considered because they are price competitive and with a decent range of close to 580km and they offer the potential for even lower running costs.

Cost Euro

Depreciation - 12,070.00

Insurance - 1,800.00

Servicing (Annual Servicing) - 700.00

Road Tax - 600.00

Fuel Costs (60,000km) - 4,950.00

Total Costs per Kilometre - 0.34

Total 3 Year Ownership Cost - 20,120.00

*Based on 3-year-old Grandland Prices

Engine - 1.2 litre turbo-petrol

Engine Power - 136bhp

Engine Torque - 230Nm

0 – 100km/hr - 9.7 seconds

Economy - 5.5l/100km or 18.2km/litre

Rated Range Theoretical - 990km

Fuel Tank Capacity - 55 litres

CO2 Rating - 124g/km

Road Tax Annual - €200

Main Service - 25,000k or 12 months

Euro NCAP Rating - 5 Star (2017)

Boot Space - 550/1645 litres

Towing Capacity - 650kg

Kerb Weight - 1267 kg

Warranty - 3 years or 100,000km

Entry Price - €40,995 or £36,650 in N. Ireland

Comfort - 8

Driving Ease - 8

Economy - 7

Value for Money - 7

Versatility - 7

Ownership Cost - 6