Vauxhall Grandland buyer’s guide

Partwatch

Dealer price Independentprice

Part

Frontbrake pads(axle set) £77-£163* £47-£80

Frontbrake discs(pair) £166-£235* £66-£164 Door mirror glass(electric) £48 £19 Frontwiper set £57 £17-£28**

For 2018 1.2 Turbo 130. Prices from BaylisVauxhall Cheltenham (baylis.uk.com) and Euro Car Parts (eurocarparts.com) *Lower price for pattern, the higher price OE parts . **From wiperblades.co.uk

Recalls

VAUXHALL has recalled the Grandland eight times. The first was in January 2018 because some cars built in late 2017 were fitted with faulty pistons that could lead to engine failure. There were two recalls in July 2018, one for oil leaks from the 2.0-litre diesel, the other because of front seat-mounted airbags failing to deploy correctly.

Diesel particulate filter glitches led to the next campaign in April 2019; five months later came recall number five, because some Grandlands left the factory with poorly secured rear seatbelts. Recalls six and seven came in October and November 2020 because of exhaust emissions limits being exceeded and faulty diesel particulate filters. The most recent recall, in March 2021, was due to faulty radiators; affected cars were made in September 2019.

Which one?

ALL Grandland engines and transmissions are good to drive and reasonably efficient. If you do lots of long-distance motorway drives, a diesel can still make sense; otherwise a petrol or plug-in hybrid might be better.

The entry-level SE (or later SE Premium) has dual-zone climate control, auto lights and wipers, 17-inch alloys and cruise control. Tech Line Nav adds ambient lighting, electrically folding door mirrors, a powered tailgate, satellite navigation, 18-inch wheels, keyless go and front parking sensors.

The Sport Nav has the same equipment, but with a black roof and mirrors, while Elite trim adds leather, heated front seats, 19-inch alloys, panoramic glass and a heated windscreen. The range-topping Ultimate also has heated outer rear seats, a Denon hi-fi, adaptive cruise control, a rear camera and adaptive LED headlights. Alternatives

MID-sized SUVs are incredibly popular, so the Grandland is in a very crowded sector and there are plenty of alternatives. The Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson are both well equipped and come with excellent warranties, while related to the Grandland are the Citroen C5 Aircross, Peugeot 3008 and DS 7 Crossback, all of which offer smart design and decent value.

Three other SUVs that are related to each other are the SEAT Ateca, Skoda Karoq and VW Tiguan, which offer user-friendly cabins, impressive build quality and great engines. The Nissan Qashqai and Renault Kadjar share much under the skin, while the Ford Kuga is good value and fun to drive, and the Mazda CX-5 has smart design inside and out.

PRACTICALITY There’s a decent boot capacity in the Vauxhall, and back-seat passengers have plenty of room, too

Verdict

THE Grandland is easy to respect, but hard to love. When we ran a 1.2 Turbo Sport Nav on our test fleet in 2019, we came away with the view that “You choose a Grandland X for the pragmatism and space it offers, not because it’ll stir the soul” .

However, a three-way test with the facelifted Grandland in June of this year saw the Vauxhall beat Nissan’s Qashqai, but not the Skoda Karoq, which is a formidable opponent. A key thing that we learned from running our petrol-engined Grandland around town a lot was its poor fuel economy of just 22mpg, although on a run we could get closer to 40mpg.

Buy the right engine for your needs and you’ll have a family-friendly SUV that’s easy to live with, if ultimately rather unexciting.

Contacts

Official vauxhall.co.uk Forums grandlandforums.co.uk facebook.com/VauxhallGrandland vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk vauxhallownersclub.com