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Pros: Good quality, roomy, comfortable, quiet, decent electric range
Cons: Will be the most expensive Grandland, no seven-seat option
Opel Grandland Design
The new Grandland is one of Opel’s better recent styling efforts. It’s certainly more distinctive than the previous, rather bland, Grandland and while it’s not as dramatic to look at as its close cousins from Peugeot — the 3008 and 5008 — there’s a quiet handsomeness going on here, which actually gets better the closer you get to the Grandland, as you can start to pick out the finer details.
One of those details is the total lack of exterior chrome trim. Opel is phasing out chrome as plating it onto metal or plastic is a nasty, polluting business. So instead, the Grandland uses light. At the front, the ‘Opel Vizor’ face is now see-through, and behind the panel there’s a full-width LED light bar which includes a light-up Opel badge, as well as the ultra-bright ‘Intellilux’ Matrix LED HD headlights at either side.
Follow the lines down the side of the Grandland and there are subtly bulging wheelarches, and nicely sculpted side panels, before we arrive at the rear, and find another full width light bar and the word ‘Opel’ spelled out in red-backlit letters.
Opel Grandland PHEV Interior
The digital dashboard is divided up into two separate screens, with a slim ten-inch instrument panel for the driver, and for high-spec versions a massive 16-inch touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard. This features Opel’s latest software, which includes ChatGPT, which in theory allows the car to talk to you in a natural fashion. The onscreen menus are OK, but the system can still be a bit fiddly to use. Thankfully, Opel sticks with proper physical buttons for the air conditioning, as well as some short-cut buttons to help you speed your way around the screen.
Overall quality is very good, although it would be nice to see the soft material used on the doors and part of the centre console extended to other areas in the cabin, and dial back a bit on the hard plastics. However, there’s plenty of storage space and exceptionally comfortable front seats. All of the fabrics in the cabin are made from recycled material too.
Space in the back is good, with plenty of legroom and a flat floor which makes it just about possible to get three people sitting comfortably across the back seats. Headroom is reduced a little if you go for the optional panoramic glass roof, though. There are three ISOFIX points for child car seats (two in the back and one in the front) which is great for families, who will also appreciate the big 550-litre boot and the 40:20:40 split-folding rear seats.
Opel Grandland PHEV Performance & Drive
The Grandland PHEV is the first model to use the Stellantis group’s new plug-in hybrid system, based around a turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine which has been so modified from the previously used unit that it counts as being all new. That’s combined with a 92kW electric motor to provide a combined 195hp and 350Nm of torque, which will push the Grandland from standstill to 100km/h in 7.8 seconds.
That’s not bad, but better yet is the electric range provided by the 17.9kWh battery, which when fully charged has an official range of up to 87km. In fairness, we think about 70km is a more realistic figure, but that’s still impressive, and good enough for most people — if they can charge at home — to do most, if not all, of their daily driving on the battery.
Better yet, Opel claims that the Grandland PHEV is economical on long runs, even when the big battery has been drained. Many large plug-in hybrid SUVs fall on their faces at this challenge, but Opel claims a reasonable 6.8 litres per 100km when doing so (most car makers don’t bother quoting the long-range fuel figure) and says that you should be able to cover 900km on a full tank and a fully charged battery.
That efficiency goes hand in hand with the Grandland’s comfort and refinement, both of which are excellent. ‘Selective Frequency’ suspension dampers give it a very soft and yielding ride over bumps, and the Grandland feels sure-footed, quiet and soothing on main roads and motorways. The only weak point is when you get to a tight and twisty road, where the combination of light steering weight and a chunky two-metre width make the Grandland feel a bit out of sorts. It’s no driver’s car, but then did you really expect a big, roomy, family hybrid SUV to be?
Opel Grandland PHEV Pricing
We don’t have Irish pricing for the Grandland PHEV as yet, but it will be the most expensive model in the lineup for now, as it doesn’t get the VRT rebate and SEAI grant applicable to the all-electric version. Expect a price of at least €47,000 for the high-spec GS model when it arrives, but Opel is going to try to introduce a lower-spec Elegance model later on to bring down the entry price.
Carzone Verdict
The Opel Grandland PHEV isn’t a thrilling car, but it is a very pleasing and sensible one, with a roomy and high-quality cabin, excellent comfort and refinement, and a plug-in hybrid system that seems to have the kind of efficiency and flexibility to deliver cheap running costs with peace of mind on long-haul journeys.