Vauxhall Grandland review

As we touched on in the Overview, recent Vauxhalls have been bland and boring inside. The Corsa, while smart enough from the outside, is as dull as dishwater in the cabin. Here, Vauxhall’s interior designers have given it more attention. It’s not quite as interesting as its Peugeot rivals, but it’s at least got a bit more about it. 

It’s smart to look at, well equipped (it gets a 10-inch digital instrument panel and 10- or 16-inch widescreen infotainment display depending on spec) and plenty spacious indeed. Black is still the predominant colour scheme which makes it feel a little business-like, but upper specs get ambient lighting which does liven it up slightly.

Is it comfy at least?

That it is. Up front there’s seats certified by AGR (Aktion Gesunder Rücken or ‘Campaign for Healthier Backs’), and they’ve been improved here with a tailbone cutout that supposedly offers 15 per cent comfort improvement on long rides, plus they get adjustable side bolsters for the first time too.

Rear seat passengers haven’t been forgotten about either, with anyone back there benefitting from 20mm extra legroom over the previous model. It’s certainly more roomy than its predecessor and a Peugeot 3008 too, but the floor feels oddly high and there’s little foot space under the front seats either. Still, no centre tunnel means you should fit three abreast with ease.

What’s the tech like?

The 10-inch widescreen digital instrument panel display is clean and easy to read and offers three different display modes, though it’s fully digitalised (i.e. no analogue dial display) and otherwise a little limited in customisability.

There’s also a ‘Pure Mode’, which reduces the content on the driver information cluster, the head-up display and the central touchscreen, the idea being less distraction. It’s a nice feature but in reality we’re not sure how useful it’ll be.

Entry-level models get a 10-inch central touchscreen, while mid and upper spec trims get a widescreen 16-inch display. We’ve tried the latter and it’s pleasingly sharp, responsive and customisable, at least when you’re using the native nav. It’s far less so when you’re using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, as while these don’t take up the full screen, the tile format is oddly restricted in what else it can show.

Still, it's not all screens in here, as below the central display there are a couple of shortcut buttons plus dedicated climate controls, which do kinda render the controls permanently displayed on the screen redundant. Coulda utilised the space better.

How big is the boot?

The Grandland has a boot volume of 550 litres (hybrid or electric) – an increase of 36 litres over the outgoing model – which is some 30 litres than a Peugeot 3008 and puts it in the middle ground compared to the rest of its rivals.

The rear seats offer a 40/20/40 fold split, and fully down you’re looking at 1,645 litres. There’s also an extra 36 litres of storage space dotted around the cabin.