Vauxhall Grandland Electric (2025) Review

Introduction

Vauxhall is best known for its smaller family cars, such as the Astra and Corsa or, in more recent years, the Insignia, which was discontinued not that long ago.

But over the years, it's also quietly forged a reputation for making good larger vehicles, including the surprisingly impressive Zafira Tourer MPV, the smaller Meriva, the Mokka crossover SUV and, of course, the larger Grandland X.

And it’s the Grandland that we’re focusing on today – specifically, the new version of it.

The ‘X’ has been dropped from its name nowadays, but that’s not all that’s missing from the Grandland we’re testing: the engine is also gone.

A hybrid version is still offered, but in the model we're testing, the combustion engine is replaced entirely with an electric motor. Vauxhall hopes this will widen its appeal to those who want an SUV without the eco-unfriendly stigma attached.

Disappointingly for those with larger families, though, unlike the Zafira it originally replaced, which offered seven seats, the Grandland is only a five-seater.

Vauxhall will say the demand for seven-seaters is covered by the Combo Life and Vivaro Life, which are passenger versions of its vans. The smaller, newly revived Frontera SUV is also available with a third row of seats.

The rival Peugeot e-5008 offers seven seats, too. It is based on the same STLA Medium platform as the Grandland, given that the same parent company, Stellantis, nowadays owns Peugeot and Vauxhall.

Regardless, the new Grandland Electric marks a considerable milestone for Vauxhall: it now offers an electric version of every single vehicle in its range, making it one of the first manufacturers to achieve the feat.

Vauxhall’s latest generation line-up has brought some of the best cars the automaker has ever produced.

Does the Grandland do the same? Let’s find out.

At A Glance

The new Grandland Electric looks great. It is inspired by more recent Vauxhalls, which have transformed the brand's appearance.

The so-called 'Vauxhall Vizor' black panel, which replaces a conventional grille, is one of the features borrowed from its siblings. The Vauxhall logo lights up on higher models. It fits neatly against the headlights, creating a clean and visually pleasing front appearance. It also includes a couple of air intake cutouts.

Most of the bodywork around the sides looks quite smooth, but there’s a very pronounced sharp crease towards the bottom of the doors, with some thick cladding beneath.

Like the front, the rear also features a fairly clean design. A horizontal light bar connects the taillights on each side and proudly displays 'VAUXHALL' lettering in the centre.

A crease mimics the shape of the Vizor front end, with ‘GRANDLAND’ lettering underneath. This sits above some thick cladding that surrounds the number plate. The rear fog lights also mimic the shape of the front air intakes.

One noticeable aspect of the new Vauxhall Grandland is that it's quite a bit bigger than the preceding model. It is 4.65 metres long, 1.91 metres tall, and 2.78 metres wide, offering increases of 17.3cm, 1.9cm, and 6.4cm, respectively, over its predecessor.

Key Features

The Vauxhall Grandland Electric is available in three trims.

The entry-level Design includes 19-inch alloy wheels, a 10.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, cloth fabric seats, LED headlights, and dual-zone climate control.

The mid-range GS grade gets a larger 16.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with satellite navigation, pixel 3D headlights with Vizor illumination, vinyl front seat inserts, a rear-view camera, rear tinted windows, a black roof, and a wireless phone charger.

The top-of-the-range Ultimate trim boasts 20-inch alloys, a head-up display, a Focal premium sound system, a panoramic sunroof, a heated windscreen, a powered tailgate, and a Nappa leather premium seating pack.

Grunt comes in the form of an electric motor producing 213PS and is the same at all trim levels.

By comparison, the hybrid version of the Grandland consists of a 1.2-litre petrol engine and a small electric motor generating a combined 136PS.

Range & Batteries

All Vauxhall Grandland Electric models get a 73kWh battery.

The exact range depends on trim, with the Design managing 324 miles, the GS claiming 323 miles, and the top-of-the-range Ultimate achieving 317 miles. However, these minor differences are immaterial, as you won't accomplish the claimed range in practice.

Achieved range in the real world depends on many factors, including weather conditions, ambient temperature and, of course, your driving style. Anything around 75 per cent of the claimed figure is about par for the course in practice.

A larger 98kWh battery is coming later in 2025, with a range of around 430 miles.

Performance & Drive

The Vauxhall Grandland Electric accelerates to 62mph in nine seconds, which isn't bad for an SUV.

However, the power feels a little bit reigned in, and the instant burst of torque from a standing start – something that’s been a trademark of electric-powered vehicles – seems restrained.

Part of the reason for this is that, although the electric car is advertised as producing 213PS, it only outputs maximum poke when in ‘Sport’ mode, with less power in the other settings helping preserve battery life.

But even when the full oomph is on tap, dual carriageway overtakes aren’t as hassle-free as in some of the Vauxhall’s competitors.

That said, it’s not a huge problem – and the nine-second 0-62mph time means it should be perfectly adequate for just about anything you’re likely to need it for – some SUVs are considerably slower, after all.

The long-range version coming soon is likely to offer a marginal boost to those wanting more clout. However, even then, it's only likely to offer around 15PS extra, so we don’t expect much, if anything, to be shaved off the zero to 62mph time.

Around corners, the Vauxhall Grandland feels reasonably adept, considering it’s quite a large car with a higher centre of gravity.

It is quite firm, meaning it controls body lean well in the corners, even when taken at speed. Furthermore, you don’t feel you’re being rolled about if you’re tackling a twisty rural national speed limit B-road – as we did at the car’s UK media launch in Suffolk.

Those who like to enjoy the driving experience will be encouraged by this. But they’ll be discouraged by the steering, which, although pleasingly light around towns and villages, doesn't really weight up at faster speeds.

That means there’s limited feedback through the wheel, so it’s not that engaging to drive and can be prone to understeer.

Despite the firmness, the Grandland isn’t uncomfortable, and it still does a reasonable job of smoothing out ruts in the road (of which there are many in East Anglia) and undulations in the road surface. Nevertheless, some foes can beat it for ride comfort.

The ride also feels springy, which means it rarely feels well-planted and is prone to feeling unsettled. However, this is not as noticeable at dual carriageway pace.

The regenerative braking also bites well, but it’s not quite as smooth and consistent as some rivals.

Overall, the Grandland is a good all-rounder but doesn't excel at anything. In other words, it’s not bad at anything, but it's not brilliant either.

It is very quiet, though, with a well-sound-proofed cabin. This means the electric motors don't whine too much, while wind and tyre noise is well contained.

Charging

The Grandland can charge at a maximum rate of 160kW.

That means a 20-80% top-up of its batteries takes 26 minutes.

Plugging it into a 7.4kW home wall box will achieve the same in around six and three-quarter hours.

Running Costs & Emissions

The Grandland Electric will keep running costs low, especially if you can charge it at home - and even more so if you can take advantage of a tariff that offers lower prices off-peak, for example, overnight.

And, of course, there are no miles per gallon figures and no carbon emissions.

By comparison, the hybrid Grandland achieves around 51mpg, emitting 124g/km of CO2.

Company car users will be attracted by the electric version’s zero emissions. It is in the bottom band for Benefit in Kind tax, making it a much cheaper option if your employer is providing you with your lease car.

However, if that's not you, then you might be interested to know that Grandland Electric is predicted to hold its value better than many of its competitors, which will help lower the car's lease cost.

In terms of reliability, Vauxhall has a bit of a problem. It often ranks near the bottom of reliability survey league tables, although only time will tell whether the switch to electric power will turn the tide.

Interior & Technology

The Vauxhall Grandland has a very nice-looking interior at first glance.

You will find plenty of soft-to-the-touch materials, and there is a lot of silver trim to break up the darkened colours found elsewhere.

Some of the silver feels a little plasticky and cheap, but at least it’s pleasing to the eye, especially on the centre console, which is positioned relatively high up.

The flat-bottomed steering wheel, featuring silver spokes and plenty of buttons, feels nice to hold. The dashboard is shapely and slightly angles the infotainment screen towards the driver.

The ultra-wide 16.0-inch touchscreen looks impressive and features clear, crisp graphics, although the screen is only 10.0-inches in the entry-level Design model, which doesn’t include SatNav.

The system is reasonably intuitive to use and is undoubtedly Vauxhall’s best effort to date. It can sometimes feel clunky and sluggish responding to touches and prods, although it also responds quickly at times. There are some physical shortcut buttons, too, for added convenience.

Happily, physical buttons for the air conditioning still feature as well. These switches sit beneath the screen, so Vauxhall has resisted the common theme of burying the climate controls into the infotainment system.

Like the infotainment screen, the digital instrument display, which replaces traditional analogue dials behind the steering wheel, looks nice, clear, and informative. It provides lots of information without feeling overly cluttered. We also had a head-up display in our test car, but that’s an optional extra.

All but the entry-level trim also gets a wireless phone charger, which features a tinted plastic glass cover to prevent your phone from distracting you while you're driving.

While the cabin has a few shortcomings and isn't on the level of more expensive brands, it is a significant step forward over the retiring model.

Practicality & Boot Space

You will have no difficulties getting comfortable behind the wheel of the Grandland Electric.

The seats and steering wheel have a laudable amount of adjustment, although electric adjustment isn’t offered at all on the car, not even as an option, apart from adjustable bolsters, which cost extra.

The Grandland provides a commandingly high driving position, which means notable forward visibility. Vauxhall keeps the windscreen pillars as thin as possible, helping to improve this.

The relatively small size of the rear windscreen restricts visibility, though. This is not helped by much thicker pillars and rear side windows that don’t extend that far back, limiting your over-the-shoulder view.

Front and rear parking sensors help mitigate any issues, while both GS and Ultimate trims get a 360-degree surround-view camera.

The front seats are impressive in terms of space, offering lots of legroom, headroom, and shoulder room to separate you from a front-seat passenger. The convenience extends into the back, too, with more than enough room for your knees - even if you're a tall rear-seat passenger sitting behind a tall front-seat occupant.

We had hoped for a full-size middle seat, but it's slimmer than the outer seats. That improves comfort levels if you're carrying two in the back, although three adults in the back are still doable.

The sloping roofline only slightly compromises rear headroom, but even taller passengers should be okay.

The cabin also has a decent amount of storage space, including large door bins and a generous centre console cubby - the latter is refrigerated.

The boot space measures 550 litres, which is the same as the Grandland Hybrid and more than you’ll get in plenty of challengers. With the rear seats down, which fold in a 40/20/40 configuration, the capacity enlarges to 1,645 litres.

Safety

Although crash testing experts have yet to assess the Grandland Electric at Euro NCAP, there should be few concerns.

The old Grandland X achieved a five-star safety rating in 2017. Mind you, the last four Vauxhalls have only attained four-star ratings, but they've scored well in the individual categories regarding adult and child occupant protection.

All Grandlands have automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, intelligent LED headlights, lane keep assist, a driver drowsiness monitor, and front and rear parking sensors.

GS gets a rear-view camera, while Ultimate gets a 360-degree surround-view camera, lane change assist and a rear cross-traffic alert system.

Options

Several body colours are available on the Vauxhall Grandland, with Arctic white being the default colour.

The alternative shades are carbon black, crystal silver, graphic grey, and impact copper, but they cost extra.

The mid-range GS trim gets a black roof, though you can opt for a body-coloured roof as a no-cost option if you prefer. 20-inch alloy wheels, a head-up display, and a panoramic sunroof can also be added.

The top-of-the-range Ultimate trim gets the above as standard, but you can opt for the Nappa leather premium seating pack. This bundle includes heated, ventilated front seats with a five-mode massage function, pneumatic lumbar adjustment, and heated rear seats.

A handful of GS-trimmed cars are also available with the Nappa leather seating pack, although this option will be discontinued once all the cars are leased.

Various accessories are also offered on the Grandland, including a safety net.

Rival Cars

There is no shortage of competitors for your money in this segment of the car leasing market.

Stellantis' sister company, Peugeot, offers the e-3008, while those wanting seven seats can opt for the larger e-5008.

The MG ZS EV, Renault Scenic E-Tech, Toyota bZ4X and Volkswagen ID.4 are also worth considering, along with the Kia EV6 and Skoda Enyaq.

At the premium end of the market, the BMW iX1, Mercedes-Benz EQA and Tesla Model Y might also be of interest.

Verdict & Next Steps

The Vauxhall Grandland Electric has plenty going for it.

It is reasonably well equipped, especially in GS and Ultimate trims. The range is competitive, and it's spacious, practical, and offers a nice interior.

However, some competitors can do better, and in almost every area, there's a similarly priced rival that’s superior in some way.

Brands like Skoda, for example, offer excellent equipment levels, great practicality, and superior reliability for little more money. At the same time, many of the Grandland’s other foes are more entertaining to drive.

Overall, the Vauxhall Grandland ticks many boxes, but it doesn’t really excel at anything. And in that respect, there are still plenty of better alternatives, despite this being a big step forward compared with the outgoing model.

Where to next?

View latest Vauxhall Grandland lease deals - from just £320.47 per month inc VAT**.

Call us on 0118 3048 688 or hit the green 'Enquire' button for more details.

Looking for a great leasing deal? Check out our incredible range of Special Offers and Lease Deals. 

New Hatchback? Read our latest Reviews and find the right model for you.

Want to know more about leasing? Take a look at our comprehensive Leasing Guides.

Interested in everything motoring? Why not catch up on all the latest Car Leasing News.

**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Vauxhall Grandland.

**Correct as of 03/01/2025. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 24 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments, or £2,884.23 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.