Vauxhall Crossland X interior, tech and practicality

We’ve heard some complaints about the forward visibility in the Vauxhall Crossland X, but we didn’t notice any glaring blind spots that would make it more difficult to place than its rivals. The Crossland’s front pillars are perhaps a little more forward than in some small SUVs, so we’d recommend sitting in one to see if it’s an issue for you or not. Otherwise, there’s no complaints with visibility – the integrated touchscreen doesn’t stick up into your eyeline, and the rear quarter-light windows help with over-the-shoulder visibility.

The controls directly in front of you are cleanly designed and logically laid out. It should be easy to work out what most of the buttons do. Plus, with so many physical controls, it’s a piece of cake to change the air con and radio volume without taking your eyes off the road.

The Crossland X doesn’t offer a vast selection of plush materials or particularly jazzy trim choices – this is a cheap car and the plastics reflect that. They’ll be easy to keep clean and should be very durable, however.

Every Crossland X gets steering that adjusts for reach and rake, and a driver’s seat that’s height-adjustable, so finding your ideal driving position shouldn’t be an issue.

You’ll probably come across a few different trim levels if you’re looking at used Crossland Xs, but the main ones are Griffin, SRi Nav, Elite/Elite Nav and Business Edition.

Griffin was a limited-edition trim that essentially took over from SE trim, and it’s one of the most widely available trim levels second-hand. It’s a good-value trim level with a lot of standard equipment, including air conditioning, cruise control, alloy wheels, a black roof and hill-start assist.

Business Edition and Elite trims get dual-zone climate control, auto lights and wipers, ambient lighting, an alarm and rear parking sensors. The black roof is optional on these trims. Elite also gets front fog lights.

The ‘Nav’ models boast a bigger touchscreen with an updated infotainment system and built-in sat nav.

The seven-inch screen fitted to non-Nav models is starting to look a little small these days and it’s a little slow to respond to inputs, but it comes with Bluetooth, DAB radio and a USB socket. We’re glad to report that it also includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so, if you have a compatible smartphone, you can use your phone’s navigation and media apps on the car’s screen – particularly handy if you don’t get a car with sat nav included.

There’s no option to replace the standard-fit audio system, which sounds a little bit tinny and won’t impress trained musicians. It’s fine for radio, podcasts and most songs if you’re a casual listener.

Two adults sitting in the back of a Crossland X should feel like they have plenty of space. Legroom is good unless the driver is very tall, and the car’s boxy shape means headroom is pretty good as well. There’s space under the front seats to slide your feet. It’ll feel very tight indeed with three people sitting across the back row, however.

There’s no luxury in the back seats – it feels pretty sparse compared to the front. Rear-seat occupants miss out on USB sockets, air vents and seatback pockets, and there isn't any soft trim on the door panels – making it a little uncomfortable to rest your elbow on the armrest. Cars without a central armrest benefit from a storage tray that rear passengers can use.

Open the bootlid and there’s a 410-litre space. That’s competitive for the small SUV class, and the SEAT Arona, Skoda Kamiq, Nissan Juke and Renault Captur are all within 10 or 15 litres of that figure. The boot gets a couple of useful hooks to hang clothes or bags on.

There’s a bit of a load lip to get over, but otherwise the boot opening is wide, square and useful. Loading bulky items like pushchairs or small cabinets won’t be an issue. Bigger items can fit once you’ve folded the seats down, with a maximum figure of 1,255 litres of space available if you’re happy to load to the roof.

Interior storage is nothing to shout about – the tray ahead of the gear lever isn’t big enough to accommodate most phones and the glovebox is half-width, so you’ll have to find somewhere else for the owner’s manual.