Used Vauxhall Grandland review (2021-2024)

If you want an SUV that doesn’t cost a fortune then you should strongly consider the Vauxhall Grandland. Used examples are available for much less money than similarly sized rivals – which include the Nissan Qashqai and Ford Kuga – and, instead, the Grandland is a similar price to smaller or older SUVs.

The Grandland does everything its rivals do. It has plenty of tech to keep all the family entertained on long journeys, more than enough space for daily duties and a willing petrol engine that can be economical.

The styling is handsome if conservative. Compared to the Peugeot 3008 and Citroen C5 Aircross, which share underpinnings with the Grandland, the Vauxhall definitely looks the most sensible. And that sums up the whole car, really – it’s a sensible, rational thing that will get you to where you need to go.

It’s not exciting, but that’s usually the last thing family SUVs need to be. The school run, the daily commute, maybe a weekend jaunt to an out-of-town retail centre – these journeys wouldn’t be very exciting in a Ferrari, so it doesn’t matter that the Grandland isn’t a pin-sharp ultimate driving machine.

With an easy driving experience, family-friendly practicality and must-have phone connectivity, the Grandland is a reasonably good choice – and its impressive value for money is the cherry on top.

When the Vauxhall Grandland was facelifted (before, it was called the Grandland X), it gained a more modern interior design that closely aligns with Vauxhall’s stylish Mokka and Astra. So you get a digital instrument cluster and an infotainment touchscreen as standard, with both wrapped up in one big panel.

The touchscreen has some quirks and some odd menu layouts, but it shouldn’t take too long to get your head around how it works and where the major features are. Handily, Vauxhall has retained a bar of shortcut buttons below, giving you easy access to audio, nav and smartphone mirroring menus.

With Android Auto and Apple CarPlay fitted as standard, you can bypass Vauxhall’s system and use the familiar apps from your phone. Just remember to bring a USB cable.

Both GS and Ultimate specs come with part-leather seats with patterned cloth, which are nice to look at and, crucially, to sit in. On the Ultimate trim, these are heated and shaped for comfort, with a seal of approval from a German back health campaign group. Yes, really. What that means is that the Grandland should be very comfortable on a long journey.

Standard equipment is fairly generous – the entry-level Design trim includes dual-zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, LED headlights, cruise control and a leather steering wheel. Then there’s GS trim, which adds bigger screens, bigger wheels, a black roof and tinted windows – not to mention a reversing camera and blind-spot monitoring. Ultimate brings a powered tailgate with a foot sensor, a heated steering wheel, upgraded headlights and a wireless phone charging pad.

However, despite being pretty much the top-spec trim level, our Ultimate test car still featured a few blank buttons and panels.

The real range-topper is the GSe trim. It’s a sporty plug-in hybrid with 300hp but it’s as rare as rocking horse poo. Hunt out one of these unicorns and you’ll get exclusive styling and interior trimmings, plus a sports chassis with upgraded suspension.

There are more practical SUVs, but the Grandland will be spacious enough for the vast majority of buyers. And don’t forget that more practical SUVs are more expensive.

Rear-seat room is competitive, with generous amounts of headroom and a decent amount of legroom. It’s probably on a par with the Qashqai in this area, and most adults will fit comfortably in the back of a Grandland.

Hauling kids instead of adults? The Grandland is great – there’s plenty of space for bulky child seats, and three sets of Isofix points come as standard (two on the rear bench and one on the front passenger seat).

Top-spec Ultimate adds seatback pockets, a ski hatch to let you load long items through the middle rear seat, and a 12V socket in the boot.

Speaking of the boot, it’s a 514-litre space that’s big and deep. That means there’s a bit of a load lip to overcome if you’re chucking heavy items into the boot, but some cars get a false floor that eliminates this issue and creates a flat loadspace when the rear seats are folded.

Plug-in hybrid models effectively lose this underfloor space, reducing the total capacity to 390 litres. While that’s disappointing, it should still be enough for the weekly shop or a pushchair.

Most used Grandlands come with a 1.2-litre petrol engine. This is usually the cheapest engine option, and it’s a willing and buzzy engine that’s capable of hauling the Grandland up to speed with no fuss at all. It should also manage 45mpg.

You might come across a 1.5-litre diesel engine, which produces the same 130hp as the petrol engine. This is marginally more economical, offering up to 52mpg, but it’s slower off the line and needs to be driven long distances every now and then to clear out the diesel particulate filter (DPF). We’d only recommend this engine if you’re going to be doing a high annual mileage.

Alternatively, a plug-in hybrid engine is available on GS and Ultimate trim levels. This promises to be a little bit faster away from a set of traffic lights, thanks to the oomph of the electric motor. A fully charged battery should give up to 41 miles of clean electric driving and, when used carefully, the combination can yield 235mpg.

The GSe pumps out 75hp more than the normal plug-in hybrid, and the 0-62mph time drops to just 6.1 seconds. Don’t expect the Grandland to turn into a corner-loving sports car – it’s still a very sensible SUV, just with the power to surprise a few people.

Driving the Grandland is easy. The light clutch is easy to operate, the steering is light and twirly – making it easy to park – and good visibility means it’s easy to see where you’re going.

The manual gearbox is quite satisfying to use, or there’s an automatic gearbox that doesn’t usually fluff up a gearchange. We’d pick the auto if you’re going to be sitting in traffic a lot, but the manual isn’t a chore to use.

Considering it’s a fairly cheap car, the Grandland is impressively refined at motorway speeds. A soundproof insulated windscreen comes as standard, and means you don’t get buffeted by wind noise or traffic roar at high speeds.