The reigning Company Car & Van Car of the Year is the Peugeot E-3008. No surprise then that the Vauxhall Grandland Electric that’s built on the same platform, was off to a good start when it was delivered to us in June. And after a week traversing the roads of the north west, we’re pleased to say that Vauxhall’s produced an excellent electric car as well, one that ticks almost all the boxes for the UK buying public & is electric to boot.
Battery, range & charging
Currently there’s just one battery size available 73kWh packing a range of 325 miles, with a larger 98kWh battery coming later in 2025 which will increase the range to 435 miles. Claimed efficiency is 3.6 mi/kWh, with a maximum charge speed of 160kW allowing a 20-80% charge in 20 minutes. We’ve just had new ROLEC EVO 7kWh charger fitted https://www.rolecserv.com/ev-products/evo which will replenish the Grandland’s battery from 0-100% in 6 hours 45 minutes. A heat pump comes as standard.
PerformanceOutput is 210bhp with 345Nm. Top speed is 109mph & 0-62mph takes 9 seconds. Drive in Sport Mode & it does feel quicker.
Specs
Vauxhall are offering three levels of electric Grandland with entry level Design featuring a 10-inch touchscreen, 10” digital instrument cluster, adaptive cruise control, dual zone climate control & rear parking sensors. Stepping up to GS adds a larger 16” touchscreen, a wireless phone charger, a power boot, a reversing camera, adaptive LED headlights, diamond cut alloys & upgraded upholstery.
We were driving the range topping Ultimate which includes a panoramic sunroof, 20” alloys, a 360 degree camera, tinted rear windows, a head-up display & Intelli-Drive 2.0 which includes semi-automated lane change assist, lane positioning assist, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert & adaptive cruise control with stop & go.
Exterior
It’s an SUV but Vauxhall has managed to lift it somewhat with features such as the Intellilux Pixel HD with 3D illuminated vizor which comes on GS & above. Other neat touches include the integrated logos within the cars front & rear light bars, sharp side lines, high rear roof spoiler & tidy flat front grille in matte black. The red illuminated Grandland & Vauxhall name plates look great at night too.
Interior
Our test car featured a black/grey/chrome cabin & it’s all nicely realised. The seats for example have a vertical silver line down the middle, the centre binnacle is finished in brushed chrome & the roof headlining is jet black. Quality’s very good with some nice finishes on the dashboard front, top, doors & centre armrest. There are cheaper plastics lower down, on the door pockets & glove box front but they look & feel built to last & with prices starting at just £38,500 we can see why Vauxhall have used these.
Cabin practicalityVauxhall score highly here with a logical layout & easy to reach switchgear. For example there’s two front & two rear USB’s & all are easy to reach. The wireless charger has a clear cover to keep the phone away from your line of vision. The 12v sockets neatly tucked away in a low down centre storage area, the arm rest has a twin opening top & the centre cupholders can adjusted for different bottle sizes.
Another big tick is the 3 icon short cut buttons located below the screen, where the car icon allows you to enter the safety menu & deactivate both lane departure & speed warning quickly & easily, something the Chinese EV brands could do with copying.
Infotainment
Vauxhall’s latest infotainment system is very easy to use with sharp graphics & easy to use menus. Larger icons on the screen allow you to access car, home & media quickly with a useful proper volume knob & separate climate controls located underneath. Connecting wirelessly to Apple CarPlay was quick & easy with the Focal premium hi-fi sound system of 10 speakers & subwoofer a highlight.
Boot The Grandland features a 550-litre boot with a movable base to hide your charging cables below. Fold down the rear bench & you’ll reveal a whopping 1645 litres.
DrivingFor a start a large electric SUV isn’t going to be the stuff of dreams to drive & the Grandlands no different. Weighing in at 2.1 tonnes means that you can feel the cars weight especially when driving over poor road surfaces. However, thanks to firm suspension & pliable shock absorbers, the rides pretty good & actually enjoyable when you get onto a winding road with sharp bends.
Choosing from Eco, Normal or Sport driving modes allows you to tailor the steering & power, with Eco pulling back on the lightness of the steering wheel & dulling performance. Normal & Sport release more oomph especially when you accelerate from 20-50mph. 
We tried all three modes & felt thatNormal is a good way to drive in moving traffic, with Eco better on the motorway. We should also mention that there are three levels of brake regeneration which you can select via the steering wheel paddles. Level 3 is the highest & this adds some heft to the accelerator pedal & slows you down quickest, but it’s not so heavy that you can’t drive with it at this setting all the time, which isn’t the case in Korean EV’s for example. We’d say it’s well balanced & definitely adds some miles to the battery range, without giving you a tiring heavy right foot feeling.
Talking of which we drove around 400 miles in the Grandland Electric on a mix of all roads including the motorway at a constant 70mph & up & down some very steep hills along the Sandstone Trail & the Grandland managed to give us almost a 1 mile driven to 1 mile ratio, which is always good news. We ended our week with a 3.8mile/kWh return, which is higher than Vauxhalls claimed. Result.
ComfortMrs Walker swears by a high SUV driving position & the electric Grandland ticks that box. Forward vision is good & the drivers seat is ever so comfortable with our Ultimate test car featuring plenty of adjustments to find the perfect position. On the motorway it’s quiet & composed with high levels of refinement & little road or wind noise entering the cabin.
Whilst it’s not an exciting car to drive per-se, it comes with a nice sense of calm & I never felt anything other than relaxed on board. I’d argue that it’s one of the nicest EV’s I’ve had all year in that respect & this is definitely helped by the 330 mile driving range. There’s little in the way of range anxiety here & when the larger battery version arrives that will be even better, as we firmly believe that this is still the customers number one priority when considering an EV.
There’s a commanding SUV-style driving position with a decent view forward, which makes it easy to place on the road. On the motorway, it’s very refined with low levels of wind noise. This is clearly a car designed for covering long distances. It would definitely be an easy electric car to live with.
ProsWith prices starting from £38,500 it’s priced below the majority of its competition. It looks good inside & out. Driving range & charging speeds are very good. It’s a comfortable, spacious family car offering decent levels of equipment. At just 3% BIK company car drivers will be attracted.
ConsIt doesn’t offer much driving excitement. There are some cheap plastics used in the cabin. Other electric SUV’s are faster & more fun & perhaps in the Skoda Enyaqs case better built too.
VerdictPlenty of other reviewers have damned the Grandland Electric with faint praise & whilst they may be right about the fun factor, we think they’re missing the point. Customers want a large, practical SUV that comes well equipped with enough space on board for five & their luggage. The Grandland Electric offers this in spades whilst also coming with a 300 mile plus driving range which is the same as many petrol hybrid nowadays. Furthermore it’s priced right & thankfully doesn’t offer an over-complicated cabin experience by cleverly retaining a few physical controls. The infotainment system is simple to use & it also offers some clever on-board storage solutions as well. For company car drivers who need a five-door electric SUV, it’s an incredibly attractive proposition. Choose a GS & you won’t go far wrong
A super-model 4.5/5
