Used Vauxhall Grandland X 2018-present review

Family cars have moved on from the humble hatchbacks of old; increasingly, buyers are turning towards SUVs for domestic duty: taking the children to school, picking up the weekly shop from the supermarket and taking the grandparents out at the weekend – these beasts will tackle it all. Perhaps this is why Vauxhall has been busy adding pseudo off-roaders to its range in order to court family car buyers. The Crossland X is the smallest, the Mokka X is the middle offering, but this Grandland X is its biggest.

The Grandland X competes with the likes of the award-winning Seat Ateca and the popular Nissan Qashqai. Just like its smaller Crossland X sibling, the Grandland X is based on an existing Peugeot platform, in this case the Peugeot 3008.

The engine range opens with a turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol, rises to a mid-range 1.6-litre diesel and finishes with a 2.0-litre diesel that’s reserved for top-spec models. The petrol engine copes surprisingly well with this heavy SUV, but if you are carrying passengers regularly, you may need one of the two diesel engines.

Comfort is what the Grandland X aims to deliver and, for the most part, it succeeds. If you avoid the bigger wheels, its soft suspension deals with bigger bumps better than that of the sportier Seat Ateca, although this means the Grandland rolls more in corners and has noticeably more squat under acceleration and dive under braking. The steering is slightly vague to begin with, then becomes much quicker after you apply a few more degrees of turning force. This can take a bit of getting used to and doesn't feel as natural as the steering of some rivals. You may also find it takes a little while to learn to be smooth with the clutch; there isn’t a great deal of feel at its biting point, particularly in the petrol.

Equipment levels are good, though; all Grandland Xs have climate control, cruise control, alloy wheels, auto lights and wipers and rear parking sensors. Space inside is decent; there's plenty of shoulder room in the front, ample leg space in the back and a big boot for shopping and a child’s pushchair. Much like in its Peugeot sibling, the Grandland X's glove box is tiny due to space taken up by the fuse box. Unfortunately, there isn't much oddments storage in the rest of the interior to make up for this.

Prices for the Vauxhall Grandland X at the time of writing start at £12,500 for the 1.2T SE version, but because this is a fairly new model, prices are still changing relatively rapidly. To keep up to date with used Grandland X prices, use our free valuation tool to make sure you're getting the best deal.

Check the value of a used Vauxhall Grandland X with What Car? Valuations

MPG

Fuel economy is very competitive with other small SUVs, no doubt helped by the fact the Grandland X is front-wheel-drive-only.

The turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol engine returns a combined fuel economy figure of 45.6mpg; if you need better fuel economy, you’ll need to go diesel. There are three on offer: a 1.6-litre, a 1.5-litre and a 2.0-litre. The 1.6 is the most frugal engine in the Grandland X range on paper, at 70.6mpg, while the 1.5 that replaced it averages 54.3mpg. The 2.0-litre' s figure is 47.9mpg. Alternatively, the plug-in hybrid officially manages 204mpg, but you'll only come close to achieving that figure if you regularly charge it up and use petrol sparingly.

CO2 emissions

On paper, the plug-in hybrid is the one that puffs out the least greenhouse gasses, at 34g/km of CO2, but it's arguably the 1.6-litre diesel that will be more relevant to used car buyers at the moment, and that emits 104g/km. The 1.5-litre diesel that replaced it spits out slightly more at 108g/km, while the more potent 2.0-litre posts a figure of 122g/km. The petrol 1.2 emits 115g/km.

Road tax

All models will have been registered after 1 April 2017, so the same flat rate fee will apply to all examples. However, higher-specced versions of the Hybrid4 plug-in hybrid Grandland X cost more than £40,000 when new, subjecting these versions to an additional surcharge until such time as the vehicle reaches six years of age, when it will then go back down to the standard flat rate fee. To find out more about the current road tax costs, click here.

Servicing costs

Servicing costs are competitive with rivals such as Skoda and Volkswagen. There are different prices depending upon whether you have a petrol or diesel engine and if you need an interim, main or major service. For petrol models, these are £160, £265 and £305 respectively; diesel models are a little more expensive at £170, £295 and £365 respectively. If you have an engine that requires a fuel additive as part of the service, then you’ll need to add £19.20 to the cost of a service. Alternatively, you can also pay monthly for a three-year servicing plan. This will set you back £19 a month for petrols and £22 for diesels. Servicing is required annually or every 16,000 miles.

Insurance

Insurance is competitive with most rivals, although a number of Volkswagen Tiguan models sit in lower groups than the Grandland X. The entry-level 1.2-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesels start in insurance group 14, rising to 15 for the more refined 1.5-litre diesel. The bigger 2.0-litre diesel is group 22, while the powerful plug-in hybrid model is the most expensive to insure since it starts in group 29.

Engine

Avoid the 2.0-litre diesel if costs are a concern: it can be expensive to buy and is not that cheap to run. If you regularly make long journeys, the 1.6-litre diesel is a better bet. Alternatively, the plug-in hybrid could be worthwhile if you have a relatively short commute and access to charging both at home and at work. However, we’d suggest sticking with the base 1.2-litre petrol because it’s a relatively quiet engine (apart from some low-rev thrumminess) and should still return respectable fuel economy.

Specification

SE cars are fine, but look out for Tech Line Nav trim, which adds sat nav, front parking sensors, privacy glass, an electric tailgate and additional safety tech for only a little bit more money.

Our favourite Vauxhall Grandland X: 1.2T Tech Line Nav

The Nissan Qashqai is the car that started the whole small SUV craze and it’s still a good option if you need a comfortable car with a nice interior. You also get plenty of equipment, too.

The Peugeot 3008 is perhaps the closest rival to the Grandland X – particularly because it is basically the same car under the skin. The biggest difference between the two is on the inside; the 3008 has a much more daring design than the Grandland X, yet it retains all of the practicality of the Vauxhall.

However, if you want the best small SUV, you’ll have to look towards the Seat Ateca. Not only does it feel much more car-like to drive, but it has a broader range of engines and is well equipped, particularly SE Technology models.

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