Living with a… Vauxhall Grandland Electric

Vauxhall has never been the sexiest brand on the block but seems to be flourishing within the wider Stellantis family and benefitting from the economies of scale that come from shared tech with Citroën, Peugeot, DS and others within the group. The fact its traditional domestic rival Ford has seemingly given up and left the field only helps its case, Vauxhall seizing this opportunity to reinvent its line-up with a new generation of sharply-styled models like this Grandland Electric. As a brand it’s also doing some worthy stuff, working with local authorities for its Electric Streets campaign to improve access to on-street charging for those without a driveway to install a home wallbox and highlighting the under-reported accessibility challenges faced by disabled drivers wanting to go electric . It’s also worked hard on making electric versions of its cars more affordable, pricing them in line with petrol and hybrid equivalents to make the switch look less intimidating. If less flashy than the Citroën C5 Aircross and Peugeot 5008 it shares its foundations and tech with this latest Grandland is way more stylish than previous versions but just as family-friendly as it always was. Also available as a hybrid, we’re testing the full electric version in its glitziest Ultimate trim which, even with all the toys, looks great value for money.
Skip to: Month 1 – Greyer than a February day?

Yorkshire-based family guy with early teen kids, outdoorsy lifestyle and mixed driving routine of local errands, a commute over the hill to Manchester and longer runs to airports and far-flung family. With previous petrolhead passions now catered for with a new-found love of motorbikes the family car is free to be a bit more sensible and practical, the electric SUVs and crossovers that might once have been sneered at now welcome on the family fleet!

Dan says: “I’m liking Vauxhall’s recent rebirth and acceptance that sensible pants usefulness doesn’t have to mean boring”

How much has it cost you?

Erin’s eyes will be rolling again for the fact I still haven’t embraced the future with a smart meter and EV-specific home energy tariff to really score the savings on charge costs. To be fair, even on my existing rate a typical 10-80 per cent top-up only costs £13 or so.

Where have you been?

Nothing more glamorous than a few local errands so far, but it’s still very early days and the new-car smell has yet to fade!

What have you been carrying?

Kids, shopping and … that’s about it so far. The boot is nice and big, though, so I’m hopeful it’ll take my bike when the weather improves.

Delights?

Per the introduction, I’m liking Vauxhall’s recent rebirth and acceptance that sensible pants usefulness doesn’t have to mean boring. It sounds like damning with faint praise but there’s an understated confidence and competence about the Grandland in everything from the styling to the build quality and driving style that just feels reassuring. So, I like the lack of gimmickry, the fact it understands the job it is built to do and that it does it really well. In that respect it’s perfectly suited to the hectic phase of family life I find myself in.

Frustrations?

Too early to really pick up any particular frustrations, though I’m yet to get my head around the menus and features. For instance, there seems to be some sort of ‘Pure’ mode for dimming the screens for night driving, which is something I really appreciate at this time of year. But I haven’t quite figured out how to switch it on yet. See above about hectic family life but I think I just need to set aside some time on the driveway with the manual to figure out a few things. And download the supporting app for managing charging and other EV-related features.

This month in a nutshell

Paint as grey as the February weather we find ourselves in isn’t exactly inspiring, but I get the feeling there are hidden depths to the Grandland I’ll be coming to appreciate over the coming months.

Mileage: 293 (on delivery) Fuel consumption: TBC!

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