Vauxhall Grandland - Interior, design and technology

The new Grandland incorporates Vauxhall’s ‘Vizor’ front end from the get-go, unlike the previous generation which added it during a facelift. It’s handsome, if a little unassuming in its design. Aside from an extra grille in the front bumper, you’d be hard-pressed to find any visual tweaks between the mild-hybrid and all-electric versions. Some interesting details have been carried over from Vauxhall’s Experimental concept such as illuminated ‘Vauxhall’ script in the rear light bar, and translucent bars within the headlights. GS models gain ‘Intelli-lux’ headlights, meaning the high beam automatically adjusts for oncoming traffic or reflective road signs.

Arctic white gloss is the only no-cost paint option on the Grandland. There’s grey, black and a dark blue to choose from, but the ‘Impact Copper’ hue stands out best. 

What is the Vauxhall Grandland like inside?

Jump inside the Grandland and you’re met with two rather thin screens. The driver’s display measures 10 inches and the central touchscreen 16 inches, although they don’t take up a lot of the dash and don’t feel too distracting, either. The driver’s display has all the necessary information you’d expect, and it’s clearly visible, too.

We found some parts of the interior to be lacking in quality compared with rivals. Vauxhall says the new Grandland goes “upwards in quality and positioning”, but while it’s certainly an improvement on the previous car, there are some noticeable scratchy black plastics and gaps in the trim. 

What is the interior quality like?

There are a lot of different materials on show in the Grandland’s cabin, although some people might find it a little fussy. The good news, though, is that Vauxhall says 85 per cent of them are recyclable. However, even with the ambient lighting function offered on GS trim and above, it’s a little dreary and certainly lacks the flair of the Peugeot 3008’s cabin. Common touchpoints like the doors, steering wheel and centre console generally feel premium enough for the segment however.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

We like the central infotainment screen, which is angled towards the driver for a more driver-focused environment - although not to the same extent as in the Peugeot 3008. A 10-inch touchscreen comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, but our car had the larger 16-inch unit fitted, as seen on GS and Ultimate models.

We found smartphone pairing to be pretty seamless, and the screen sufficiently responsive. Sat-nav isn’t standard on Design spec though; you have to step up to the GS and its larger screen for that. The Grandland Electric model we tried suffered from severe lag on the maps function, however, and switching between drive modes also seemed to flummox it. Vauxhall reassured us that these issues would be fixed, although not in time for first customer deliveries.

The infotainment screen also reserves a lot of space for useless ‘Android Auto’ notifications, which again we were told should be patched out in an over-the-air update at some point. However, the climate controls that are constantly visible on the sides of the screen are a helpful touch, and they are complemented by a row of physical tabs beneath, comprising climate, volume and demisting controls. Vauxhall said this was a direct result of customer feedback. 

Up front, there’s a single USB-C port on entry-level Design models with GS adding two more for the rear passengers.