Vauxhall Grandland Electric long-term test: report 1

The car Vauxhall Grandland Electric Ultimate  Run by Chris Haining, sub-editor

Why it’s here To find out what Vauxhall's electric family SUV has to offer in what is a highly competitive class  

Needs to be comfy and relaxing on a long motorway commute; economical to run; offer the practicality an action-packed life demands

Mileage 997 List price £39,995 Best Price £39,995 Price as tested £40,645 Official range 322 miles Test range 277 miles Options Impact Copper metallic paint (£650)

11 August 2025 – Vauxhall this, then?

From behind the wheel of my new Vauxhall Grandland Electric, I'm thinking back to April 1981. On that day, proud new parents Mr and Mrs Haining made the journey home from a maternity ward in Colchester to their home in Walton-on-the-Naze. Mrs Haining sat on the beige leatherette rear seat, tending the precious cargo in a basket beside her. That cargo was me, and the car was a 1975 Vauxhall Victor 2300SL. 

Having made my first ever journey in the biggest ‘70s model from the brand with the Griffin badge, I now have its de facto marketplace successor – Vauxhall’s flagship model – on my drive, 44 years later. Of course, it’s a very different machine from the traditional saloon of olden times. The Vauxhall Grandland is a family SUV that’s a technical twin to the Citroën C5 Aircross and Peugeot 5008. Moreover, mine happens to be electric.

I’m rather looking forward to running what could be described as the ultimate expression of what Vauxhall can offer in 2025. And I’m not even kidding; my car is an actual Vauxhall Grandland Ultimate – the top trim level, with deluxe features galore. It's going to face a mix of leisure and commuting duties, and the latter is quite a serious test of any electric car’s mettle. That’s because my regular commute takes me from Mistley, up on the Essex/Suffolk border, to Twickenham and back; 234 miles of mostly dual carriageway and motorway driving, with half a dozen miles of rural lanes at my end and a period of dense urban sprawl at the other.

In other words, it’s pretty taxing on an electric car’s stamina. Happily, though, the Grandland Electric promises 322 miles of official range from its 73kWh (usable capacity) battery. And, if for some reason I do find myself caught short, its peak charging rate of 160kW means it can be taken from 10-80% charge in just 18 minutes, assuming I find a suitably powerful charger on my travels. Most of the time, though, I’ll be charging on my drive, via my trusty Indra SmartPro 7Kw home charger.

So, what does Ultimate trim give you? Well, an awful lot of kit. My car’s only optional extra is its rather fetching Impact Copper metallic paint (£650). Everything else is complimentary. Ready? Deep breath, you get Intellilux adaptive LED headlights, Intellidrive 2.0 with semi-automatic lane change assist, blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic assist and adaptive cruise control. There’s intelligent speed adaption and road sign recognition, Intelli-vision 360deg manoeuvring cameras, and an Intelli-HUD head up display. That’s a lot of Intellithings.

The tech-fest continues with a 16in infotainment system and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, and a 10in digital driver’s infotainment display. There’s also a handy wireless phone charger up front and a pair of USB-C sockets for each row of seats. Then there are heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, dual-zone air conditioning with Intelli-air (hooray!) active air quality monitoring and filtering; seven selectable colours of ambient interior illumination, and a heated front windscreen. I see that particular feature as being more important in electric cars than in combustion engined ones, the latter can use engine heat to aid demisting at no cost to range, whereas EVs can sacrifice a good few miles of range generating heat to clear the windscreen. Ask me how I know how.

One feature I’ve already put to the test is the Focal stereo system, which boasts 10 speakers and a subwoofer. It’s very good indeed; the subwoofer does exactly what it’s supposed to, underpinning the very lowest notes, rather than just making things sound shouty. Listening to Bjork’s Hyperballad the other day, it demonstrated real musical authority, effortlessly reaching low notes that even my fairly powerful home hi-fi system only just has the lungs for.  

On paper, then, the Grandland Electric has the necessary kit to entertain me on my regular motorway slog, the range to get me to work and back, and the tech to take the effort out of said slog. Over the next five months I’ll also be putting its practicality to the test; my wife and I enjoy a pretty active lifestyle when the working week gives way to leisure time, so there’ll be kayaking, camping and hiking gear to carry. And, as a keen driver with some very pleasing country roads on my doorstep, I’ll be putting the car’s cornering aptitude to the test.

It’s a long time since I was coddled with blankets and carried in that old, green Victor, and hopefully I’m now better placed to make judgement. Certainly my vocabulary has expanded since my pre-teething days, so let’s find out if the Grandland has me going ga ga.  

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