Vauxhall Grandland Electric long-term test

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 10,751 List price £39,995 Best Price £39,995 Price as tested £40,645 Official range 322 miles Test range 265 miles 

13 January 2026 – No ifs, only butts

Backside, rump, gluteus maximus; that there should be so many words associated with our posteriors illustrates just how important they are to us. Bums deserve to be well treated, and I have to say I've very pleased with the way my Vauxhall Grandland Electric looks after my hindquarters.

With work giving me a 234-mile round trip to look forward to several times a week, I spend more time sitting on my backside than a lot of my colleagues – typically in the order of six hours a day outside office hours. Just as well, then, that the Grandland goes out of its way to ensure that my buns have life fairly easy. For starters, my car's Ultimate trim level brings heated seats that feel effective enough to griddle bacon; they warm up very quickly indeed, and that's just the job now that the Winter is starting to bare its teeth.

Toasting my tushy is one thing, but ensuring a good posture is another still, and again the Grandland pulls out all the stops. Granted, adjusting the seatback rake and the seat's position relative to the steering wheel and pedals is a manual task, but the seat cushion tilt adjustment is electric. Not every car offers tilt adjustment at all, and I'm a big fan of it, particularly in conjunction with the extendable under-thigh support that the Grandland also has as standard. I'm a tall chap, with much my height in my legs, and in most cars my knees tend to be way up in the air, leaving my thighs unsupported. Not so in the Grandland.

But my derrière is particularly indebted to a feature that Vauxhall calls Intelli-Seat ergonomics; something that's just been introduced to the latest Vauxhall Astra, too. On top of all the adjustments mentioned above, the seat cushion has a recessed channel (inspired by the design of bicycle saddles) that's designed to reduce pressure on your tailbone. And sure enough, I step from the Grandland at journey's end without having had to resort to fidgeting.

These are the comfiest seats I've had in a company car for a long time and I'll be sad to part with them when my time with the Grandland ends. By my rear end's reckoning, they certainly give those of the BYD Atto 3 and MG HS a good spanking.

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