I think I must be having a mid-life crisis. Again.
Whereas I was once obsessed with performance, steering feel, ride attributes, NVH and perceived interior quality, I now find myself ignoring these niceties in favour of: how far will it go between charges?
Consequently, I was delighted to greet the arrival of our new long-term Vauxhall Grandland Electric, almost as much as the warmth of the summer sun.
Having spent more winters than I care to remember in weedy-batteried EVs, slipstreaming HGVs and turning my tootsies blue, to eke out enough range to get me home without stopping at some one-armed-bandit EV charger, I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate the Grandland’s 73kWh battery and its 325-mile range potential.
Of course, many EVs provide greater touring range, and I still find myself driving studiously, but because I only needed to stop twice to recharge on a recent jaunt from Newcastle to London – I have had to stop as many as four times in some EVs – this made me a very happy bunny.
Even though I’m not really one to worry too much about aesthetics, and I’m particularly ambivalent when it comes to the cookie cutters designs of SUV’s, I have been surprised by just how many favourable comments the Grandland has received, especially regarding its two-tone Impact Copper and gloss black colour scheme. The LED-lit signature grille and the seamlessly rolled door tops have also come in for their fair share of praise, and I was also on board with the slick looks of the latter until I discovered those hidden drainage troughs collect more arboreal detritus than a leafy Surrey mansion’s gutters when parked under a tree.
Inside, the Grandland is extremely spacious and smartly trimmed, although I am at a bit of a loss to know why the front seats have GS-monikered headrests when the car is a top of the range Ultimate version. I can only assume this is down to a slight hiccup on the production line. I’ll let you know when I know. The boot is also on the larger side, something which came in very handy when moving my adopted daughter’s goods and chattels home from university for the summer break. That said, I certainly think there is a bit of smoke and mirrors going on with the official litreage quotation, as the parcel shelf sits so high it reduces the view through the rear screen to something resembling a letter box.
Driving impressions so far have been reasonably favourable – more of this in reports to come – although it hasn’t all been plain sailing. On one of my early endeavours, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree and displayed an urgent message, imploring me to immediately visit my nearest dealership. As I was on the M1 at the time and the car seemed to be running fine I was inclined to think it could just be an electronic glitch of some sort, because as we all know, modern infotainment systems are more neurotic than a tech billionaire on ketamine.
Unfortunately, my shoot-from-the hip analysis proved to be well wide of the mark this time. Returning to the Grandland after stopping for a quick coffee, my heart sunk when the central locking failed to respond to the key. Ever the optimist and thinking the battery in the fob may have been kaput, I pulled the hard key from its sarcophagus and managed to open the door manually. Unfortunately, that was as far as I got, as repeated attempts to summon up any signs of life were greeted by a point-blank refusal.
Thankfully, the RAC patrol man arrived within the hour, and it didn’t take him long to diagnose the problem. Apparently, the 12V battery connectors hadn’t been torqued up sufficiently and this lack of purchase had meant the battery wasn’t receiving a charge and it had run completely flat. A quick wrist flick of a 13mm spanner and a resurrecting buzz from a battery pack later and all systems were good to go again. That said, since then, I have had a few error messages pop up on the infotainment screen regarding failing headlight functions and the screen will occasionally throw a wobbler and fall asleep for a few seconds. This often coincides with dodgy date display, which seems obsessed with living in the past, as it repeatedly falls a couple of days behind Greenwich Mean Time. Maybe it is working to the same schedule as the guy who fitted the random headrest and forgot to tighten the battery leads.
Standard equipment: 20in alloy wheels, dual-zone electronic climate control with heat pump, LED headlights and taillights, body colour rear spoiler, front and rear wheel arch cladding in high-gloss. 10in touchscreen with wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto, head-up display, front and rear parking sensors, electric parking brake, power-fold door mirrors with welcome puddle lighting, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and traffic sign recognition, rear traffic cross alert, heated windscreen, panoramic sunroof, powered tailgate.
| Model | Vauxhall Grandland Electric Ultimate |
| P11D price | £40,495 |
| As tested | £40,495 |
| WLTP Combined Range | 325 miles |
| Test consumption | TBC |
| Mileage | 3,670 |
