The first will be the second
In 2017, the Opel Grandland The sequel is obvious: the Grandland will also be one of the first Opels from this era to receive a successor. The new Grandland will also be available as an EV for the first time.
Highlights
- Shares new base with Peugeot 3008
- EV with up to 700 kilometers of range
- Recognizable, sleek Opel style
What a turbulent period Opel has had. Before 2017, we knew Opels by definition as cars from General Motors. In 2017, the small Crossland This duo was created well before PSA (Peugeot-Citroën) acquired Opel that same year. In 2020 it was announced that PSA would form a new group together with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA): Stellantis. This is now one of the largest players in Europe and is certainly making a significant impact on the automotive sector on our continent. A lot has happened in a short time, but another car’s life is now over. The Grandland, which lost its ‘X’ in 2021, will receive a successor in the new year. That is no surprise, because the new Grandland shares its base with the Peugeot 3008. The successor of that model has already been presented, so the new Grandland is nothing more than a logical continuation. In accordance with good Stellantis practice, this is not a twin model with just a different nose. The platform is shared and in the region around the windshield, roof and front doors there are some visibly similar parts, but you have to be a very advanced car spotter to make the connection.
The sheet metal of the new Opel Grandland is completely ‘own’ all around, as is also the case with the current Grandland and, for example, the Astra. The ‘Opel Vizor’, which was somewhat forced into the front of the facelift of the current Grandland, is the basis of the front of the new Grandland. That looks sleek and harmonious, because, following the example of the Astra, the rest of the Grandland carriage has many straight folds and large surfaces. Sleek, modern and tidy, just the way we like it nowadays. An important difference with the 3008 is that the Grandland has a much less sloping roofline and a straighter tail. This may mean slightly less good aerodynamics, but it will undoubtedly provide a lot of interior space.
Opel Grandland (illustration: Larson)
Electric, petrol or plug-in
The new electric version plays the leading role in the new Peugeot 3008, which saw the light of day a few months ago. The 3008 was even presented as ‘Peugeot e-3008’, Peugeot only talks about petrol models if you ask. Opel may choose the same path, because those electric versions are very promising. The first electric Opel Grandland will not only have much more power than the Astra Electric, but also a larger battery pack. Almost twice as big, in fact, because Long Range variants get no less than 98 kWh. This should allow the Grandland to travel about 700 kilometers without recharging. Impressive figures, which promise a relatively efficient car. The Grandland can also handle the smaller 73 kWh battery well: count on a range of over 500 kilometers. The power ranges from 210 hp for the basic front-wheel drive and 230 hp for the front-wheel drive with the large battery to 320 hp for the four-wheel drive variant.
Would you rather not go fully electric? Then look forward to the arrival of plug-in hybrids and mild hybrid variants, starting with the 136 hp mild hybrid that was launched at the last minute in the outgoing Peugeot 3008. In addition to electrical assistance and a new dual-clutch automatic transmission, this power source has an important advantage over the current petrol variants. The 1.2 PureTech three-cylinder has a timing chain in the new application, which should eliminate the existing problems with the timing belts of these engines.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl