Used Vauxhall Grandland (Mk1, 2017-2024) buyer’s guide: boring to drive, but easy to live with
A full used buyer’s guide on the Vauxhall Grandland covering the Grandland Mk1 that was on sale between 2017 and 2024
Verdict
The Vauxhall Grandland is easy to respect, but hard to love. When we ran a 1.2 Turbo Sport Nav on our test fleet in 2019, we came away with the view that “You choose a Grandland X for the pragmatism and space it offers, not because it’ll stir the soul”. However, a three-way test with the facelifted Grandland in June 2022 saw the Vauxhall beat Nissan’s Qashqai, but not the Skoda Karoq, which is a formidable opponent. A key thing that we learned from running our petrol-engined Grandland around town a lot was its poor fuel economy of just 22mpg, although on a run we could get closer to 40mpg. Buy the right engine for your needs and you’ll have a family-friendly SUV that’s easy to live with, if ultimately rather unexciting.
Vauxhall has a long history of producing mass-market family cars, and although it embraced the SUV segment a long time before many rivals, the company offered more than its fair share of humdrum cars. Models such as the Frontera and Monterey in the 1990s, and more recently the Antara and the Mokka X.
When PSA (later to be part of Stellantis) bought Vauxhall from General Motors in 2017, the seeds were sown for a more desirable line-up, and one of them was the Grandland X. It has never been a class leader, but there’s still plenty to like about this mid-sized SUV, especially for those whose priorities are comfort and value rather than sharp dynamics or badge prestige.
History
The Vauxhall Grandland X went on sale in October 2017, with a choice of 128bhp three-cylinder 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol and 118bhp four-cylinder 1.6-litre diesel engines. Both were available with six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.
Used - available now
2024 Vauxhall
Grandland
45,376 milesAutomaticPetrol1.2L
Cash £16,100
2022 Vauxhall
Grandland
47,612 milesManualPetrol1.2L
Cash £14,197
2023 Vauxhall
Grandland
14,394 milesManualPetrol1.2L
Cash £16,682
2024 Vauxhall
Grandland
23,532 milesManualPetrol1.2L
Cash £16,500In May 2018 an all-new 128bhp 1.5-litre diesel replaced the previous 1.6-litre unit; it came with a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission. A fresh range-topping Ultimate trim in December 2017 coincided with the introduction of a 175bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine which came only in eight-speed auto form.
A four-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid arrived in early 2020, along with a front-wheel-drive edition. A facelift in October 2021 brought a fresh nose design and dashboard, and new tech, including adaptive LED headlights, while the X was dropped from the name. Production of the Mk1 ended in 2024, when the all new Grandland Mk2 arrived.
Used Vauxhall Grandland prices
Used Vauxhall Grandland prices for cars currently available on our Find a Car service start from £16,000 and go up to around £28,000. Use our car valuation tool to check the price of specific models.
Which one should I buy?
All Grandland engines and transmissions are good to drive and reasonably efficient. If you do lots of long-distance motorway drives, a diesel can still make sense; otherwise a petrol or plug-in hybrid might be better.
The entry-level SE (or later SE Premium) has dual-zone climate control, auto lights and wipers, 17-inch alloys and cruise control. Tech Line Nav adds ambient lighting, electrically folding door mirrors, a powered tailgate, satellite navigation, 18-inch wheels, keyless go and front parking sensors.
The Sport Nav has the same equipment, but with a black roof and mirrors, while Elite trim adds leather, heated front seats, 19-inch alloys, panoramic glass and a heated windscreen. The range-topping Ultimate also has heated outer rear seats, a Denon hi-fi, adaptive cruise control, a rear camera and adaptive LED headlights.
Alternatives to the Vauxhall Grandland
Mid-sized SUVs are incredibly popular, so the Grandland is in a very crowded sector and there are plenty of alternatives. The Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson are both well equipped and come with excellent warranties, while related to the Grandland are the Citroen C5 Aircross, Peugeot 3008 and DS 7 Crossback, all of which offer smart design and decent value.
Three other SUVs that are related to each other are the SEAT Ateca, Skoda Karoq and VW Tiguan, which offer user-friendly cabins, impressive build quality and great engines. The Nissan Qashqai and Renault Kadjar share much under the skin, while the Ford Kuga is good value and fun to drive, and the Mazda CX-5 has smart design inside and out.
What to look for
Spare wheel
A £20 kit could be fitted, allowing the supplying dealer to include a steel space-saver wheel and jack for around £200.
PHEV
Upgrading to a 6.6kW on-board charger cuts hybrid charging time to one hour 45 min from a wallbox; it’s almost six hours from a domestic plug.
Line-up
From summer 2022, trims were cut back to Design, GS Line and Ultimate. All three were available with the 1.2T and 1.5D engines.
Towing
The 1.2 Turbo auto was initially rated with a 1,100kg maximum trailer weight, but this was later increased to 1,300kg.
Common faults
The 1.2T and 1.5D have an oil-lubricated cambelt that can disintegrate, wrecking the engine. We don’t know how common the problem is, but the cambelt’s material and oil spec have both been changed. Otherwise, any issues tend to be relatively minor software or electrical faults.
Interior
One big difference between the Grandland X and the Grandland is the dashboard; the later car’s is much more sophisticated, with its large digital displays, one of which is a user-friendly infotainment system.
The dash is generally easy to live with either way, and the Grandland’s front seats are comfortable with plenty of adjustment and support. Rear-seat space is impressive, with plenty of head and legroom.
However, boot space is merely average, at 514 litres, or 1,652 litres with the back seats folded. Those numbers drop to 390 and 1,528 litres in the hybrid.
Prices
We found more than 1,300 Grandland Xs, but fewer than 40 Grandlands. Focusing on the former, three-quarters have a petrol engine and one in have an automatic gearbox. Meanwhile, plug-in hybrids are scarce; we found just two dozen for sale.
Running costs
All Grandlands need to be serviced every 12 months or 16,000 miles. Every other service (first, third, fifth etc.) is an Interim, which is priced at £215 using OE parts, or £205 if pattern items are fitted. Services two, six, 10 etc. are classed as Main and these are priced at £235 regardless of whether OE or pattern parts are fitted.
Services four, eight, 12, etc, are Major; this involves replacing the petrol fuel filter, spark plugs and air filter. For diesel-engined Grandlands, the cost is £385 (£335 using pattern parts), whereas for the 1.2T you’ll pay £415 (or £355), and with the hybrid the price is £485 or £435. The 1.6-litre petrol in the plug-in hybrid is chain-driven, but the 1.5 diesel and 1.2 petrol have a cambelt that needs should be replaced every 10 years or 112,000 miles. Dealers charge £569 for this.
Recalls
Vauxhall has recalled the Grandland eight times. The first was in January 2018 because some cars built in late 2017 were fitted with faulty pistons that could lead to engine failure. There were two recalls in July 2018, one for oil leaks from the 2.0-litre diesel, the other because of front seat-mounted airbags failing to deploy correctly.
Diesel particulate filter glitches led to the next campaign in April 2019; five months later came recall number five, because some Grandlands left the factory with poorly secured rear seatbelts. Recalls six and seven came in October and November 2020 because of exhaust emissions limits being exceeded and faulty diesel particulate filters. The most recent recall, in March 2021, was due to faulty radiators; affected cars were made in September 2019.
Driver Power owner satisfaction
Having made its Driver Power new-car survey debut in 2020, in 69th place (out of 75 entries), the Grandland X then shot up to seventh place the next year, before dropping to 24th place in 2022. Owners like the performance, low running costs (especially maintenance), cabin space and versatility. They’re less keen on visibility, switchgear placement, cabin finish and reliability, but overall the results are impressive.
What do owners think?
Here’s what owners in the 2024 Driver Power survey thought of the Vauxhall Grandland Mk1.
| What they like | What they don't like |
| “My Grandland was good value for money, and it also provides a really enjoyable driving experience. I love it.” | “The automatic gearbox isn’t nearly as slick as the dual-clutch set-up that I had in my previous Ford S-Max.” |
| “I’m 6ft 3in and disabled, but can get in and out easily, and I can also get comfy once in. It’s a great car all round.” | “When my six-foot-tall son sits in the front, he has to move the seat back, which leaves almost no legroom.” |
| “The elevated seating position makes it easy for me to get in and out, even though I have bad arthritis.” | “The fuel tank of my diesel Grandland is far too small, so I have to fill up far more often than I’m used to.” |
| “Reliability has been superb. This is my third Vauxhall and I haven’t had a single issue with any of them.” | “Too many functions have to be controlled through the touchscreen, which can be hard to read in strong light.” |
| “My Grandland was great value, not least because I got a 25 per cent discount when I bought it.” | “The glovebox is too small to be of any use, and there aren’t many cubbyholes in the cabin for small items.” |
| “The Grandland is a great package because it’s a good-looking car that’s reliable and easy to drive.” | |
| “There’s loads of storage space in the car, taking into account the room in the cabin and the variable boot, which can easily hold large items. It’s a shame the back seat doesn’t slide back and forth, but the lever that drops them down flat is handy.” | |
| “I often have to do long journeys, and I always get to my destination comfortable and relaxed, thanks to the ride. The handling also feels reassuring, whatever the weather.” | |
| “The seats are comfy on the longest journeys and it’s quiet, not just inside the car, but outside as well. The cabin is well designed and made to a high standard, with no squeaks or rattles.” |
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Vauxhall Grandland: what we said
Extracts from our Vauxhall Grandland test drive in August 2024
While the Vauxhall Grandland (formerly the Vauxhall Grandland X) might not be the most characterful or stylish family SUV we’ve tested, it offers bags of space and loads of kit in a sensible, and well-built package. Thanks to an update in 2021, Vauxhall’s largest SUV now has a fresh face and better on-board tech, while the hybrid version will appeal to those looking to lower fuel bills.
The problem is that the Grandland’s highly accomplished rivals look sharper, feature slicker tech and, in some cases, are even more practical, resigning the Vauxhall towards the back of the pack.
Engines, performance and drive
We previously criticised the Vauxhall Grandland for having a fairly stiff ride, but for 2023 Vauxhall's engineers tweaked the suspension settings to increase the damping force over large bumps, and soften the response over harsher lumps.
The adjustments seem to have paid off because the suspension set-up now feels a little softer than a Ford Kuga, offering a fairly soothing ride that doesn’t crash harshly into potholes or speed bumps. However, the Grandland suffers from more suspension noise than you find in either the Kuga, or our preferred mid-size SUV, the Hyundai Tucson.
We found the steering in the Grandland to be light steering and sharp for an SUV, with a fairly tight turning circle. That should make the Grandland easy to drive around town, but out on the open road, it doesn’t have the front-end grip of the Kuga or Tucson, so the Grandland isn’t as satisfying to drive on a twisty B road. It also rolls a little bit around the turns, and heavy braking causes quite a lot of nose dive. Hit the motorway and road and wind noise is fairly well suppressed, and that soft ride continues to contribute to a relaxing feel.
Ultimately, you’d be hard-pushed to call the Vauxhall Grandland fun to drive. Instead, it’s safe and predictable, so if you want a more dynamic family SUV, you’ll be better served by the Mazda CX-5 or SEAT Ateca (or its Cupra Ateca sibling).
The turbo petrol powerplant might not be the most efficient, but it still works well in town (provided you stick with the manual version), offers adequate performance for a family car, and is quiet when cruising.
Those covering big annual mileages should probably look to the fuel-saving hybrid version, which is far smoother than the automatic-equipped petrol and provides plenty of torque at low speeds thanks to its hybrid electric motor. It can even travel a short distance on EV power, which helps to improve fuel economy, although its performance boost isn’t quite as pronounced when accelerating at higher speeds, where you will have to work the engine quite hard to quickly get up to motorway speeds.
0-62mph and top speed
The 128bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo can propel the Vauxhall Grandland from 0-62mph in 10.4 seconds, and on to a top speed of 122mph. Opting for the Hybrid gains you a little more power at 134bhp, although you won’t really notice with its marginally swifter 10-second 0-62mph time and a marginally slower top speed of 121mph.
MPG and CO2
Go for a Vauxhall Grandland powered by the 128bhp 1.2-litre turbo petrol, and the manual version has a claimed economy figure of 46.3mpg and CO2 emissions of 137g/km, while adding the optional automatic gearbox results in a slight dip to 44.1mpg and emissions of 144g/km. When we drove the Grandland with this engine and the automatic gearbox, it struggled to achieve its official mpg figure, only managing 39.1mpg.
The Hybrid version is much better, with fuel economy of 51.3mpg and emissions of 124g/km. During our Hyundai Tucson vs Ford Kuga vs Vauxhall Grandland group test, the Grandland Hybrid managed an impressive 46.2mpg.
Company car drivers will need to look towards plug-in hybrid rivals such as the Ford Kuga and Hyundai Tucson after the demise of the plug-in hybrid Grandland, or wait until the all-electric version of the upcoming new Vauxhall Grandland arrives, later in 2024.
Interior design and technology
The Vauxhall Grandland is a practical and well-built mid-size SUV, but alongside more stylish models (including the Peugeot 3008, with which it shares a platform), it was looking a bit drab – both inside and out. A facelift in 2021 brought a sharper look, with the Grandland now featuring Vauxhall's signature 'Vizor' front end, along with new bumpers, body-coloured trim and upgraded technology.
The exterior design can be livened up further by choosing either Carmin Red or the free Arctic White, but grey or black are still available to allow your Grandland to fade into the sea of SUVs that populate the UK’s roads.
The interior includes a dual-screen layout called ‘Pure Panel’ that feels much more modern than the pre-facelifted car's setup. The single Ultimate trim includes a 12-inch digital instrument display and a 10-inch touchscreen, although these modern screens look a little out of place against the Grandland’s older steering wheel design. At least the wheel includes physical controls that are easier to use than touch-sensitive alternatives.
Because Ultimate comes loaded with equipment, buyers won't feel too short-changed. Along with LED headlights, and front and rear parking sensors, there are bigger 19-inch rims, an adaptive cruise control system, a heated steering wheel, a wireless smartphone charging pad, a 360-degree camera system, an automatic tailgate, and upgraded upholstery.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
Every Vauxhall Grandland gets a 10-inch colour touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity to go with the digital dash, which is also standard.
Both the 10-inch central touchscreen and the 12-inch digital instrument cluster look sharp and colourful. The digital dials can show a range of driving and trip details, however the fonts are small and surrounded by lots of blank space. We also found that if you turn on the headlights, both screens dim quite dramatically; this is fine at night, but they’re hard to read during the day. We struggled to find a way of changing this in the settings, just one thing which confirms that some of the sub-menus and functions aren’t very logically laid out once you dig into the system. We found it easier to just use apps form our phone using the standard smartphone connectivity rather than the standard touchscreen interface.
A DAB radio and Bluetooth come as standard, and Vauxhall deserves praise for sticking with physical climate controls; the temperature knobs are quite small, but are still less fiddly than touch-sensitive keys. If you run out of mobile data, then sat-nav comes as part of the Multimedia Nav Pro screen, which you can get live traffic updates and road safety alerts if you pay for a subscription.
Practicality, comfort and boot space
The Vauxhall Grandland is a practical family car, but it's not without its flaws. The mid-size SUV has a roomy interior with a raised driving position, although the sloping bodywork can make judging the extremities difficult, so you’ll end up relying on the standard parking sensors and 360-degree camera system. The driving position has plenty of adjustments for the seat and steering wheel.
Cabin storage isn’t a Grandland strength. The door bins are narrow, and we found that the bin at the base of the dashboard is too small for the latest smartphones, so you'll need to keep your devices in the central cubby between the seats, which is quite some distance from the USB charging port. The glovebox is also too small, with the fuse box hogging most of the space.
There's loads of space in the back for adults and children alike, plus the Grandland is also fitted with three ISOFIX points – two in the back and another on the front passenger seat. This will give families plenty of flexibility when installing a child seat. There’s no seven-seat option, however, so Vauxhall buyers seeking an additional two seats in the boot will need to look at the van-based Vauxhall Combo Life.
The Grandland’s seats are approved by AGR, an organisation that promotes healthy posture. These are potentially good for those with back pain, although they are rather firm and take some getting used to.
Dimensions and size
The Vauxhall Grandland is 4,470mm long and 1,906mm wide (excluding side mirrors), meaning it’s longer and wider than most of its rivals, such as the Kia Sportage, Nissan Qashqai and Skoda Karoq. The Grandland doesn’t feel like a cumbersome car on the road, but those after something a bit easier when parking or tackling tight city streets might be interested in the firm’s smaller Vauxhall Mokka SUV.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
The space in the back of Vauxhall’s Grandland is very generous. The flat floor means there’s room for three across the rear bench, with plenty of head, leg, and knee room. The large windows and light-coloured headlining also ensure that it never feels dark, cramped, or claustrophobic.
That said, when we tested the Vauxhall Grandland against the Kia Sportage in our twin test, we measured up the cabins and found that knee and headroom were similar, but the Grandland lost out by a considerable gap on elbow room.
Boot space
If you go for a petrol or hybrid Grandland, you get 514 litres of boot space, and it’s easy to access, thanks to the big, wide, and square tailgate. In comparison, the Nissan Qashqai and Peugeot 3008 offer similar luggage capacities with the rear seats in place, however the Skoda Karoq and Kia Sportage are much more generous.
At least the adjustable height boot floor can be made level with the aperture when loading heavy items into the Vauxhall, so you can slide things in easily. There’s a loading hatch in the middle of the rear bench, which is useful for taking long items when you still have passengers in the back.
Fold the rear seats down, and the load bay expands to 1,652 litres – two litres more than you’ll find in its Peugeot 3008 sister car and almost as much as some cars in the class above.
Our measurements show that the Vauxhall Grandland has a similar-sized load bay to the Kia Sportage, as we discovered in our twin test. However, the Grandland has a higher lip height to load bulky items over, ultimately putting the Kia in front.
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