Where the Grandland shines is inside, as it manages to combine function and style.
Vauxhall prides itself on its ergonomic seats, and indeed these ones are very comfortable. Even the manually adjustable items in our test car have a pull-out thigh bolster, as well as variable lumbar support and a variable cushion angle.
The Grandland avoids most of the 3008’s ergonomic foibles. The driving position is relatively tall, but feels natural, and the view out over that longish bonnet with the central ridge is quite a distinctive one. There’s a normal steering wheel and instrument cluster, the gear selector is where you expect to find it and there are physical controls for the cabin temperature and fan speed.
The materials are great, too, including plenty of interesting, patterned, recycled cloths instead of the synthetic leather that seems de rigueur today.
The light colours give a sense of space that isn’t just an illusion: there are various cubbies and shelves around the front of the cabin and the boot is right at the top end of the class, with 550 litres of space. Rear leg room is competitive and passengers have enough room to put their feet under the front seats.
The touchscreen multimedia system is the same standard-issue Stellantis one, but because you don’t need it for adjusting the temperature, it works much better than in the 3008. As usual with these systems, you can configure the homescreen to show exactly the things you find useful, and being wide rather than tall means it offers plenty of screen space without it impinging on forward visibility. The main screen isn’t entirely immune from lag, although we’ve seen worse.
