Vauxhall

Crossland X

The Vauxhall Crossland X is the company’s new baby crossover car that is very easy on the eye and is packed with techno treats. It is competitively priced and available with a choice of engines and well-equipped trim levels to choose from.

The good

Dynamic styling, competitively priced and richly equipped

The bad

Body lean into corners and a tad noisy when pushed hard

Tech Specs

Price from

£16,555

Combined Fuel up to

78.5mpg

0-62 from

9.1 seconds

max speed up to

128mph

co2 from

93g/km

Test Drive

Vauxhall Crossland X – first drive

Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be room for any more SUVs in our showrooms, Vauxhall has launched a new baby crossover into the mix and predicts its all-new Crossland X will prove a big hit with young families and older couples.

Priced from £16,555, the front wheel-drive model is available with three 1.2-litre petrol engines with power outputs of 81, 110 or 130PS, or 1.6-litre diesel powertrains with outputs of 99 or 120PS. Customers can choose between manual or automatic gearboxes and can also select from a number of richly-equipped trim levels with further optional packs to spec up the car.

The car has been designed and engineered with practicality in mind and Vauxhall believes that 65 per cent of sales will come from private owners, especially families with young children or older people who will benefit from the high seating position, easy access and extensive range of safety features.

The Crossland X is smaller than the Vauxhall Mokka and later this year the largest in the company’s SUV line-up called the Grandland X will enter the fray.

The trim grades for the Crossland X, which is on sale now with deliveries from the end of June, are SE, Elite, SE Nav, Elite Nav and Tech Line Nav.

The five-door Crossland X is very easy on the eye with neat sculpted muscular lines, distinctive LED signature lights, a bold grille housing the Vauxhall badge, lots of smart chrome trim and a floating roof appearance. At the rear of the car the high-mounted split rear lights also feature the distinctive double wing graphic.

Move inside and the interior is modern in its design and neatly laid out with a very driver-focused cockpit. Techno treats are plentiful and depending on trim level include the likes of a seven or eight-inch touchscreen, full smartphone connectivity via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, a panoramic rearview camera, a head-up display, advanced park assist and a heated steering wheel.

It also features access to Vauxhall’s impressive OnStar system which connects the caller with a real person to get all sorts of information about the local area. But perhaps more importantly the OnStar set-up will send details of your location to the emergency services if the car is involved in an accident and you cannot be contacted.

While the Crossland X is compact in its design, it’s very big on space on the inside where there is ample room in the back for a couple of adults if the front seats aren’t pushed right back. There is also the option to have 60:40 split-folding rear seats that can slide forwards or backwards to increase leg room or luggage capacity as required. The boot can hold from 410 litre up to 1,255 litres with the rear seats folded flat.

The car is available with a raft of safety features, once again depending on trim levels. These include the likes of lane departure warning, forward collision alert with pedestrian detection and autonomous emergency braking, traffic sign recognition and a driver drowsiness system.

We tried out a couple of models on some winding Cotswold roads that certainly tested the car’s agility and dynamics.

First up was the 1.2 110PS ecoTEC petrol model with five-speed manual transmission in SE trim priced at £18,575 (£21,455 with options). The car could reach 62mph from a standing start in 10.6 seconds, topped out at 117mph and according to official figures delivered combined fuel economy of 57.6mpg with carbon emissions of 111g/km.

The Crossland X was certainly comfortable and the high seated driving position means the driver benefits from good all round visibility. The acceleration through the gears was responsive and there was plenty of power on tap as it coasted along the lanes with ease. The light steering was appreciated in busy traffic as the car weaved through the crowds, but on faster twisting roads it was not quite so much fun. There is quite a lot of body lean into corners and the engine, road surface and wind noise levels do increase considerably when the car is driven hard.

The instrumentation was perfectly positioned for driver usability and the sat nav system worked well when connected to a smartphone via Android Auto.

Whilst Vauxhall has excelled in delivering good storage options at the back of the car, up front it’s not quite so impressive. The glovebox is fairly small as it also houses the fuse box and the cup holders are shallow. However, the door pockets are more practical in size.

Next up was the 1.6-litre 99PS ecoTEC diesel model, again with five-speed manual gearbox. This car was in Elite grade and was priced at £19,915 but a number of optional extras bumped up the asking price to £22,895. It reached from 0-62mph in 12.0 seconds, maxed out at 112mph and had combined fuel efficiency of 76.3mpg with CO2 emissions of 95g/km.

Once again, the car handled well and although it was not without fault, it is unlikely people who buy the Crossland X will want to push its boundaries too far. If driven sensibly it remains refined and composed. The diesel model proved nice and responsive although not quite so punchy as its petrol counterpart. But you will get far greater fuel economy from this model as is reflected in the figures.

The Crossland X is a collaboration with PSA Peugeot Citroen alliance and is battling in a fiercely competitive segment with so many manufacturers vying for sales. But it’s also the fastest growing sector in the motor industry so it’s impossible for customers to have too much choice.