Opel Crossland review: A family-friendly SUV that really shines on practicality

The revamped Opel Crossland entry level SUV is a practical, affordable car packed with kit

This Crossland is no automotive dynamo and has not particularly improved upon its predecessor in terms of its abilities, but what it does do in spades is provide above-average levels of practicality at a decent price.

Opel Crossland
Rating	★★★☆☆
Price	from €22,795 - €27,595 as tested
Engine	sturdy and economical 1.5-litre turbodiesel with 110bhp
The Spec	pretty impressive for the dosh
Verdict	by far from the best in class dynamically but really shines on practicality

THE last few years have been difficult for Opel, not to mention for its UK-based sibling, Vauxhall.

These distinguished marques became the unwanted love child of US giant General Motors and, after years of neglect typified by a lack of investment, they were sold off ignominiously to PSA, the French company that then controlled Peugeot, Citroen, and DS.

PSA merged with the Fiat Chrysler Group earlier this year to become what is now known as Stellantis, the sixth-biggest car maker in the world and which now controls Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Citroen, Peugeot, Opel, DS, Ram, Lancia, Maserati, Dodge, and Vauxhall.

Initially under the PSA banner, Opel made good, steady headway, with the new Corsa being an excellent first stab, despite being somewhat rushed; the new Mokka (which will be tested in these columns soon) is pretty damn sharp, too, although the electric version does have range issues; and soon we will be seeing the latest Astra, which just has to be good and seemingly will be.

On top of that, earlier this year we got the second generation of Opel’s entry level SUV contender, the Crossland. Previously called the Crossland X, the ‘X’ suffix has been dropped and the car now has a fresh look that incorporates Opel’s ‘Visor’ corporate design language.

This is not the prettiest car in the world, but it won’t soil your driveway either. Opel’s design team has done away with much of the black plastic cladding that dominated the last version of the car (the X designation suggesting it was somehow off-road-ish, which it wasn’t, really).

So, having lost the X, we can pretty much regard the car as what it always was and that is more of an MPV than an SUV. But, with SUVs being the draw they are for punters these days, that tag is an essential part of its identity, even if it’s not essentially what this car is.

But let’s not quibble about semantics here: The Crossland is what it is and that is a very roomy, practical, small family car that won’t win any medals for the excellence of its driving characteristics, but which scores well on price and kit levels, by comparison with its main rivals, the Ford Puma, the Skoda Kamiq, and the Renault Captur.

While the Crossland is not as jazzy-looking as the Mokka, it is also aimed at a different client base, whose day-to-day needs are broader than its crossover sibling’s. It is a five-seater with a good boot and plenty of storage cubbies dotted around the cabin.

But even if the looks are somewhat bland, the car does have front and rear LED lights and, elsewhere, the specification is generous, to say the least, and particularly so in the ‘Elite’ version, which we tested.

Standard kit includes a lot of stuff you might not necessarily expect on a small family car, such as cruise control, traffic-sign recognition, electric dual-zone climate control, heated front seats and steering wheel, and specially designed seats that have passed muster with a German organisation that is campaigning across the industry for better sitting posture.

Also, you get a cooled glovebox, sliding rear seats with a 60:40 split, extra underfloor storage in the boot, 16in alloys, a Peugeot-based infotainment system with a 7in touchscreen, automatic lights and windscreen wipers and cameras and park-assist features.

So, for the money, this thing packs quite a punch and Opel has piled on the specification. There’s no spare wheel; just one of those next-to-useless tyre repair kits.

On the power front, the tester was equipped with a 1.5-litre turbodiesel that is not the greatest performer. It has 110bhp, which results in a top speed of 185km/h and a somewhat glacial 0-100km/h time of 11.4 seconds.

The upside is that it will easily return 4.6 l/100km, which is nearly 61mpg in old money.

And, if the performance isn’t shattering then the ride and handling are not wonderful either. On anything other than a billiard-table surface, the car will pitch and roll quite a bit and it also has a tendency to dive under braking. These, sadly, are not uncommon traits in this segment, so the Opel isn’t exactly alone here.

That said, the steering is precise and neatly weighted and the six-speed manual gearbox is very nice to drive, with gearing designed to get the max from the engine.

As is also the case across the industry, exterior colours can be mixed and match to personal taste and the interior can be colour coded to your satisfaction, also.

I THINK there may have been a feeling in Opel that the revamp of this car was a stopgap ahead of something more exciting down the road and that the Crossland was never going to be anything close to the class leaders, in terms of performance and on-road abilities.

That being so, they packed it with kit and all sorts of personalisation tricks to give it some sort of across-the-board appeal. In that regard, they have been very successful.

It might be that this car will not appeal to seasoned drivers who want performance and top-line ride and handling, but family drivers don’t necessarily want those things. They want something that is affordable, meets their daily demands, and doesn’t cost the earth. They have that here.

Personally, I would have chosen the version with the 1.2 PureTech petrol engine (from PSA), which gives you a fair bit more performance and panache, but you can easily see why the consumption levels would appeal to people, even in these dying days of diesel.

This Crossland is no automotive dynamo and has not particularly improved upon its predecessor in terms of its abilities.

But what it does do in spades is provide above-average levels of practicality at a decent price.

Buying and owning one, therefore, should be a very uncomplicated experience.