If you’re trading up from an Astra, Signum or Vectra, then you’ll feel at home with Antara’s interior as much of it is the same. It may lack pizzazz, but it’s functional, clearly laid out and mostly easy to use.

The driving high position is good, the steering wheel adjusts for reach and height and there’s decent all-round visibility

The cabin is let down by the peculiar handbrake design (it’s triangular and not especially comfortable to use) and on the first two trim levels, the colour screen is replaced with a black and orange LCD unit that looks dated and ugly. It spoils an otherwise attractive interior.

It’s a tall car, so headroom is excellent all round, plus there’s plenty of legroom in the back and – as it has a flat floor – lots of footroom too. So Vauxhall Antara comfort levels are good for passengers.

The ride is very supple and it’s impressive on smooth roads, helped by the fact that self-levelling suspension is standard (on diesels). However, over bumps, the Antara bounces around and struggles to iron out uneven surfaces.

On the plus side the rear is spacious enough for three adults (at a pinch). Refinement could be better at speed though – the diesel is clattery as it’s warming up and noisy on the motorway. Plus there’s a lot of wind noise.