Written by Ted Welford Updated: 5 December 2024

Overview

A key barrier to electric car adoption has been the initial upfront cost, but that’s starting to change. Vauxhall has been at the forefront of cutting the prices of its EVs and drumming up their popularity with attractive incentives. 

It’s now taken another major leap with the introduction of its new Frontera crossover, which is especially noteworthy as it’s the first car to cost the same across both electric and petrol versions. That price is very low, too, as starting from £23,495 for a fully-fledged electric family SUV, it represents outstanding value for money. It should resonate with those who previously thought a new electric SUV was out of financial reach, with prices undercutting competitors by more than £10,000 in some cases. 

The Frontera revives a Vauxhall nameplate not seen since the early 2000s, with the original Frontera a more utiltarian 4x4 compared to this more urban-focused crossover. The Frontera replaces the flawed Vauxhall Crossland – a car we can say nothing but good riddance to – and slots between the firm’s Mokka and Grandland SUVs in terms of size, despite being considerably cheaper than both. 

15

But how is it so cheap? It’s fundamentally down to what’s underneath the Frontera, as it’s built on a lower-cost platform from Stellantis – the owner of Vauxhall and firms such as Peugeot and Citroen. It means it shares lots in common with the new Citroen C3 and Citroen C3 Aircross as more budget-focused models that do away with a few frills in the name of bringing prices down. At launch, a single electric powertrain is available in the Frontera, bringing a rather lukewarm range of 186 miles – a figure that lags behind many rivals, but ones that are considerably more expensive. 

The arrival of the Frontera also means that every new Vauxhall can now be had with an electric version. However, most remain available with petrol or hybrid models alongside – the firm believes that customers should still have the choice. It’s an approach we share here at Parkers.

The closest rival to Vauxhall Frontera is the MG ZS EV, due for replacement in early 2025, with other similarly-sized electric SUVs including the BYD Atto 3, Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV. All those start from more than £30,000, however. If you want a similarly-priced EV, you’ll be looking at small electric hatchbacks, such as the Renault 5 and Hyundai Inster, but both are considerably smaller and less spacious. 

15

But have corners been cut in the Vauxhall Frontera’s development in the name of keen pricing, or is this a genuine bargain family SUV? We’ve been behind the wheel for the first time in Mallorca to find out ahead of UK deliveries starting in the middle of 2025. You can read more about how we test cars at Parkers if you want to know more.

What’s it like inside?

First impressions of the Vauxhall Frontera are positive, with a smart-looking interior that brings together an interesting mix of textures and tech. A 10-inch touchscreen and digital instrument cluster are both included as standard and while they’re fairly basic systems, they do everything needed and are even quite responsive. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also included, along with wireless smartphone charging. There are easy shortcut icons on the touchscreen to take you to the page you want and even physical climate control buttons. It’s a welcome mix of tech and physical switchgear for us. 

15

However, the interior itself feels very cheap. Hard, scratchy plastics are used on both trim levels, but especially on the entry-level Design model that gets no soft-touch elements on the door cards at all. Think of a van interior and you aren’t too far from the reality. If it was more expensive, we’d call it a significant downside, but considering it’s around £7,000 less than its next rival, it doesn’t really feel £7,000 worse. There are some neat touches within it too, with a wraparound ‘flexistrip’ in place of a cupholder and grey fabric door trim on the GS a welcome distraction. 

More positive is its sheer interior space. This is a much larger car than the Vauxhall Crossland it replaces, and that room has been put to good use. There’s lots of space in the rear for adults, with its boxy roofline meaning plenty of headroom even for taller occupants. But with the Frontera’s battery positioned underneath, the floor is quite high compared to the mild-hybrid version, giving the feeling that your legs are positioned higher in the air than you’d like.

15

But the 460-litre boot is a big, useful size and a height-adjustable floor with space to store the charging cables beneath welcome. The rear seats fold 60:40 and while not going completely flat, the space on offer with them down is an impressive 1,600 litres – a figure Vauxhall proudly declares is more than the Vauxhall Astra Electric Sports Tourer estate car. 

Comfort

While we’ll come onto ride comfort in a later section, the Frontera generally performs well in terms of seating comfort. You will want the top-spec GS model in this respect, though, as this comes with revised ‘Intelli-Seats’, which get additional padding that Vauxhall says ‘relieves pressure on the tailbone’. We didn’t enough time behind the wheel of the Frontera to test such a theory, but can confirm they are supportive with decent adjustment. There’s no height adjustment for the front passenger seat, regardless of specification, however. If you’re used to your creature comforts, we’d advise choosing the ‘Ultimate Pack’, which brings heated front seats and a heated steering wheel (plus other elements) for £800. 

15

Rear-seat passengers won’t be as comfortable as those in the front, however. The high floor means having your legs positioned high in the air might not be comfortable for longer trips. The outer edges of the rear seats are also very soft. When you first sit in the rear, you tend to sink into the seat – not too dissimilar from when you sit on a sofa that’s lower than you expected. It could prove difficult for those with more restricted mobility. 

Safety

The Vauxhall Frontera is yet to be tested by Euro NCAP, or indeed any other car so far on this platform – such as the new Citroen C3 and next-generation Citroen C3 Aircross.

The Frontera comes with a decent level of standard safety equipment, however, such as LED headlights, a reversing camera, lane keep assist and driver attention alert to name just a few features. Blind-spot monitors are included on the top-spec GS. However, the lane keep assist’s levels of assistance was minimal to the point we forgot it was there most of the time. It feels a bit like last-generation technology to keep the price down. 

Stellantis has recently had a hammering over its new car safety by Euro NCAP, and we wouldn’t be too surprised if the Frontera was awarded a very average safety rating by the organisation. 

Electric motors

At launch, the Vauxhall Frontera is available with a single powertrain that includes an electric motor driving the front wheels and a 44kWh battery. Cheap pricing has been enabled by using a smaller battery and less powerful motor than all its rivals, with the Frontera developing just 111bhp and 125Nm of torque (pulling power). 

It’s not a lot at all for a car of this size, and equates to sub-par performance. Accelerating from 0-62mph takes a lengthy 12.1 seconds (most rivals can do it in well under 10 seconds) and it’s capped to an 87mph top speed. But one advantage of all this is the Frontera’s weight, as at just over 1.5 tonnes, this Vauxhall is very light by electric SUV standards. 

Range and charging

Despite its conservative range, the Frontera has quick charging speeds on its side, with the ability to charge at up to 100kW – a speed that matches and even exceeds many rivals. It means that just 26 minutes is needed to charge the battery from 20 to 80%, meaning there is potential to do longer journeys without too many headaches. 

It’s also equipped with a three-phase 11kW onboard charger as standard, meaning the same 20 to 80% is possible in less than four hours.

15

The electric range of the current Frontera is not a lot, however, as Vauxhall claims just 186 miles from a charge, and we reckon 150 miles is more likely in real-world conditions. We will report back once we’ve been able to do a full range test in the UK. Vauxhall says a Long Range model with a 248-mile range will follow in 2025, and we reckon this will be the pick of the line-up. 

What’s it like to drive?

Considering how much cheaper it is than its rivals, the Vauxhall Frontera is surprisingly good to drive. Comfort is one of its greatest strengths, which makes more sense when you remember it shares its underpinnings with Citroens. The ride is very cushioned and is most comfortable around town where you can put it over a speed bump without any harshness and it even handles potholes well. You can partly thank the small wheels for that – 16-inch steelies are standard, with 17-inch alloys fitted to the top-spec GS model.

Its comparatively low kerbweight also makes it seem quite nimble for a car of this size, while it doesn’t roll as much as you’d expect a top-heavy SUV to, with the small battery, and its low positioning in the floor, helping with this. The Frontera is not, however, a car you’ll enjoy driving quickly as it performs best at a leisurely pace. The slow steering requires lots of lock on sharper turns and roundabouts, too, but does make it easy to park, just not much fun on a back road. 

15

Performance is also best described as leisurely as the Frontera is slow, especially by electric car standards. Initial acceleration off the line is especially subdued, though once up to speed it can easily keep up with traffic. The biggest thing that lets the Frontera down is how noisy it is. EVs are known for their quiet experience, but with the whine from the electric motor and plenty of road and wind noise, it’s not a hushed experience travelling in this Vauxhall. 

What models and trims are available?

Just two trim levels are available on the Frontera, the entry-level Design trim and a higher-sped GS model. 

The £23,495 starting price applies to both the mild-hybrid and electric model reviewed here, with standard equipment including full LED headlights, cruise control, a reversing camera as well as a 10-inch touchscreen, digital instrument cluster of the same size and wireless smartphone charging. A Design Style Pack can also be had for an additional £400, bringing white steel wheels, a white roof and roof rails. It’s a cool options pack, though we can’t see many buyers choosing it. 

15

Above this, the GS model is available from £25,895 and brings LED rear lights, automatic air conditioning, electric folding mirrors, 17-inch alloy wheels and a contrasting black roof. 

You can also choose the ‘Ultimate Pack’ on the GS, bringing heated front seats, a heated windscreen and a heated steering wheel for £800. 

What else should I know?

Vauxhall is very keen on as many making the switch to electric as possible, but in an affordable way. So on top of the low pricing, the Frontera also includes an offer called Plug & Go. 

This gives customers you a £500 contribution towards a wallbox if you are able to charge at home or £500 of free public charging via Vauxhall’s partnership with Octopus Electroverse. On top of this, customers also get 50,000 Tesco Clubcard points (the equivalent of £500 to spend with the retailer) when buying the car through a Vauxhall dealer. It makes for a quite staggering offer.