New Vauxhall Frontera review

For those with long memories, the Vauxhall Frontera name probably conjures up images of hill farmers rescuing stranded sheep or blokes in boiler suits hauling industrial gubbins into the boot of a utilitarian 4x4.

Fast-forward to today and the Frontera is back – but the original's workhorse features, such as selectable four-wheel-drive and agricultural diesel engines, are no more. Instead, the all-new Frontera is a small SUV designed with a more sophisticated audience in mind.

With mild-hybrid petrol and fully electric versions available, the new Frontera will compete with the likes of the Ford Puma, the MG ZS EV and the VW T-Cross, as well as fellow model from the Stellantis group, such as the Jeep Avenger.

Radically, Vauxhall has decided to sell the Frontera electric SUV for the same price as the hybrid version. That's unusual – but perhaps not as unusual as the starting price, which is low enough to make the all-electric Frontera one of the cheapest electric cars on sale in the UK.

Of course, with its bargain-basement price, many folks will wonder whether the new Vauxhall Frontera can possibly be any good. Read on to find out...

With a modest 44kWh-capacity battery and 111bhp output from its electric motor, the all-electric Vauxhall Frontera is a rather sedate performer.

The 12.1 seconds 0-62mph sprint time means it's probably best to adopt an elbow-on-the-door and chill-out-tunes-on-the-radio driving approach. Equally, the 186-mile official range makes the electric Frontera better suited to the school run and local commuting than long-distance holiday jaunts.

As with most electric cars, the Frontera's motor has only one forward gear so there are no shift interruptions to mar the seamless progress. Although the regenerative braking in standard drive mode is mild enough not to be noticed, there is also a Comfort mode, which can be selected to make it even less intrusive.

If you prefer to stick with petrol power, there are two 1.2-litre, three-cylinder mild-hybrid petrol engines available, tuned to produce 99 or 134bhp. Both come with a six-speed automatic gearbox (there's no manual gearbox option).

The hybrid Fronteras use a 48V electric system and a small electric motor to assist acceleration, improve fuel economy and add a timely boost of power between gearshift transitions to aid smooth progress. The more powerful, 134bhp version provides a useful increase in pace, with a 0-62mph time of 9.0 seconds against the 99bhp car's 11.0 seconds.

The new Frontera has front-wheel drive and a relatively simple suspension layout. Now, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with that approach; rival small SUVs such as the Ford Puma, Skoda Karoq and VW T-Roc prove you don’t need massively sophisticated suspension to deliver a good mix of comfort and control. However, the two main versions of the Frontera – all-electric and mild-hybrid – feel very different to drive.

While the hybrid is fidgety at low speeds, the additional battery weight of the electric SUV helps calm this nervousness, delivering a ride that feels optimised for comfort rather than lap times. The electric Frontera is much more adept at dealing with rough road surfaces than the hybrid.

The steering does feel rather spongy – especially in the all-electric model – probably because of the generously walled tyres, which also produce a fair bit of squealing at the slightest hint of cornering provocation. 

The Frontera is also blessed with good body control, so there’s little discernible lean in corners and limited amounts of front-end lift and dive when accelerating or braking hard.

Unlike with some electric SUVs, the Frontera’s brakes are encouragingly smooth and progressive to use. It’s easy to pull off those chauffeur-style stops – something that will be universally appreciated by parents of little ones inclined to car sickness.

Apart from more audible electric motor whine than you might have bargained for, the electric Frontera’s power delivery is pretty seamless. Unfortunately, the hushed power output means you tune into others sources of noise, such as the squeal the fat-walled tyres generate every time you turn into a corner.

Despite being considerably lighter, the more powerful mild-hybrid’s engine needs to be worked rather aggressively quite a lot of the time, and it does get rather vocal with it. Its cause isn’t helped by gearshift mapping skewed heavily towards economy, so it selects the highest gear possible, causing the engine to generate quite a bit of lugging boom and low-frequency vibrations.

“The electric Frontera’s regenerative braking has a comfort button to reduce its impact, but I think it seems like overkill, and it's debatable whether most owners will ever use it.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

The new Frontera features a flat-topped and bottomed steering wheel, like you'll find in Peugeot models. Mercifully, Vauxhall’s wheel is much larger, so the driver is able to peer through (rather than over) the wheel to view the main instrumentation.

It’s straightforward to create a comfortable driving position thanks to the wide range of adjustments for the driver’s seat, although if you're long in the leg you might rue the limited amount of steering column reach adjustment. 

One of the main reasons people love SUVs is that they provide an elevated driving position and an excellent view of the road ahead – and the Frontera is no exception. The slim windscreen pillars help create a good field of vision, although we’d prefer to the door mirrors to be lower down and further back.

Rear visibility isn’t quite as impressive, and while you do get a decent view over your shoulder, the shallow rear screen and tiny quarterlight windows don’t offer the best view of what is directly behind. That said, parking is made easier by standard-fit rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera.

As with most modern cars, it will take time to figure out all the swipes and scrolling procedures to access the myriad infotainment system menus, but there is a shelf to rest your palm on while you're poking and prodding.

Equally, the air-conditioning, rear screen heating element, heated seats, heated steering wheel and heated windscreen (where fitted) can be controlled using dashboard-mounted buttons, which is infinitely preferable to digging around in the touchscreen just to make these simple adjustments.

All the workings of the Frontera’s infotainment system are hidden behind a glossy 10.0 in touchscreen. It’s clear and easy to read and the integrated software responds quickly to a light pinch or prod. You also get a fair number of features, including sat-nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and wireless phone-charging.

In terms of design imagination, the Frontera is a significant step up from the dour acres of black-on-black plastics of previous Vauxhall interiors. If you’re looking to replace your Vauxhall Crossland, the chances are you’ll be blown away by the upgrade in interior glitz.

That said, nearly every panel you come into contact with is hard enough to exfoliate your elbows and the interior has a definite built-to-a-price feel (which on the plus side should make it toddler and family pet proof). 

“One issue with right-hand-drive cars is that the driver operates the infotainment screen with their left hand, which can be tricky unless you're left-handed, so I think it's great that the Frontera has a rest for your hand.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

There’s more than enough head and leg room in the Vauxhall Frontera for taller adults, but the shoulder room is a wee bit on the tight side and there's no seat-height adjustment for the front passenger.

Equally, there's no roof-mounted grab handle for the front passenger to cling to if the driver gets a wee bit feisty with their cornering attitude. The front seat cushions feature an unusual trench-like depression running front to rear, which allegedly reduces pressure on the tailbone, but we’ll need more time and miles to see test that.

Encouragingly, the Frontera is a fair bit longer than the Vauxhall Crossland, and as a result there’s oodles of leg and head room in the rear. That said, the rear seat cushions are a bit short on plumpness.

Although the Frontera sits quite high off the ground, making it easy for less mobile back-seat passengers to slide in and out, the floor-to-hip point is a bit low so they might find their knees are quite close to their chins. 

Although there are no plans for four-wheel-drive on the new Frontera, a slim transmission tunnel runs down the middle of the car. Thankfully it's not big enough to be a stumbling block for those forced to sit in the centre back seat. 

There’s also a seven-seat version of the Frontera in the pipeline. We’ve yet to drive it, but based on what we've seen in the five-seat, the rear-most sets will likely be only really suitable for children.

Folding rear seats are standard in Frontera and they split 60/40. Thanks to handy quick-release tags on top of the seats, it's reasonably easy to get the backrests to fold down, but there are no release levers in the boot so you can't deploy them without opening the rear doors first.

The Frontera’s boot space is a generous 460 litres, which is a fair bit bigger than a Peugeot e-2008 boot and a smidgen larger than the one in a Ford Puma. Maximising load space is compromised somewhat by a bit of wheel-arch intrusion, but if you do need to carry larger loads, you can fold the rear seats down flat to create 1,600 litres of storage.

There’s also an adjustable floorboard, which can be used to create a completely flat floor and eliminate any load lip. Alternatively, it can be lowered into the spare wheel well (there is no spare wheel) to prevent items from rolling out of the tailgate when parked on an uphill gradient.

Dog owners will appreciate the canine-friendly aspects of the board: its adjustability means the boot area can cater for everything from a sausage dog to a golden retriever.

“Does anyone need a seven-seat Frontera? I think that given the lack of available space and the tiny rear windows, only parents looking for a naughty step deterrent will be interested.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

The new Vauxhall Frontera's competitive starting price means it undercuts most small SUV and electric SUV rivals as a private buy. You can compare the latest prices and offers using our New Car Deals pages.

If you're looking for a company car, the all-electric Frontera is the version to pick for its very low BIK tax rate. That has a maximum charging speed of 100kW, allowing a 20-80% charge in 26 minutes with a fast public charger.

Official fuel-economy figures are not yet available for the entry-level mild-hybrid petrol Frontera, but the more potent 134bhp version can officially achieve a decent 53.3mpg.

If you plump for the cheapest Frontera trim – called Design – you get a decent amount of standard equipment. Although you'll have to put up with 16in steel wheels and manual air-con, but there's also cruise control, LED headlights, automatic wipers, an electric parking brake, wireless phone-charging and controls on the steering wheel.

Upgrading to top-spec GS adds a few choice styling goodies, including 17in alloy wheels, climate control, LED headlights and rear lights, tinted rear windows and a black roof with matching electric folding door mirrors.

We don't have reliability data for the new Frontera yet, but Vauxhall came a disappointing 29th out of 31 brands in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey. Only Alfa Romeo and MG did worse.

Like all Vauxhalls, the Frontera comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty and a year of roadside assistance. That matches most brands' cover but falls short of the five-year warranty offered by Hyundai, Kia’s seven-year package and the (up to) 10 years warranty Toyota gives you.

The Frontera has yet to be tested by the safety experts at Euro NCAP but it does get plenty of standard safety kit. Every Frontera comes with lane-departure warning, automatic emergency braking (AEB), a driver drowsiness alert, a blind-spot warning and Isofix child-seat mounts on the front passenger and outer rear seats.

“I’m blown away by Vauxhall’s radical pricing strategy. Charging the same amount for an electric car as a petrol mild-hybrid is a brave approach, and one that sets the bar for every manufacturer to emulate.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

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