Vauxhall Frontera Hybrid (2024 - ) review

The Frontera is priced very competitively and the new electric car grant makes the entry-level electric version even cheaper to buy than the mild-hybrid equivalent. This is a huge step towards making going electric more attainable, and Vauxhall has taken this further by partnering with providers to help reduce the cost of home chargers and public charging too. The electric version of the Frontera will likely be the cheapest to run, however neither of the two mild-hybrid options will break the bank. During our test drive of the most powerful version our car claimed to average 48.7mpg, and we’d expect it to easily manage over 50mpg on a good run.

Underneath the Frontera shares a lot of its DNA with the Citroën C3 Aircross, but it’s too soon to know how either model will fare in the long-term. However, electric cars have fewer moving parts to go wrong than combustion equivalents and the hybrid system is used extensively across other Stellantis brands including Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot. As such, the Frontera is not an entirely unknown quantity and you can take comfort in the parts being tried and tested. For peace of mind the Frontera is covered three-year warranty and if you by the electric version the battery gets its own eight-years/100,000-miles of cover and you’ll also get eight-years of roadside assistance for extra peace of mind.

Entry-level Design models come with a suite of driver aids including lane-keeping assistance, cruise control and traffic sign recognition. You’ll also get rear parking sensors and a reversing camera to help with manoeuvring as standard. The physical temperature controls and the logical interior layout will reassure those who find it tricky to navigating touch-screens whilst driving, and we also appreciate you don’t need to plump for the range-topping trim to gain the really useful stuff like blind spot monitoring and front parking sensors. However, there’s a tinniness to the Frontera which makes it feel less solid than more expensive cars of this size.

The Frontera has a similar footprint to the Astra hatchback, yet with all the rear seats folded down it provides more space than the Astra estate which will be a plus for family buyers. The hybrid versions also have a seven-seat option which is sure to come in handy on the school run carpool. These extra seats are rather cosy, though, and when in use take up the entire boot so they are best reserved for small children on short journeys. With the third row folded down, or in the five-seat models, the boot is a decent size, and a boxy opening adds practicality. In the second row, there should be no complains about head- or legroom for those in the outer two seats, but anyone in the middle will feel like they’ve drawn the short straw. Meanwhile, upfront the conventional layout should help most people find a comfy driving position and the ‘Intelli-Seats’ are particularly supportive and worth the upgrade to GS trim or above. In true Vauxhall style the interior of the Frontera is very functional, but the combination of grey, silver and black materials lacks pizzazz and won’t appeal to everyone. Out on the road the Frontera handles lumps and bumps in the road well but does let in more wind noise than we would like at higher speeds.

The standard Frontera has all the basics covered with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, air-conditioning, a 10-inch central touch-screen and a digital driver display. The infotainment system isn’t the slickest, but you’ll be bypassing it by mirroring your phone anyway and the array of physical buttons and toggles for heating adjustments makes life nice and easy. The Frontera motif on the elasticated strap around the central console and the storage shelf above the glovebox offer nifty storage solutions inside, while outside you can add more rugged character with the optional Design styling pack, which swaps black steel wheels for white ones and gains a white roof and roof rails. Mid-range GS trim gets alloy wheels and climate control and if you move all the way up to Ultimate you’ll get luxuries including heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a heated windscreen. To improve the Frontera’s sustainability credentials no chrome is used on any of the three trim levels and Vauxhall says up to 95 per cent of materials in the Frontera are reusable and 85 per cent are recyclable.

We drove the more powerful of the two hybrid options which was noticeably nippier than the Frontera Electric. As with other Stellantis hybrids the Frontera can’t drive on electric power for any meaningful distances, but it can manage small manoeuvres without firing up the petrol engine. The system’s main purpose is to offer a small boost of power at lower speeds and to improve efficiency. You do notice the petrol engine rumble into life from a standstill, and it can be a little gruff if you accelerate hard, but generally the system works pretty smoothly and although not fast, it provides adequate power for motorway or city driving. The Frontera handles better than you'd expect given how tall it is and combined with well-weighted steering it feels much more planted through corners than SUVs like the Dacia Duster which we’ve been living with on long-term test.