Vauxhall Crossland X Elite 1.5 Turbo ecoTEC BlueInjection
- P11D Value: £19,590
- BIK band 2018/19: 26%
- 5-door SUV
- 1.5-litre 3-cylinder Turbo Diesel 102hp/250Nm
- Performance: 11 secs/111mph
- Economy (On test) 55.1 mpg
- CO2: 105g/km
What is it?
It’s a spacious, practical and economical family car that offers a surprising amount of space and better looks than the Meriva MPV it replaced.
It’s the first Vauxhall-badged model to emerge from PSA Peugeot Citroen’s buyout of General Motors. It’s actually based on the Peugeot 2008 and comes with a range of shared engines and gearboxes.
Unlike Vauxhall’s other small SUV, the Mokka X which is a 4×4, the Crossland is more practical car aimed at young families.
Despite bidding to fill the space between MPV and SUV, the Crossland X has laid on the style, and comes with a variety of trims as well as personalisation options to tune the car to your tastes.
There’s only one bodystyle to choose from, but specs range from basic (but still well-equipped) SE, through Tech Line Nav and Elite. Both the SE and Elite variants are also available in ‘Nav’ grade, which adds sat-nav for around £700.
Why would you want to drive a Crossland X?
- It comes with a variety of trims as well as a number of personalisation options.
- For such a small car, it has a lot of useful space.
- Seat lay out means that everyone sits up high and has a good view out of the car.
- Instrumentation is clear and easy-to use and materials are of a good quality.
- It has phone mirroring for Apple and Android in all models, built-in nav for the top spec and there are two wo USB ports.
- There is a deep boot, with a dual-level floor. An optional sliding rear seat makes the boot even bigger.
- OnStar as standard
What might put you off a Crossland
- This not the prettiest of cars, but then it exchanges form for function with a lot of practical space.
- Ventilation in the rear seats is not that great.
- 57mpg on the combined cycle while we only managed 41.7 as an average over a mixed bag of admittedly non-motorway driving.
- The boot is nice and deep but with a high sill it means hoisting things up and out, plus the boot lid feels rather lightweight – but now we’re being picky
Verdict on the Vauxhall Crossland X
Small car, big package illustrated by the fact that we took a 250-mile round trip to the country loaded up with, amongst other things, a garden swing seat, a jet wash, a massive laundry bag plus the groceries. The Crossland ate the cargo with room to spare.
Plenty of power from the 1.5-litre engine which cruises nicely on the motorway and is responsive enough on the country roads.
Pretty impressed with overall economy at 55.1mpg although Vauxhall’s official figures give a combined figure of 70.6.
Comfortable as well with good support from the seating, a commanding view of the road and you can get out at the end of a long drive without feeling frazzled.
Standard features on our model, with an OTR price of £21,710, included sat-nav, flex floor, auto lighting and windscreen washers, front camera system, lane departure warning, switchable electronic stability, tyre pressure monitoring, rear parking sensors, hill-start assist and traffic sign recognition.
Options on our test vehicle were park and go, safety and winter packs plus two-coat metallic paint and mineral black roof which bumped the price up to £24,160.
What else should you know about the Vauxhall Crossland X?
1 Buyers can choose from an entry-level 1.2 litre petrol engine, as well as two turbocharged units and a pair of diesels.
2 Entry-level models have a five-speed manual gearbox while the range-topping turbo petrol and diesels use a six-speed. Automatic is available on the 108bhp turbo.
3 Onboard multi-user wi-fi is available as is wireless charging
4 For company car buyers, there is a low-power diesel on 16-inch wheels which emits 93g/km CO2, and a P11D price of £16,340
5 Main rivals to the Crossland are the Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008.