New Vauxhall Frontera Coming Soon: Specs, price and release info

Vauxhall has revived the Frontera name, bringing it back as a mid-sized family crossover sitting between the Mokka and the forthcoming – which has grown significantly. It's part of a plan by Vauxhall to put some clear ground between its crossover range, which at the moment all seem quite similar in size and style. The new Frontera will effectively replace the current Crossland and be available as a fully electric car or a petrol-electric hybrid. It takes some inspiration from the original by being quite simple and functional, focused on value-for-money and space.
• The Frontera will simplify Vauxhall’s existing SUV and comes alongside the new Grandland, also due this year • A “rugged interpretation” of Vauxhall’s brand values, with space for five and in interior that's relatively basic; a seven-seater version will also be coming • Hybrid based around two versions of the same 1.2-litre petrol engine, with ‘mild’ assistance and option of 100 horsepower or 136 horsepower • Full electric version available with two different batteries delivering 186 miles of range for the smaller one and up to 248 miles for the larger alternative, the latter available ‘next year’ according to Vauxhall • ‘Price parity’ between electric and hybrid means no apparent price premium for making the switch – something Vauxhall wants to make a lot of noise about • As such both Frontera Electric and the 100PS version of the Frontera Hybrid start at an impressively affordable £23,495 in the base Design trim, a pattern repeated as you move up the range to the fancier GS model • It's set to arrive by September 2024

The design basically follows the blueprint of all modern Vauxhalls, especially at the front. A smooth vizor grille is flanked by LEDs that look like little axes. The bonnet has more creases than a student’s t-shirt, and around the side, yet more creases – most notably above the pronounced wheel arches and underneath the ‘floating’ shark-fin c-pillar. It gets a contrasting-coloured roof too. Around the back they’ve done that thing where they space the letters out, because apparently that tells your brain that a car is “premium”. The split tail lights are a nice touch, with the top ones flowing into the C-pillar for a sense of width. And to make it look 'rugged', in homage to the last Frontera, it gets this massive lower plastic section, two-tone. For those not ready to go fully electric the hybrid offers a small electric boost to the 1.2-litre petrol engine for improved efficiency, with two power options. Credit to Vauxhall for pricing both this and the all-electric version at the same £23,495 starting price in an effort to break down barriers for those wanting to switch but previously put off from doing so by the extra upfront cost. This ‘price parity’ extends from the base Design trim to the fancier GS versions, though the more powerful 136 horsepower version of the hybrid costs a bit more in both cases.

Simple is a design theme that resonates in the cabin, which Vauxhall says has “a clear focus on the essentials”. That could be a euphemism for “cheap”, right? It’s not all soft-touch plastics and stitched leather, of course, but it shouldn’t feel built down to a price. Twin 10-inch angled screens dominate the vibe, which look great and will be fairly easy to operate - but there are still buttons and toggles for the important stuff like air-con and heated seats. Steering wheel controls are standard, and all Fronteras will get wireless connectivity for Apple Carplay and Android Auto, and wireless charging. This will be a well-equipped car, and feel a step up from a Dacia.
It has the same seats as the Grandland, certified by the German campaign for back comfort and designed specifically for long motorway journeys. There's a little gap running down the middle of the base, for instance, designed to take pressure off your tailbone. And there’s loads of storage. Deep door bins, big central storage area, a sizeable glovebox, sturdy cup holders, and a rubberised shelf - so unless you put a Malteser on there, your small objects are unlikely to roll around. Boot space is proper impressive, too. At 460 litres, it's 110 litres bigger than a Mokka’s, and 40 more than the Vauxhall Astra’s. And in fact, with the rear seats folded, the 1,600-litre loading hole is 315 more than the Astra’s. That’ll be the height of the thing. Plus, you can get roof rails on this that’ll hold 200kg – enough for a roof tent if you intend to take up Vauxhall’s promise of outdoorsy lifestyle cred. A seven-seat version will also be joining the range at some point, though we’re not sure if this will be on both models or just the hybrid.

The full electric version has a 113-horsepower motor driving the front wheels, with 100kW fast charging on suitably powerful public power points and 186 miles of range by official stats for the standard battery; a long-range version with official 248 miles will also be available from next year. The hybrid meanwhile blurs boundaries between ’mild’ and ‘full’ hybrids, which doesn’t help the confusion around such distinctions but basically means a more assertive electric assistance in a mechanically simpler (read, cheaper) package. As such there’s an electric motor integrated into the automatic gearbox helping the 1.2-litre petrol engine get up to speed and work as efficiently as possible. No word yet on precise fuel consumption but 120g/km CO2 helps keep tax costs down even if it can’t match the Benefit In Kind busting savings company drivers can score with full plug-in hybrids. For the private buyers the Frontera will likely be playing to that does, however, keep purchase, finance and lease costs more affordable and we’d expect it to be pretty good on fuel as well.

Vauxhall teased the Frontera’s affordability previously but has now confirmed a starting price of less than £24,000, meaning a Frontera Electric costs £6,000 less than the cheapest ‘Griffin’ spec Mokka Electric and, as above, the same as the less powerful of the two hybrid options. It’s also around £10,000 less than the Jeep Avenger Electric, cheaper than an MG4 or MG ZS (though there are offers on the latter at the time of writing) and likely to push the related Citroen ë-C3 hard on that accessible starting price. All of which is great news for those looking for an affordable first electric car but preferring to buy from a familiar brand rather than take a chance on one of the many newcomers to the market.

Having refreshed its Corsa and added full electric versions of its Astra hatch and estate to the range Vauxhall is next turning its attention to the Grandland, a new version of which we’re driving soon.