Vauxhall Frontera Review 2025 | A shockingly priced electric SUV
Vauxhall Frontera cars for sale
4.0
Expert review
Pros
Looks like great value for money
Practical for its size
Well equipped as standard
Cons
A bit so-so to drive
Interior isn't the poshest
Refinement could be better
The CarGurus verdict
The Vauxhall Frontera succeeds at its core mission: delivering affordable and practical family transport. The electric version particularly impresses, not necessarily because it’s better than the petrol model, but because it is so much cheaper to buy. It’s an impressive achievement and exactly what the market has been waiting for.
We’d recommend the 44kWh electric model for the best value and lowest running costs, and you won’t miss out on much by sticking to the entry-level Design trim. Thus specified, you’ll have a sensible and very well-priced electric crossover that, in its own modest way, is something of a pioneer.
What is the Vauxhall Frontera?
The Vauxhall Frontera is a compact crossover that shares nothing with its rugged namesake of the 1990s: well, beyond its name, that is. Measuring 4.4 metres in length, it slots into the competitive budget crossover segment as a front-wheel-drive family car, and is offered in fully electric and mild hybrid petrol forms (the latter somewhat misleading badged ‘hybrid’).
Direct competitors include the Fiat Grande Panda, Citroen C3 Aircross, as well as numerous Chinese rivals such as the BYD Atto 2 and MGS 5. It’s a pretty generic kind of car, truth be told, but Vauxhall has at least given the Frontera a unique selling point by making the fully electric version significantly cheaper to buy than the mild hybrid one.
In terms of those powertrains, the hybrid model uses a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine paired with a 48-volt mild hybrid system, available in 110bhp or 136bhp outputs. Both use a six-speed automatic gearbox.
The electric model offers either a 44kWh battery delivering 186 miles of range, or a 54kWh Extended Range battery providing 253 miles. Both electric variants use the same 113hp motor. Buyers opting for the Frontera Hybrid can choose between having five- or seven seats, whereas the electric model is a five-seater only.
How practical is it?
Boot capacity in the five-seater models stands at 460 litres with the rear seats in place, and the Frontera offers a usefully square loading area. An adjustable height bootfloor comes as standard, giving you the option of stowing extra luggage underneath or lowering it for a larger overall load area. The loading lip itself sits slightly high but shouldn't prove problematic for most users. Overall, the Frontera’s boot space is really quite impressive given the car's relatively compact dimensions.
There’s more than enough room in the rear seats for two adult passengers, with headroom proving particularly generous. Due to the placement of the batteries under the floor of the Frontera Electric, passengers do lose out on a bit of legroom compared with the hybrid version. There’s no centre armrest in either model, and getting three people across the bench could prove a squeeze.
Go for the Frontera hybrid and, for an additional £500 or so, you can specify a third row of seats. That said, the extra rear seats are incredibly cramped, leave no boot space when raised, and rob you of underfloor storage when folded away. Unless you really need them, we’d save some money and stick with the five-seater.
Storage solutions throughout the cabin include a slot for you phone complete with a wireless charger, multiple cupholders, various cubby spaces, and a useful elastic strap around the transmission tunnel that can securely hold phones, wallets, etc in place. Visibility from the driver's seat is good, aided by the elevated crossover seating position.
What's it like to drive?
The Frontera Hybrid offers two power outputs: there’s a 110bhp version that can reach 0-62mph in 11 seconds, or a 136bhp version that manages the same sprint in 9 seconds. Official fuel economy stands at 54mpg for both variants. Impressively, the mild hybrid system can propel the car up to 18mph in electric-only mode, and will do so for a good amount of the time during town driving. The switch between the petrol and electric motors is handled quite smoothly, and overall performance feels brisk enough, but you might find yourself wishing that the automatic gearbox was quicker to respond at times. As it stands, the Frontera’s economy-focused configuration has it changing to the highest possible gear at the earliest possible opportunity, from where it can sometimes feel reluctant to shift down when asked. When the gearbox does finally oblige, you’ll find that the three-cylinder motor sounds reasonably refined.
The Frontera Electric delivers more modest performance, with 0-62mph taking 12.8 seconds for the standard battery or 13 seconds for the Extended Range model. Top speed is limited to 88mph. All adequate enough, but certainly not exciting. The power delivery itself is smooth and linear (as you’d expect from an electric motor), but we do wish the motor itself was a bit quieter. As things stand you hear a noticeable whine at anything above a standstill. The adjustable brake regeneration does, however, work well, if not to the level of offering one-pedal driving.
As you might expect, ride comfort takes priority over sporty handling across both powertrains. The suspension setup absorbs most road imperfections adequately, but it’s the Frontera Hybrid that actually feels slightly more rewarding to drive, likely a result of its lower kerbweight helping to make it feel more agile. What you can’t escape in either model are the high levels of road- and wind noise, which can make the Frontera quite tiring on faster roads such as motorways.
Technology, equipment & infotainment
The Frontera range consists of three trim levels: Design, GS, and Ultimate.
Design (entry-level) includes Intelli-LED headlights, air-conditioning, rear-view camera, rear parking sensors, cruise control, lane-keep assist, wireless phone charging, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the dual 10-inch screen Pure Panel infotainment setup, one for instruments, one for infotainment (more on that in a moment).
GS adds front parking sensors, climate control, blind-spot monitoring, 17-inch alloy wheels, and a contrasting black roof.
Ultimate (range-topping) throws in heated front seats, heated steering wheel, and heated windscreen.
The standard-fit dual-screen setup provides clear instrumentation and a responsive central touchscreen. The graphics aren’t at the level of Audi or even Kia, but nor are prices. Physical buttons for climate control (or a more basic air conditioning setup on entry level Design trim) remain a welcome touch in an era of touch-sensitive everything.
Build quality reflects the car's budget positioning with hard plastics in places, but nothing that feels flimsy. Overall, it’s about what you’d expect for the price, and you can’t argue with a standard specification that includes those duals screens, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and even a wireless phone charger.
Standard safety features include lane-keep assist and cruise control across the range, with blind-spot monitoring added from GS trim.
Vauxhall Frontera running costs
Official fuel economy for the Frontera Hybrid stands at 54mpg regardless of power output. Expect real-world figures in the mid-40s mpg range depending on driving style and journey types.
The Frontera Electric's running costs will depend heavily on charging location, because home charging on overnight tariffs costs significantly less than public rapid charging. The 44kWh battery requires about five hours for a complete charge on a 7kW home wallbox. Rapid charging at 100kW takes 26 minutes from 20-80% for the standard battery, or 28 minutes for the Extended Range pack.
The £3,500 premium required to upgrade from 44kWh to 54kWh adds 67 miles of range (186 to 253 miles), and so might make sense for high-mileage drivers or those without convenient charging access, but for everybody else we’d advise sticking with the smaller battery in order to pocket the savings.
No Frontera exceeds the £40,000 luxury car tax threshold, avoiding five years of steep additional VED charges, which again represents a useful saving compared to some premium-badged electric rivals.
Vauxhall Frontera reliability
The Frontera is too new for specific reliability data to be available. However, Vauxhall ranked mid-table in recent industry reliability surveys, so neither particularly problematic nor exceptionally dependable.
The electric powertrain's simplicity compared to combustion engines could theoretically make it the more reliable choice because it has with fewer moving parts to fail. Again, however, only time will tell on that one.
Vauxhall provides a three-year/60,000-mile warranty across the range, with an eight-year/100,000-mile battery warranty for electric models. This matches industry standards but trails some competitors, notably MG, Hyundai and Kia.
The Fiat Grande Panda and Citroen C3 Aircross (both Stellantis stablemates, and pretty much the same car underneath) offer identical warranty terms.
- The Frontera’s pricing strategy changes the EV game, because it offers a fully electric model that is not only on a par price-wise with its internal combustion equivalent, but more than £2,000 cheaper when the government's Electric Car Grant (ECG) is applied.
- If you want seven seats, you can’t have the EV model. Only the hybrid offers seven-seat capability. It adds a modest £500-ish to the car’s price, but be aware that the third row is really for children only, and small ones at that.
- Beyond competitive list prices, Vauxhall offers some great incentives for Frontera Electric buyers, such as credits for EV charging, eight years of roadside assistance, and even supermarket loyalty points.
- Best overall value: The Frontera Electric 44kWh in Design trim looks like a very good deal. At launch, its price of around £22,500 (after the EV grant) makes it £2,400 cheaper than the hybrid equivalent. If you can live with an official range of up to 186 miles, we think it’s the one to go for, particularly given the entry-level specification is so good. Expect the dual-screen setup, parking sensors, and even wireless phone charging.
- For company car drivers: The Frontera Electric 54kWh Extended Range in GS trim still attracts minimal Benefit-in-Kind tax, while the extended range reduces charging anxiety. GS specification adds useful blind-spot monitoring and smarter styling with the black roof.
- For maximum practicality: The Frontera Hybrid offers slightly more rear-seat space than the electric model. Go for optional seven-seat configuration if needed, or stick to the five-seater for its additional underfloor boot space.
- Performance buyers: Look elsewhere. Neither Frontera variant offers engaging dynamics or brisk acceleration. This car prioritises value, practicality, and affordable ownership over driving thrills.
