The new Opel Grandland at first glance impresses with its attractive styling, groundbreaking technologies, clever solutions, lots of space and completely electrified range of drivetrains. The Golden Steering Wheel 2024 winner is now available in Ireland as the fully electric Grandland Electric, and the Grandland Hybrid with 48-volt technology, soon to be joined by the powerful Grandland Plug-in Hybrid. Ahead of the first units arriving in Ireland this summer, the plug-in hybrid has undergone a range test that saw Opel’s flagship SUV model cover a total of 1,115km on just one tank filling combined with a fully charged battery. The astonishing result is sure to impress company car and long-distance drivers alike. Prices for the Irish market will be announced closer to launch.
With the combination of a 110 kW / 150hp 1.6-litre direct-injection turbo petrol engine and a 92 kW / 125hp electric motor, the Grandland plug-in hybrid demonstrates a strength in terms of energy recovery and braking efficiency, designed to maximise efficiency and performance. The electric motor becomes a generator during overrun phases and converts braking energy into electricity. At the same time, the vehicle slows down automatically on slight downhill gradients and the 17.9 kWh battery is charged. The Grandland can also take a towing capacity of up to 1,500KG.
Opel’s Grandland chief engineer, Dirk Kaminski, said: “According to the official WLTP test cycle, the new Grandland Plug-in Hybrid offers a combined range of up to 897 kilometres, of which up to 87 kilometres are purely electric. But we thought to ourselves: Let’s see what the car can really do. Our new top-of-the-range SUV will definitely break the 1,000-kilometre mark with a full tank and a full charge. After all, the Grandland is 'made in Germany' through and through and rolls off the assembly line in the ultra-modern Eisenach factory. So, we put it to the test – under conditions that are worse than in the official test cycle.”
While the WLTP values are determined at temperatures of around 23 degrees Celsius, a new Grandland GS Plug-in Hybrid set off on a windy and rainy January morning at a fresh 11 degrees Celsius. Appropriate for the season, 19-inch winter tyres were fitted instead of summer tyres with lower rolling resistance, and the car was loaded with equipment in the level three GS trim. The only set requirement was the SUV had a full tank, and the 17.9 kWh battery was fully charged. The drive continued until the fuel tank and battery were empty.
The plug-in hybrid completed typical commuter routes from the Rhine-Main area around Rüsselsheim and Frankfurt to the Rhine-Neckar area and back again. The routes included motorway stretches with free-flowing traffic, with stop-and-go traffic and rush-hour traffic, as well as country roads and city traffic including traffic light stops: a real-life test that reflects the true everyday requirements of many company car drivers.
The result or the distance that the Grandland Plug-in Hybrid, which delivers 143 kW (195 hp) system output and 350 Newton meters of maximum torque, achieved with just one tank filling and battery charge, exceeded the expectations of the Opel team: at an average speed of 80 km/h and a highly efficient overall average consumption of 4.6 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, the SUV covered a total of 1,115km in four stages (interrupted by breaks to meet the legal requirements to adhere to driving times). Of this, the plug-in hybrid drove a little more than a third of the total distance, or more precisely 380km, purely battery-electric and therefore locally emissions-free.
“The fact that the Grandland achieves such outstanding values under these circumstances – at the end of the test temperatures had dropped to just 4 degrees Celsius – has once again confirmed that we have created a car that is groundbreaking in every respect with a drive concept that is completely suitable for everyday use. The highly efficient combustion engine and the electric motor work in perfect harmony,” said Kaminski. “More than that: every time you decelerate, the powertrain switches to electric operation. This is possible because the recuperated energy is used to power the car electrically meaning that long distances can be covered at low and medium speeds with no local emissions.”
The new Opel Grandland Plug-in Hybrid therefore shines as the ideal choice for fully electric commuter routes as well as for long-distance company car and leisure drivers who want to be particularly resource-efficient and leave range anxiety behind. Not only the use of recycled materials and the absence of chrome show what Opel means by ‘Greenovation’ and sustainability in the new top-of-the-line SUV. This is also impressively demonstrated by the results of the test.
Numerous other qualities of the completely new Grandland make daily business trips as well as long journeys even more pleasant: the ergonomic seats certified by Aktion Gesunder Rücken e.V. (AGR) ensure relaxed driving pleasure. The patented Intelli-Seat ergonomic feature is standard on all front seats. With technologies such as the glare-free Intelli-Lux HD light, the Intelli-HUD head-up display or the illuminated, and translucent Pixel Box, Grandland drivers are perfectly equipped.
At the end of the test, one final question remained. What distance would the new Grandland Plug-in Hybrid be able to cover with a full tank and full battery under ideal test conditions, for example, in early summer? “The insight that we as a team have gained from the 1,115km we have now driven is that under optimal conditions, even more would certainly be possible,” said Kaminski.
The new Opel Grandland Plug-in Hybrid with 143 kW (195 hp) system output, 350 Nm of maximum torque and a top speed of 220 km/h can be ordered from local Opel dealers, with prices to be announced closer to launch.
-Ends-