Vauxhall took its time introducing a crossover when its rivals were busy launching theirs.
But after bringing the Mokka – since updated and rebranded as the apparently more rugged sounding Mokka X – to the market, the company has found its feet.
Since 2012, more than 120,000 Mokkas have been sold and now Vauxhall just can’t help itself, to the extent that it will put two more relatively compact crossovers on sale this year.
This, the Crossland X, is the first. The second, the Grandland X, will be larger than its siblings. Market overkill?
No, says Vauxhall, but on paper the space between the Mokka X and Crossland X appears very slender indeed. The Crossland X is the smaller of the two, but it is the shorter by only 63mm.
Luton’s justification is that the Mokka X has more premium allure than its stablemate. The Mokka X can be had with large alloy wheels and four-wheel drive, and is pitched as a rival to the Nissan Juke and Skoda Yeti.
The Crossland X, meanwhile, is front-wheel drive only and has the Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008 in its sights. This new Vauxhall shares its underpinnings with the latter as part of a technology-sharing agreement that preceded Peugeot’s parent company, PSA Group, buying a controlling stake in Opel-Vauxhall from General Motors.
The Crosslandv X is a competitively priced proposition. The range starts at £16,555 for a low-powered 1.2-litre petrol version and rises to £21,380 for the most expensive 1.6-litre diesel model.
Our test car was equipped with the highest-powered 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which makes 128bhp and drives through a six-speed manual gearbox. In its high Elite specification, the list price is £19,395, although the options fitted to it raise that to £22,375.
So is there sufficient room for Vauxhall to grow further in the crossover market? Let’s find out. Source by autocar.co.uk
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