All-new Vauxhall Frontera revealed as boxy budget-friendly SUV

• Small SUV proportions
• Choice of full EV or mild hybrid
• Expected to cost around £20,000

There’s a new small SUV in town and it has a name you may recognise – meet the 2024 Vauxhall Frontera, the latest family car from the British carmaker. It arrives this year as both a full EV and as a petrol mild hybrid, with a nameplate plucked from the brand’s back-catalogue.

The new Frontera will replace the fairly elderly Vauxhall Crossland when it goes on sale later this year, bringing a greater focus on practicality and affordability. It’ll be one of the smallest and most affordable SUVs in Vauxhall’s lineup, sitting alongside the existing Mokka and beneath the Grandland. While we don’t have official pricing yet, the new Frontera could start from as little as £20,000 for the petrol-powered variant – a figure that would no doubt catch the attention of rival carmakers.

What does the new Vauxhall Frontera look like?

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The Frontera carries a clear visual resemblance to Vauxhall’s existing models, but it actually sits on an entirely new platform for the brand. Known as ‘Smart Car’, it’s shared with the upcoming Citroen e-C3, although the Frontera is much taller and longer than that supermini. It’s unashamedly boxy, with chunky wheelarches and an upright front end design that Vauxhall describes as “bold and tough”.

You’ll find Vauxhall’s usual ‘Vizor’ treatment across the nose of the Frontera, housing a pair of LED headlights and a large Griffin emblem at its centre. The design deviates from other Vauxhall models at the rear – you’ll spot a new tail-light design split into two elements. 

What about the interior of the Vauxhall Frontera?

From behind the wheel, the Frontera’s cabin won’t appear radically different from those in Vauxhall’s other models, but that’s no bad thing. You get the ‘Pure Panel’ infotainment and driver’s displays – both 10 inches – along with a separate bank of toggle switches for the climate controls. There are a few neat features, too, including dedicated smartphone pockets for rear seat passengers, and a cooled wireless smartphone charger up front.

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The boxy exterior design has allowed Vauxhall to make the Frontera’s interior as spacious as possible. With five passengers onboard, you’ll find 460 litres of boot space behind the rear seats, while folding the second row increases that figure to 1,600 litres – both greater than a Peugeot 2008 or a Ford Puma.

What engine options are there for the Vauxhall Frontera?

The Frontera will be offered as an EV from the get-go, as well as a petrol mild hybrid. The latter is likely to use the 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine commonly found in other models from parent-brand Stellantis, with a 48-volt electrical system to provide some minor electrical assistance.

While we don’t have any official technical details for the EV variant either, we can assume it will use a similar setup to the Citroen e-C3, with which it shares its underpinnings. That would mean a 44kWh battery connected to a single front-mounted motor, with a range somewhere in the region of 200 to 250 miles. The e-C3 is compatible with charging speeds up to 100kW so it would make sense for the Frontera to offer the same.

How much will the Vauxhall Frontera cost?

Official pricing for the new Frontera will be revealed soon, but we estimate a starting price in the region of £20,000 for petrol models, with the EV variant rising closer to £30,000. If those figures turn out to be accurate, the Frontera could make a compelling alternative to other small SUVs, such as the Ford Puma or the MG ZS.

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