An appealing crossover hits the spot
Opel as a brand is streamlining its product offering following the acquisition by PSA Group (Peugeot-Citroen) from General Motors earlier this year.
The waters have been a bit murky for the German brand as its future has for a long time been hanging in the balance, but following the launch of the Crossland X in SA, the brand will continue trading locally under the auspices of Unitrans as its local distributor from 2018.
The smallest member of the marque’s X models, which encompasses crossovers and SUVs, the Crossland X fits in just below the Mokka X in the company’s hierarchical structure. In the first quarter of 2018 the Grandland X, assuming a higher pedestal than the Mokka, will be offered for those seeking more passenger and utility space.
CROSSOVER APPEAL
Loosely based on the Corsa platform, the Crossland X effectively replaces the MPV-like Meriva to satisfy the crossover appetite that continues to grow globally. It does seem rather bizarre that Opel is offering two vehicles so close in size though, with the Crossland X measuring 4.21m and the Mokka X 4.28m but it seems to be more about price. The Crossland range starts at R265,000 while the Mokka range extends into R400,000 territory to compete with the likes of the Hyundai Tucson and Toyota Rav4. The Grandland X will then pick up from where the Mokka X pricing ends and stretch into R500,000 territory.
The Crossland X comes into a growing and rather feisty segment where the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Mazda CX-3 and Renault Captur are already jostling for position, so it will have its work cut out.
Thankfully, there is some substance to the model as we found at its launch in Gauteng.
The styling takes cues from the brand’s tyke, the Adam, with its colour contrasting floating roof, while the front has a similar visage to the Mokka X, with its LED daytime running lights.
The cabin has relatively good space, thanks to the 2.6m wheelbase, while the boot measures a decent 400l. The cabin architecture has been borrowed from the Corsa for the most part and some of the materials are of the hard plastic variety. It is perhaps here that the CX-3 and Captur just feel plusher.
TRIM LEVELS
At launch, two petrol engine derivatives are available; a three-cylinder, 1.2l normally aspirated powerplant with 60kW and 118Nm and a turbocharged variant of similar displacement and configuration pushing out 81kW and 205Nm.
Trim levels come in Base, Enjoy and Cosmo with a fivespeed manual transmission as standard, while the Cosmo can be specified with a six-speed automatic. We spent time at the helm of the Cosmo manual variant and the turbo engine displayed some eager get-up-andgo, thanks to that 205Nm on tap from around 2,000r/min.
However, I did find the fivespeed manual gearbox rather sloppy on shifts with fairly long gearing, although the upshot is that it manages to cruise quite admirably on the open road with little in the way of engine buzz.
Cabin appointments are