The Vauxhall Crossland X is a spacious, practical and economical family car that offers loads more style and desirability than the ageing Meriva MPV. However, its positioning alongside the similarly sized Mokka X makes it a confusing proposition – especially as that car continues to sell well in an increasingly saturated market. However, if you avoid the top-spec engine and trim combinations, the Crossland X is a well-equipped and good value Nissan Juke rival with bags of space for growing families.
The Crossland X slots into the Vauxhall range as an all-new model, despite the fact it indirectly replaces the now discontinued Meriva MPV. Vauxhall is keen to place an SUV slant on its new car, hence the Mokka X inspired face, chunky, cladded wheel arches and raised ride height. LED daytime running lights are standard, as are alloy wheels. This new car gets PSA Group underpinnings too, using a modified Peugeot 2008 platform.
Some MPV influences are still evident, though, particularly at the rear. That’s because the Crossland X is positioned as a more versatile and practical proposition than other B-segment crossovers, and as such, the exterior shape is dictated by space requirements in the cabin.
With the wheels pushed right out to the corners, plus that tall, boxy roofline and a steeply raked windscreen stretching far out in front of the dashboard, the Crossland X feels very spacious and airy inside. You can make the cabin even brighter with an optional fixed panoramic glass roof, but it is an expensive extra at £695. Headroom is excellent, while legroom in the back is also very good for this segment.
Overall though, the Crossland X’s cabin prioritises function over form. It’s been cleverly designed and packaged to maximise space, and comes well equipped, too. But there’s little in the way of flair and some of the plastics are hard and scratchy to touch. As a bonus, you do get a leather steering wheel as standard, and things are livened up on Tech Line Nav and Elite cars with ambient lighting and a digital speedometer in the instrument cluster.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
In the cabin, the big tech news is the inclusion of a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which features as standard on even the basic SE model. It’s a real coup, as the IntelliLink system is bundled with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus Vauxhall OnStar, a Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth, DAB radio and a USB connector at no extra cost. It sits angled towards the driver and is fairly slick and easy to use, with decent response to touches and a row of chunky physical buttons to help navigate the sub-menus.
Alternatively, ‘Nav’ badged cars come with a larger eight-inch screen with built in satellite navigation, voice controls and a second USB port. Both infotainment systems can be paired with an optional head-up display.
A six-speaker audio setup comes as standard but a £535 ‘Premium’ system with an additional subwoofer makes the options list. A wireless charging pad for smartphones is available as a £160 option across all models.
The Vauxhall Crossland X is a competent cruiser that’s easy to drive in town, but its soft setup lets it down on twistier, more challenging roads. However, for most that’s unlikely to be of consequence, and rivals like the Renault Captur suffer the same issues.
The soft ride means the Crossland X is comfortable on the motorway, where the raised ride height allows the suspension to smooth larger undulations with ease. This catches the car out at slower speeds, however, where the taller springs struggle to keep up over Britain’s notoriously rutted roads.
Light steering makes the Crossland easy to manoeuvre, but on the open road it’s lifeless and offers little in the way of feedback. The manual gearbox is a bit vague, too, and there is no four-wheel drive option despite its raised body and SUV appearance.
A Peugeot 2008 is keener to respond and while the Crossland X no worse than the similarly-sized Mokka X in this respect, the excellent Astra and new Insignia Grand Sport show how good Vauxhalls can be when the engineers put their minds to it.
Engines
Being based on the Peugeot 2008 means the Vauxhall Crossland X uses a very similar range of engines. Those after the cheapest entry-point into Crossland ownership are pointed towards the naturally aspirated 80bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine. It’s available across the range but only comes with a five-speed manual gearbox and does without fuel-saving stop-start technology.
A better bet is the turbocharged 1.2; with 108bhp and 205Nm of torque it’s far livelier and will happily cope with town driving and longer motorway trips. It’ll do 0-62mph in 10.6 seconds and hit 109mph flat out. The more powerful 128bhp turbo model gets a six-speed manual gearbox, but the performance gains are marginal so for most it won’t be worth the extra.
The diesels are expected to account for a large proportion of sales, and by looking at the numbers it’s easy to see why. They post frankly astounding official fuel economy claims, while losing little to the petrols in terms of performance. They aren’t as refined, though, and with the future of diesel uncertain, many buyers may be better off with one of the quieter and still frugal turbo petrol models.
All cars come with various safety systems such as lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition. Cruise control, ABS and tyre pressure monitoring are also included, while further up the range you’ll find switchable ESP and front and rear parking sensors.
The Crossland X hasn’t been crash tested by Euro NCAP yet, but the Peugeot 2008 on which it is based gained a five-star rating in 2013. The tests have become more stringent since then, but with the new Vauxhall Astra gaining a similar plaudit in 2015 we’ve no reason to believe the Crossland will achieve anything less than full marks
Reliability shouldn’t be too much of a concern as the Crossland X uses plenty of tried and tested parts. Vauxhall’s showing in our annual Driver Power owner satisfaction survey was less pleasing, however, with the brand finishing 25th overall. Dealer service was equally disappointing, placing 22nd out of 32 manufacturers.
Warranty
Vauxhall used to offer a lifetime warranty on its cars, limited to the first owner. However, it has subsequently scrapped the plan, as the way in which many people buy cars has seen customers chop and change models much more frequently. As a result, all Crossland X models come with a standardised three-year/60,000-mile warranty. Owners can extend this for an additional fee.
Servicing
All Vauxhall Crossland X models are subject to one-year or 20,000-mile service intervals, with a main service due every two years or 40,000 miles, whichever comes soonest. The brand offers servicing plans with fixed monthly costs starting from £15. This setup also includes discounts on ‘wear-and-tear’ repairs and 50 per cent off MoTs.
Practicality is the Crossland’s strong point. The tall, upright and square body means there’s loads of room inside for passengers and luggage, with plenty of storage solutions dotted about the cabin. It’s only available with five seats but there should be more than enough space inside for most families.
The driving position is good and extremely comfortable over long distances due to its elevated stance and supportive seats. The car’s large glasshouse makes the cabin feel light and airy, but the way the dashboard stretches out ahead of you can make parking tricky. The short rear overhang ensures reversing isn’t so hard, while the £285 reversing camera should limit dinks and dents for less confident drivers.
Size
Oddly, Vauxhall now offers two B-segment SUVs in its ever-expanding product range. The existing Mokka X has sold well for a number of years now, but with buyers ditching dull and dreary MPVs in favour of more fashionable crossovers, the Meriva has morphed into the Crossland X.
At 4,212mm long it’s slightly shorter than the Meriva, though being a few milimetres wider (1,825mm vs 1,812mm) gives it a more purposeful stance. The black body cladding raises its profile, while scuff plates front and rear give the Crossland X a sense of style so important in today’s market.
Those dimensions are broadly similar to the Mokka’s, but make it considerably larger than a Nissan Juke. Parking is a little tricky in the Crossland X due to the long dashboard and steeply sloped bonnet, but a short overhang at the rear means reversing is simpler.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
There is no denying the Crossland X is a practical car. In the transition from MPV to SUV, the versatile family car has lost none of its family-friendly flair. There is loads of room up front, while in the back you’ll find space for three adults thanks to the fact that there’s plenty of head and shoulder room.
You can improve things further with the good value Versatility Pack (£300), which adds a sliding rear bench and 40:20:40 split-fold seats. This allows passengers to prioritise legroom or cargo area depending on yours or their needs – boosting boot space by up to 110 litres.
Boot
All Vauxhall Crossland X models boast a 410-litre boot with the rear seats in place, which is considerably larger than you’ll find in the Mokka X. However, many buyers will be advised to opt for the £300 Versatility Pack, with its sliding rear bench adding an extra 110 litres of load space. With 520 litres on offer, this Crossland trumps cars in the class above; like the excellent SEAT Ateca.
Fold the seats down and the Vauxhall Crossland X loses out to the Mokka X (1,255 litres vs 1,372 litres), but the large, square load bay means it’s easy to load bulky gear – and the lack of a load lip ensures sliding heavier objects in is no trouble either. That Versatility Pack also adds 40:20:40 split-fold rear seats, which could come in handy if you regularly carry longer items.
Vauxhall is positioning the Crossland X as a more practical alternative to the Mokka X, but it’s also a more economical choice. As such, you’ll find that many of the engines on offer feature turbocharging and stop-start technology, and there are no expensive, heavy 4x4 models, either.
The most economical choice is the entry-level diesel. This turbocharged 1.6-litre with 98bhp delivers a claimed 76.3mpg with CO2 emissions of 93g/km. Opt for larger 17-inch wheels and tailpipe emissions climb to 95g/km. While this makes no difference in terms of road tax owing to the latest VED bands, it does increase the first year BIK rate for company car buyers by one per cent. As for the more powerful 118bhp diesel, a combined figure of 70.6mpg is claimed with 105g/km.
Our pick of the range is the 108bhp 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol, which delivers a claimed 58.9mpg and 109g/km CO2 when fitted with the five-speed manual gearbox. Opt for the automatic and you’ll see your fuel economy drop to 52.3mpg, while CO2 rises to 123g/km.
Official figures mark the 128bhp variant down as being capable of 55.4mpg on a combined run with 116g/km of CO2. A manual gearbox is the only option here. The entry level, naturally aspirated 1.2-litre petrol still delivers fuel economy on par with its turbo siblings – a combined figure of 54.3mpg is claimed.
With figures like these, the Crossland X outclasses the Nissan Juke on paper, as that car’s petrol powertrains all dip below 50mpg. Overall though, the Vauxhall is par for the course when it comes to fuel economy, with broadly similar running costs to a like-for-like Renault Captur.
Insurance groups
The Crossland X launches with a broad selection of 26 different engine and trim variants, so it’s no surprise to see a great deal of variation across the range when it comes to insurance groups. The entry-level 80bhp 1.2-litre petrol sits in insurance group eight regardless of trim, meaning the most basic model should be cheaper to insure than its key rivals – the Renault Captur and Nissan Juke – both of which sit in higher brackets.
Higher-power 108bhp 1.2-litre turbo cars fluctuate between groups 12 and 14, though all automatic versions sneak into that lower bracket. The most powerful engine – the 128bhp 1.2-litre turbo – is only available on Tech Line Nav trim cars and up, meaning pricier insurance in group 17 and 18. As for the diesels, the higher powered 118bhp car slots into group 17, with the 98bhp car sitting in group 14.
Standard security equipment across all models includes electronically protected audio and infotainment hardware, a luggage area cover, an immobiliser system and remote central locking. Finally, keyless entry isn’t available at all on 80bhp 1.2-litre petrol cars or SE and SE Nav models, but is on the options list elsewhere.
Depreciation
The Crossland X is brand new to the market so we don’t yet have real world results when it comes to depreciation. Nonetheless, expert data predicts that the new model will lose value slightly faster than its larger, Mokka X sibling over a 36-month period. The data suggests that the Crossland X will lose roughly 40 per cent of its value over three years. Our engine choice – the 108bhp 1.2-litre turbo petrol – will be least susceptible to depreciation.