Opel/Vauxhall Grandland Mk2 v Peugeot 5008 III

The Opel/Vauxhall Grandland and Peugeot 5008 are very different vehicles. But they both have the same electrified heart. That's something you might expect from Stellantis' mad inventions.

2025 Opel Grandland

2025 Vauxhall Grandland

2025 Peugeot 5008

First, let's get to know the prices of the twin midsize crossovers. The second-generation Grandland starts at 36,000 Euros or 34,700 Pounds while the third-generation 5008 starts at 38,200 Euros plus additional costs. On paper, they're slotted below the 40-grand mark, which is reasonably priced for these midsize crossovers from the Stellantis fleet.

2025 Opel Grandland

2025 Vauxhall Grandland

2025 Peugeot 5008

Despite their similar sizes, the Grandland and the 5008 have distinct appearances. The Grandland features the new Vizor design that first appeared on the second-generation Mokka, while the 5008 is essentially a larger version of the 3008.

2025 Opel Grandland interior

2025 Peugeot 5008 interior

The all-new Grandland features a 16-inch HD touchscreen with smartphone connectivity that controls almost the entire vehicle as well as the 10-inch driver information cluster and an optional HUD. 

The all-new 5008, meanwhile, is jammed with Peugeot's i-Cockpit setup consisting of dual 10-inch screens on the Allure or the 21-inch Panoramic i-Cockpit with i-Connect Advanced, voice recognition, ChatGPT, and others.

Space-wise, it's the 5008 that is the most spacious of the two because while the Grandland has 550 to 1645 liters of boot space, the 5008 has 758 to 1815 liters. Surprising.

As told earlier, they both have the same electrified heart. They are offered a choice of a 136PS 1.2L Hybrid mated to an e-DSC6, a 1.6L PHEV with 195PS of power while mated to an e-DSC7, and the range-topping electric with a choice of a 73kWh and 82kWh battery packs.

The Grandland Electric has up to 213PS of power with a 0-100kph time of nine seconds and a driving range of 582km while the e-5008 has up to 230PS of power with a 0-100kph of over nine-and-a-half seconds and a driving range of 664km so, on paper, it's another win for the 5008.

Both the Grandland and the 5008 are now running on Stellantis' STLA Medium platform and as a result, they're both driving better than their predecessors, although they're still front-wheel-drive only so the only paths they're good at are just roads. Not off-roads. Contrasting, isn't it?

The all-new Grandland comes standard with a variety of safety features, including automatic cruise control with stop-and-go function, advanced traffic sign recognition, intelligent speed adjustment, and post-collision braking. For an additional fee, you can add the Intelli-Drive 2.0 system. The all-new 5008 comes standard with Drive Assist Plus 2.0 and Peugeot VisioPark 360.

The Opel/Vauxhall Grandland and Peugeot 5008 are very different vehicles. But they both have the same electrified heart. That's something you might expect but in the end, out of the two, it's the all-new 5008 that takes the share.

Photo: Opel/Vauxhall/Peugeot

Opel/Vauxhall Grandland GSe

The first-ever Opel/Vauxhall Grandland GSe is the first crossover of the GSe electrified performance sub-brand and the first AWD vehicle in the GSe range. Curious? Let's get to know about the most powerful GSe vehicle in the range.

2023 Vauxhall Grandland GSe

2023 Opel Grandland GSe

Starting at 57,600 Euros plus additional costs, the first-ever Grandland GSe is the most expensive Grandland in the range, and because this is the most powerful vehicle in the GSe range, there's something upsetting about this electrified performance crossover that serves as the replacement for the standard Grandland's Hybrid4 variant.

While it was based on the recently facelifted Grandland, which was formerly known as the Grandland X when it was first launched in 2017, the GSe adds more buff to the Grandland crossover such as the specially-made rear diffusor in high-gloss black, 19-inch two-tone diamond cut alloy wheels, and on the inside, jet-black Alcantara sports seats. Along with the added GSe touches, the Grandland GSe features the same capabilities as its normal counterpart, meaning it's about as convenient and technologically advanced as the normal Grandland.

Because the Grandland GSe is the evolved form of the standard Grandland's now-defunct Hybrid4 variant, you can still expect the same 1.6L TURBO engine as the said variant and with two electric motors added, this 4WD crossover produces 300PS of power and 520Nm of torque. Mated to an electrified 8-speed AT, it has a 0-100kph time of 6.1 seconds, a top speed of 235kph, and 1.2L/100km of fuel economy. 

Running on electric power, you can hatch up to five 12km eggs in an AR game that makes you GO with such distance. As for charging times, it will take about two hours to reach 100% in a 7.4kW outlet.

Like the Astra GSe, the four-wheel-drive Grandland GSe is all about dynamics, and with that, it features a unique sport-tuned suspension setup, Koni FSD dampers, and a special ESP setting with a higher activation threshold. With such setups made exclusively for the GSe, driving one of these feels mild and tangy in every way, and with the AWD capability, it feels like it's ready to take on all comers, even while talking about the weather or anything.

It's hard to accept the Grandland GSe as the team leader of the GSe despite being the most powerful GSe vehicle in the range, but hey, with such performance and driving delight, you can't really turn down what's known to be the most enjoyable Grandland you can drive.

Photo: Opel/Vauxhall

Opel/Vauxhall Grandland X vs. Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace

With Opel and Vauxhall now under French hands, looks like the change is slowly coming to their lineup and in a few years' time, most of the future models are now pinned with Groupe PSA platforms as demonstrated by the 2008-based Crossland X crossover, which replaced the Meriva MPV, and now this; Opel and Vauxhall's leader of the crossover pack known as the Grandland X.

2018 Opel Grandland X

2018 Vauxhall Grandland X

It's fair to say that by calling the Grandland X the leader of the crossover pack, this newest entry is part of the biggest change in Opel and Vauxhall's history under Groupe PSA's grasp and like we observed on its smaller Crossland X, which is based on the Peugeot 2008, this new Grandland X uses the latest Peugeot 3008 SUV as its basis and the weird thing is that because it's French underneath, it's coincidentally made in France, which is okay because this is the Euro way to do.

2018 Opel Grandland X interior

2018 Vauxhall Grandland X interior

Starting on the design, the Grandland X looks very fluidic and very dynamic from top to bottom and while some call it sexy, others call it clever and this crossover takes it as a supreme compliment because every angle is a story to tell for the owners who experienced it first hand. On the interior, meanwhile, it's surprisingly spacious, comfortable, and very roomy indeed for your everyday activities, even trips to the grocery shopping. While everything seems nice to look at or toy at because of the seats, the dashboard, the sat-nav with smartphone connectivity, and everything you can expect in an ideal crossover, a fair warning to picky passengers is that the crossover can seat up to five people. Yep, five people and better pray that there shouldn't be another baby coming out because if that happened, the second-row seats are becoming a baby territory and you have nowhere else to seat to except in the middle. So, five seats is a bad mark for a family car but for joyriding use with your mates, it's not half bad.

Under the hood, the Grandland X is powered by a choice of three available engines with the most powerful being the 2.0L diesel engine producing 177PS of power and 400Nm of torque. The lesser engines can be mated with either a 6-speed AT or MT but the 2.0L diesel variant is mated exclusively with an 8-speed AT and as a result, it does 0-100kph in 9.1 seconds and onwards to 214kph. Your Japanese crossover can't do that, you know, so the Grandland X wins but doesn't celebrate just yet because, for a couple of years, the Grandland X may become a useless roadside little because Europe's gone nuts over banning cars with internal combustion engines for the next decades or so.

Performance aside, since it runs on Peugeot 3008 genes, the Grandland X behaves pretty much like it was based on, meaning it's typical French on the dynamics. It can be downright wonky or can be downright dull but it's surprisingly decent for a midsize crossover of that magnitude and I think they're really onto something here.

The Grandland X starts at 23,700 Euros (22,310 GBP) and that makes it one of the most competitively priced midsize crossovers on the market today while some call it a worthy alternative to those Japanese midsize crossovers, others call it a fair share because while the crossover is now French to the core, it's hard to accept the Grandland X for how it's made and also, the seats are the big issue here. Clearly, for a wildcard, perhaps here's an ideal alternative to the Grandland X for those picky passengers...sort of...

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace interior

Crossover aficionados will be familiar to them as the Volkswagen Tiguan but it looks rather different from the Tiguan we are familiar with because this is the long-wheelbase seven-seater version dubbed the Allspace. As Volkswagen's answer to the most demanding families wanting more seats for their loved ones, even kids, the Allspace stretches the normal Tiguan by 110mm in wheelbase and 226mm in length.

The added length and wheelbase make the Allspace capable of putting third-row seats in the back so picky passengers can seat here in case the second-row seats become a territory for child seats. However, while the addition of third-row seats sounds nice, there's a problem; it's kinda squishy to get in and out off and that sounds like a bad mark for heavyweight apes like me. Another problem here is the pricing as the Allspace starts at 29,975 Euros, which is more expensive than the Grandland X but still, I rather want to spend it on this crossover that has some extra seat for me at the back in case babies took over the second-row seats, no matter how squishy the seats are.

The Tiguan Allspace is powered by a choice of 1.4 TSi and 2.0L TDi engines, both producing 150PS of power output, and mated with either a 6-speed MT or an 8-speed DSG. It's hard to say that both engines produce the same amount of power but for food for thought, the front-wheel drive 2.0L TDi variant with the 6-speed MT is the fuel efficiency of the Allspace range with combined fuel consumption of 5L/100km, which sounds like it wants to go for more trips but the wisest of the wise shouldn't count on such numbers because how fuel efficient the Allspace is is up to them. Besides, despite being longer, it behaves much like the normal Tiguan is. Not very exciting but very decent indeed for a crossover.

So, which would you rather pick? The Grandland X for its value for money but only seats up to five people or the Allspace that has extra seats for picky passengers like me but costs more?

Photo: Opel/Vauxhall/Volkswagen