Vauxhall Frontera review

Vauxhall’s gone big on minimalism in here, which gives it a clean, business-like look, but there’s a fair amount of cheaper, harder plastics too. It gets Vauxhall’s new flat-bottomed steering wheel, a clean-looking dashboard complete with handy rubber-lined storage shelf, and an adjustable strap around the centre console to store laptops, iPads and suchlike, though we’re not sure how often or why you’d actually want to do so.

If you go for the upper spec you get the firm’s Intelli-Seats up front that feature a unique cushion design incorporating a slot that relieves pressure on the tailbone. Behind the front seats there’s room for two adults to sit comfortably, though three would be a squeeze. You might just manage if it’s just the kids back there. Alternatively there’s the £550 seven-seat option, and based on our experience of its Citroen C3 Aircross relation, that back row is gonna be a squeeze for all but the littlest of people. The seats are a short-term solution, primarily, and you'll want to pick up a roof box if you're going seven-up on a longer trip.

By minimalist, you mean button free, presumably?

Yes and no. All variants get the same dual 10in screen setup, one for the driver, one to control the infotainment and whatnot. It all works well enough but both screens feel quite basic and limited, and it’s certainly not as flashy a setup as you find in some rivals. Not necessarily a bad thing for any technophobes out there - and Apple CarPlay hooks up quickly, easily and might dominate your screen time anyway.

The Frontera gets a dedicated climate control panel too, which couldn’t be simpler to use. Top spec Frontera Ultimates introduce the likes of heated steering wheel and seats, which again you can switch on and off using additional buttons on the same panel, while all versions get two USB-C ports front and rear (seven-seaters get an additional one in the back), wireless smartphone mirroring and voice recognition.

Plus, there are also physical buttons on the steering wheel, and a few more off to the side that allow you to quickly switch off any annoying ADAS features. Handy.

Sounds practical enough at least. Will I fit my shopping in?

There’s room for 450 litres of luggage with the rear seats up; fold them down and this extends to 1,600 litres. Those figures drop to 370 and 1,400 for the seven-seat version, albeit with the third row of seats folded down for both figures. You'll have little truly useable luggage space with people ensconced in the back.

Additional versatility is provided by the split-level boot floor, which when raised lies flat with the boot lip, or drop it for maximum capacity, and the 60:40 split folding rear seats.