Louth Motoring: The 2025 Opel Grandland launched
Motoring expert David Walshe takes the new Opel Grandland out for a test drive
We got to see the new Opel Grandland in the flesh at Gowan’s, the importers of Opel, head office in City West, Dublin.
16 Grandlands were lined up in a row but before we could drive them we were given a full briefing by James Brooks, the Irish MD of Opel.
James started with a recap of the 2024 car sales in Ireland and how Opel performed.
The one thing that stood out was the acceptance that the performance of the outgoing Grandland model was not as good as they expected and with this new model Opel has high expectations that it will radically increase its market share from 1% to 5% of the SUV sector it finds itself in.
In real terms that means sales will have to go from the 287 sold last year to about 1,400 per annum.
The most Grandlands Opel has sold in a year here was 668 back in 2019, the second year it was on sale here in Ireland, so by that yardstick they will have to double the amount of Grandlands that they sold in their best year.
To do that they will need a good car that captures the imagination of the buyers and they have a very good fighting chance with the new Grandland.
There's a new design language being used and the car is quite striking and all edgy.
It has the familiar Opel front that for the first time ever has an illuminated Opel Logo.
Above: Interior of the 2025 Opel Grandland
The new Grandland is available in all-electric or mild-hybrid (PHEV model to follow) and to see how serious car manufactures are about theirs and our journey to all electric motoring, the electric model undercuts the hybrid price for each of the three trim levels available. This is a trend we will see more and more of.
Highlights on the new Grandland are a 700 km electric range, a totally revamped interior with a fully customisable central infotainment display and Intelli-Lux Pixel Matrix HD headlights that promises daylight levels of lighting when it's dark.
We got to drive the car across a varied mix of roads that routed us to Co. Down and the quietness and comfort afforded is very good for its class. I’ll have a full report for you soon here in Louth Motoring on Louth Live and in the Dundalk Democrat.
Prices start at €39,065 for the electric SC trim model and all Grandlands are available now in dealerships which you can't help to have known already from Opel’s highly visible radio and television ad campaign.