Back from his test drive, Tobias Gärtner walks around the body and runs his fingers along the embossed GRANDLAND lettering on the tailgate: „Absolutely impressive – a beautiful car!“ is his verdict. „And so dynamic and agile!“ adds his daughter Zoe from the driver’s seat. Younger sister Lea and mother Nicole, who are sitting in the back, rave about the „great seats and an incredible amount of space.“

The Gärtner family are not the only ones who are enthusiastic about the new Grandland – the professional opinion makers are also full of praise: „It will be a hit“ is the headline in Auto Bild, while the editor of auto, motor, sport is impressed by „a lot of comfort and well thought-out details.“ 400 journalists from 25 countries attended the dynamic media launch at the Opel headquarters in October. And in true Opel style, the employees also get to enjoy the original setup of the media event at the end – true to the motto „By employees for employees“.

„I love these events,“ says Eva Garcia Sanz. The sales director has brought her friend Janka Patrovicova with her, and they take a seat in front of the stage in the N50. The briefing provides plenty of information. They learn that the newcomer is 17 centimetres longer than its predecessor and that it contains more than 500 kilogrammes of recycled and regenerative raw materials. The lighting engineers present the ingenuity of the 51,200 individual elements „Intelli-Lux HD“ light in the darkened workshop room. Night turns into day. Spontaneous applause breaks out.

„Wow – it’s powerful!“ During the test drive that followed, Janka opted for the fully electric version. The immediate torque of 345 Newton metres only briefly unsettles her. After a few metres, the dentist confidently drives the Grandland along the country road and concludes: „I would like one – a lot!“

And as always, when Opel employees come across a new model with the Blitz, no detail is left undiscovered. The fleet in front of the N50 is thoroughly inspected, the golden retriever is put in the trunk, the back seat is folded down to explore the maximum loading volume of 1,641 litres. „A washing machine easily fits in there,“ says Oliver Aurich, while his son Jannik behind the wheel can’t get enough of the massage function of the Intelli-Seat. Carolin Bochen, meanwhile, has fallen in love with the head-up display, and Andreas Mirbach is longing for a solar eclipse or, alternatively, the sunset: „I really need to experience the new lighting technology in the dark – the presentation by the lighting colleagues was more than impressive.“

Hidden passengers

Colleagues Anja Buhles and her son Tim have travelled especially from Kaiserslautern. „After all, the Grandland contains 220 components from us,“ says Anja Buhles, „the reinforcement of the roof frame, for example, comes from the Kaiserslautern plant.“ And then of course there are the sharks, which traditionally have to be found in the interior of Opel models. A group of colleagues spontaneously got together to track down the animal passengers. „Here – I’ve got one,“ comes a voice from the rear. And indeed: a shark is frolicking around the rear-view camera. Five more fish are hidden in the interior, reveals PR manager Carina Elsinger. Her tip for all shark fans: „Look around the centre console.“ But no more is revealed.

As senior interior designer, Victor Uribe Chacon helped design the interior of the new Grandland. „Seeing the finished vehicle now fills me with pride.“ He shows his family the many storage options in the interior, points out the centre console, which can be cooled if desired, and explains the consistent alignment with the Opel compass with horizontal and vertical lines. „Every arrangement, the materials, the proportions – it is a meticulously balanced work of art,“ he explains. The goal: „To offer customers an incomparable experience in the interior – with plenty of comfort.“ His family thinks: mission accomplished.

Pleasant level of assistance

Lucienne Sachs, Selin Keunig and Kristin Müller have just returned from a test drive in the Grandland Electric, Impakt Copper Metallic. They have beaming faces. The three of them came to the headquarters today at the invitation of the „Women of Stellantis“, where they are currently completing their technical internship. The joint project of all technical universities in Hesse enables young women to experience everyday working life in various technical professions. For three months, the interns at Opel immerse themselves in the world of automobile manufacturing. And they do just that extensively and conscientiously at the employee event.

„There’s so much high-tech in the car,“ says Lucienne Sachs, „and it’s all nicely packaged.“ She likes the central display, the intuitive operation and the control buttons: „It has everything I need.“ Not too much, not too little, just right. „You feel supported by the assistance systems and not constrained,“ adds Kristin Müller, adding her impressions of the test drive, while Selin Kunig takes a long, hard look at the light signature of the illuminated Opel Blitz in the 3D Vizor and the red Opel lettering on the rear. „That’s definitely my highlight!“ The interns already know that this is the innovative „Edge Light“ technology from their time with the Rüsselsheim lighting engineering team. The Grandland’s first appearance – it leaves a strong impression. Or as n-tv puts it: „With the striking red illuminated letters, the Opel Grandland is likely to have one of the hippest brand wordmarks currently.“