On a windy and rainy morning in January Opel send sends the Grandland Plug-in Hybrid out on a mission – to determine how far the newcomer can drive until the fuel tank and battery are empty. According to the official test cycle, the SUV offers impressive log-distance qualities: the official WLTP values ​​show a combined range of up to 897 kilometres, of which up to 87 kilometres are purely electric. “But we thought to ourselves: Let’s see what the car can really do,” says Grandland chief engineer Dirk Kaminski.

The initial question of the in-house test drive was therefore: “Can our top SUV break the 1,000-kilometre mark?” And so the Grandland with 143 kW (195 hp) system output in the GS trim was let loose – with a full tank of petrol and a fully charged 17.9 kWh battery. The conditions were anything but ideal: While the official WLTP values ​​are tested at temperatures of around 23 degrees Celsius, the thermometer showed a fresh 11 degrees Celsius at the start. In addition, and appropriate for the season, the car was fitted with 19-inch winter tyres instead of summer tyres with lower rolling resistance.

The route was also as realistic as it was everyday and consisted typical commuter stretches from the Rhine-Main area around Rüsselsheim and Frankfurt to the Rhine-Neckar area and back again. Motorway stretches with free-flowing traffic, stop-and-go traffic, country roads and city traffic including traffic light stops – the test route reflected multiple real everyday requirements. The result even exceeded the expectations of the Opel professionals: the SUV covered a total of 1,115 kilometres on one tank full and battery charge. A third of this, namely 380 kilometres, was covered purely battery-electric and therefore locally emissions-free. The average speed of the test drive was 80 km/h; the overall average consumption was 4.6 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres.

“The fact that the Grandland achieves such outstanding values under these circumstances – at the end of the test temperatures had dropped to just 4 degrees Celsius – has once again confirmed that we have created a car that is groundbreaking in every respect with a drive concept that is completely suitable for everyday use,” explains Kaminski. The chief engineer particularly emphasises the coordination of the highly efficient combustion engine and electric motor: “Whenever you decelerate, the engine switches to electric operation. This is possible because the recuperated energy is used to power the car electrically meaning that long distances can be covered at low and medium speeds with no local emissions.”

Ideal for fleets and individual

Not least with these results, the new Opel Grandland Plug-in Hybrid demonstrates its outstanding qualities as a vehicle both for fully electric commuter routes and for long-distance journeys for company car and leisure drivers who want to travel in a way that conserves resources and without worrying about range. Not only the use of recycled materials and the absence of chrome show what Opel means by ‘Greenovation’ and sustainability in the new top-of-the-line SUV.

More to come?

At the end of the test, one final question remains: What distance would the new Grandland Plug-in Hybrid be able to cover with a full tank and full battery under ideal test conditions – for example, in early summer? “The insights that we as a team have gained from the 1,115 kilometres we have now driven is: Under optimal conditions, even more would certainly be possible,” said Kaminski.