New Grandland Finally Arrived....

Post pictures of your Vauxhall Grandland here
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Brookie
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Post by Brookie »

Ordered last December, delivery due April....
Then the Virus hit!
Didn't really matter to me as it would have just been sitting on the drive for four months...!!
Driven it its first 100 miles - trying to get used to all the gizmos and driving an auto :D

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Last edited by Brookie on Fri Aug 07, 2020 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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GRANDLANDX68
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Post by GRANDLANDX68 »

It looks nice. How you finding the Hybrid technology any good?
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Brookie
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Post by Brookie »

Thanks GRANDLANDX68
I've only been on one journey in it so far so it's too soon to say but I'm finding it pretty complicated to drive - and I'm a pretty confident driver! 🙄 Never having driven an auto before doesn't help...!
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Post by GRANDLANDX68 »

I have never driven an auto either. I suppose all newer cars are more complicated.
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Brookie
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Post by Brookie »

Not only had I never driven an auto but I didn't want to - I think manual makes for a more engaging, enjoyable drive

However I think manual cars are disappearing and this will be the new normal, even though auto boxes are more expensive and more prone to failure due to their complication - probably heavier too...

Thinking about it though, I'm not sure how hybrid would work through a manual box..

Guess I'll just have to resign myself to the future of motoring, along with all the other changes that will happen :roll:
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Post by GRANDLANDX68 »

The same reason as me I like to be able to change gear when I want to not when the car does. I dont think I would be converted to a auto even for a Hybrid.
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Grandlad
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Post by Grandlad »

Congratulations on your new car. I ordered my Hybrid4 in September when the books opened, and I received it in February, so I have now done around 2200 miles in it. Once you are used to the differences (which doesn't take long!) it's great. Around town (most of my driving) it is smooth, quick, silent and you can feel virtuous not producing any nasties. I would not want to go back to a non electric car now.
In electric mode, there are no gears - motor speed and road speed are directly linked, and in petrol mode, when the 8 speed auto is in use, you can change gear whenever you want using a couple of (to quote Jeremy Clarkson) 'flappy paddles' on the steering wheel. Though I find in practice that I have only ever used them just to see what happens! On the road, with hybrid selected, the car will go between petrol and electric quite un-noticeably, but the effect can be seen in the fuel consumption. Last week I did a trip of 42 miles there and 42 miles back. I set the car deliberately to hybrid, and I travelled virtually the whole distance there in electric drive. Coming back, with almost no charge left in the battery, I was mostly in petrol mode. The overall consumption for the trip was better than 88mpg. Since I last filled up, I have done 180 miles, with a fuel consumption of 117mpg.
No way will the car pay for itself, but a) there is a feel-good factor, and b) it drives beautifully.
Hope you enjoy yours!
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Brookie
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Post by Brookie »

Thanks Grandlad
I've had the car a couple of weeks now but only driven it three times, covering 230 miles - two longish journeys and one short
So, still getting used to an auto, which is pretty awful - not the car's fault - I just prefer manual and have no experience of auto but I don't have the choice
Other than that it's a lovely car and it has plenty of features and tricks that I keep discovering
I like the styling of the Grandland, unlike most other manufacturers' offerings in this class - all it needs is the front-end styling of the forthcoming Mokka facelift
I expect most of my journeys to be short ones on electric power which should be cheap although, as you commented, I'll never recoup the surcharge that comes with the purchase of an electric vehicle
I think I managed up to 108 mpg in hybrid mode on my longer journeys before emptying the battery and eventually seeing consumption increasing to around 100mpg - not sure about the 204mpg claim though...?!
Careless pedestrians have regularly stepped out in front of my previous car - I expect more to do so in front of this silent vehicle and that's a worry - I thought manufacturers were going to be compelled to build in some kind of noise generation (Colonel Bogey maybe??😁)
Oh, and the 300p, same as my old car, was a huge factor in my decision to buy it...! Bit of a conflict of ideals there though! 😊
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Post by Grandlad »

I had a Grandland Sport petrol auto before my hybrid - and that was a great car, which is why I wanted to stay with the Grandland on upgrade. I agree about the styling, though. There is no right or wrong of course, but a more-digital instrument panel and the forthcoming Mokka front end will help. I looked at a Peugeot 3008, but though I liked the digital dash, I wasn't so keen on the rest of it; hence the Grandland!!
I've come to the conclusion that there is no point wondering about fuel consumption figures! The outward leg of my journey the other day, I drove virtually the whole 42 miles on electric - the fuel consumption figure showed 405mpg. That was up an 'A' road. Coming back, with a depleted battery, on a motorway, the fuel consumption was much greater, of course. So much depends on the exact conditions of any drive.
The car shows the expected range in electric mode, but it seems that this figure adjusts to take account of your driving style to produce a more accurate estimate. I have a relatively smooth driving style, and the range shows regularly 35 miles and sometimes 37 miles following a charge, and the car is capable of achieving this range. My VX dealership also run a hybrid, and their style is rather more enthusiastic, and the range shows as 27 miles following a charge. I drove their car for a weekend, and although it showed 27 miles, the car actually travelled the mid-thirties I usually see.
Like you, I thought that there was supposed to be a noise generated to warn pedestrians of electric cars coming up, but if there is I can't hear it! Incidentally, the Peugeot 3008 brochure actually mentions this noise generator as being included, but they also mention a small indicator in the front windscreen which illuminates to show the car is running in zero emission mode - apparently to indicate to the electronic policing of ultra low emission zones. Maybe it's just the French?
The performance of the Grandland hybrid is on paper quite similar to the new VW Golf GTI just being launched. We are a fraction quicker in acceleration, they are 9mph faster at 155mph (as if!) What I worry about is what the roads will be like when cars with this kind of performance have aged into the 'boy racer' segment of the market.
In the meantime, let's enjoy!!
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