Name: Vauxhall Frontera (2025) | Expert Rating | The Car Expert
Item: Vauxhall Frontera
Rating: 60.0

Summary

The Vauxhall Frontera is a compact SUV positioned as a practical and affordable family option in the increasingly crowded small SUV market. Replacing the previous Crossland model for 2025, the Frontera sits between the smaller Mokka and larger Grandland in the Vauxhall line-up.

Compared to other Vauxhall models, the Frontera offers a boxier design and a strong emphasis on interior space and everyday usability. It prioritises low running costs and straightforward family transport over driving excitement. Its upright proportions provide generous headroom and a flexible boot area, and there’s an optional seven-seat configuration that is rare in this class.

Vauxhall markets this car as the Frontera Hybrid, which is misleading. In reality, it’s a petrol car with mild hybrid assistance, with a small electric motor that supports the petrol engine, and cannot drive on electric power alone. An all-electric Frontera is also available, which has a separate Expert Rating. Vauxhall is not alone in using this terminology, with several other car companies applying similarly inaccurate branding to mild hybrid systems.

Our editor, Stuart Masson, drove the Frontera in the UK and noted that its practicality stands out immediately. He found it spacious for its footprint, with good visibility and simple controls that will appeal to buyers stepping out of older MPVs or larger hatchbacks. However, while the packaging is well judged, the overall execution feels more mixed. Interior materials in several areas appear budget-oriented, and the mild-hybrid petrol engine can sound coarse under load. Road and wind noise are also more noticeable than in some key competitors.

Other media reviews broadly echo this assessment. Most praise the space, price positioning and sensible approach, but question the overall refinement and polish compared with similarly priced rivals. The Frontera’s Eco Rating is respectable, and predicted running costs are competitive, but its basic warranty cover and below-average Media Rating weigh against it in the overall calculation.

The Frontera has not yet been assessed by Euro NCAP, so its independent safety performance – including occupant protection and driver assistance systems – remains to be established.

As of November 2025, the Vauxhall Frontera holds a New Car Expert Rating of C, with a score of 60%. This reflects a car that gets the fundamentals of space and value right, but does not deliver the refinement, ownership reassurance or overall polish required to challenge the strongest alternatives in its class.

Frontera highlights

Good value for money
Practical and spacious interior
Seven-seat configuration available
Comfortable ride quality
One-touch ADAS deactivation

Frontera lowlights

No price advantage over the Frontera Electric
Dacia alternatives are cheaper
Some cheap interior plastics
Noisy petrol engine

Key specifications

Body style: Small SUV
Engines: petrol with mild hybrid assistance
Price: From £24,255 on-road

Launched: Winter 2024/25
Last updated: N/A
Replacement due: TBA

Image gallery

Media reviews

Highlighted reviews and road tests from across the UK automotive media. Click any of the boxes to view.

Featured reviews

“The Vauxhall Frontera provides brilliant value for money, and is a night-and-day improvement in every way over the Crossland model it replaces. It drives and feels better than expected, given the focus on bringing prices down. There’s plenty of space in the back seats, and boot space is also good. “The optional third-row inevitably compromises boot space to provide an extra two kiddies seats, but having the option of seven seats in a mid-size SUV is a great point of difference for the Frontera. “If the European car industry is going to compete with the onslaught from China, it needs more cars like this – honest, solid, well-equipped and affordable. The biggest problem for the petrol-powered Frontera is that the electric one is a better car for the same price.”

Model reviewed: Range overview

Score: 7 / 10

The Car Expert

Stuart Masson

“The Vauxhall Frontera is a spacious small SUV with the option of seven seats, but the interior does feel cheap in places.”

Model reviewed: Range overview

Score: 7 / 10

Read full review

Carwow

Darren Cassey

More reviews

Auto Express

Model reviewed: Range overview (including Frontera Electric)
Score: 9 / 10
“On paper, the Vauxhall Frontera looks astonishingly good value for money when you compare it with the more expensive Mokka. It’s much bigger, doesn’t skimp on equipment too much, looks the part and has the option of hybrid and electric power with no cost between them.”
Author: Alastair Crooks
Read review

Auto Trader

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 7 / 10
“The all-new Frontera is an affordable, compact family car slotting between the smaller Mokka and the larger Grandland. This is Vauxhall’s answer to competitors like the Dacia Duster, MG ZS and the closely related Citroën C3 Aircross, with the Frontera providing all the features you really need in a reassuringly familiar package. There’s a lot to like.”
Author: Catherine King
Read review

Business Car

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 7 / 10
“The Vauxhall Frontera feels like a car of its time, with 2025 in our opinion likely to be the year of the affordable EV.”
Author: Martyn Collins
Read review

Car

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 6 / 10
“The Vauxhall Frontera is a big step forward compared to the old Crossland. Better to drive, far more spacious and more in-keeping with the times. It’s an excellent small family car and available for a decent price, too. But the electric Frontera is a better choice still.”
Author: Chris Chilton
Read review

Carbuyer

Model reviewed: Range overview (including Electric model)
Score: 8.2 / 10
“It’s a very spacious car for the class and will cater to those who need seven seats, but be aware that option is limited to the hybrid models. It’s comfortable for the most part over pothole-filled roads, but keen drivers better look elsewhere as it’s not particularly inspiring from behind the wheel.”
Author: Charlie Harvey
Read review

Heycar

Model reviewed: Range overview (including Frontera Electric)
Score: 8 / 10
“It drives well, and only a few cheap-feeling materials and a lack of a few desirable options take the sheen off a very capable car that offers very good value for money.”
Author: Phill Tromans
Read review

Motoring Research

Model reviewed: Range overview (including Frontera Electric)
Score: 7 / 10
“Affordable new Vauxhall SUV offers plenty of space and the choice of hybrid or electric power – with the EV uniquely costing less than the petrol.”
Author: Richard Aucock
Read review

Parkers

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 7.6 / 10
“If you want a spacious, well-priced crossover, the Vauxhall Frontera deserves a look. It’s a big step forward compared to the old Crossland it replaces, and has comfort and spaciousness as its key selling points.”
Author: Ted Welford
Read review

Top Gear

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 7 / 10
“The new Frontera is categorically not the old Frontera – in fact, it’s a pretty solid effort from Vauxhall. But the elephant in the room is the identically priced electric variant. If electric works for you then it seems the Frontera to buy.”
Author: Peter Rawlins
Read review

Safety rating

Independent crash test and safety ratings from Euro NCAP

No safety rating

As of February 2026, the Vauxhall Frontera has not been assessed by Euro NCAP.

Like all the latest generation of new cars, the Vauxhall Frontera features a suite of accident-avoidance systems known as ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). The EU – and thanks to shared regulations, the UK as well – now requires these systems to be particularly invasive and persistent, which is disliked by many drivers.

Fortunately, the Frontera has a one-touch deactivation button for the most annoying systems, which you still have to do every time you start the car. The fact that car manufacturers like Vauxhall are building in these workaround functions simply highlights the folly of the EU’s bureaucratic interference…

Eco rating

Independent economy and emissions ratings from Green NCAP

No eco rating

As of February 2026, the Vauxhall Frontera has not been assessed by Green NCAP.

Running cost rating

Monthly cost of ownership data provided exclusively for The Car Expert by Clear Vehicle Data

Fuel consumption	Average	Score
Petrol models	53 mpg	B

CO₂ output	Average	Score	Variation	Score
Petrol models	119 g/km	B

Insurance group	Average	Score	Variation	Score
All models	19	A

As of February 2026, we only have partial information about running costs for the Vauxhall Frontera. Fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and insurance group ratings are all good, but we are still waiting for verified five-year service and maintenance costs, which play a significant role in our final running cost score. Check back again soon.

Reliability rating

Reliability data provided exclusively for The Car Expert by MotorEasy

No reliability rating

As of February 2026, we don’t have enough reliability data on the Vauxhall Frontera to generate a reliability rating.

The Car Expert’s reliability information is provided exclusively to us using workshop and extended warranty data from our partner, MotorEasy, sourced from both official dealerships and independent workshops.

As soon as MotorEasy has sufficient data on the Frontera, we’ll publish the results here.

Warranty rating

New car warranty information for the Vauxhall Frontera

Overall ratingE15%
New car warranty duration3 years
New car warranty mileage60,000 miles
Battery warranty duration0 years
Battery warranty mileage0 miles

Vauxhall’s new car warranty is pretty much the bare minimum offered by car manufacturers in the UK, and worse than rival brands in a similar price bracket to the Frontera. The duration is three years, with a limit of 60,000 miles, which is pretty basic. Some rivals offer up to seven years of cover.

Warranty on a used Vauxhall Frontera

As of February 2026, any Vauxhall Frontera should still be covered by its new car warranty. The Vauxhall Frontera only reached showrooms in late 2025, so the first cars won’t reach the end of their new car warranty until late 2028 (unless they hit the 60,000-mile limit before then).

If you’re looking to buy a used car that is approaching the end of its warranty period, a used car warranty is usually a worthwhile investment. Check out The Car Expert’s guide to the best used car warranty providers, which will probably be cheaper than a warranty sold by a dealer.

Recalls

Official DVSA safety recalls that have been issued for the Vauxhall Frontera

As of February 2026, we are not aware of any DVSA vehicle safety recalls affecting the Vauxhall Frontera. However, this information is updated very regularly so this may have changed.

You can check to see if your car has any outstanding recalls by visiting the DVLA website or contacting your local Vauxhall dealer.