If Driving Electric Only Means That Charging is A Problem, then Having the Largest Possible Range is Nice. Opel Finds a Solution by Screwing a Battery of No Less than 97 kWh Into The Opel Grandland Electric, Although That Is A Heavy Medicine. A Test of the Version Called Long Range.
Why Such a huge battery in the Grandland Long Range?
More and more lease drivers are required to switch to electric for their next car, if that has already happened. As a result, they or run into problems, because not every Dutchman has a driveway where their ownes charging facility can be placed. So you have to charge on the street, and not everyone is Keen on that Potential Hassle. The Largest Possible Range is Suddenly Interesting Again, Becoause then at Least You Don’t Have To Wander Through The Charming 1930s Neighborhood Every Evening in Search of a Free Charging Spot. This undoubtedly also explains in part Why the Kia EV3 is so popular, because you won find more than six hundred hundred whom of Range Anywhere in that price segment. Add Another hundred kilometers and you end up in a desolate piece of car country. An Operating Radius of 700 kilometers or more can so far mainly be found in the top Models of Brands Such as Tesla and Lucid, not in House-Garden-and-Kitchen Crossovers Within the Budget of the Leasing Middle Management.
Ha, a Stellantis product! So also with the other brands?
However, Stellantis Wants To Change This And is Coming Up With Long Range Versions of Mid-Sized SUVS. That starts with the peugeots e-3008 and e-5008 and is now continuing to the Opel Grandland Electric. Here it is the fourth electric option, in Addition to the 73-KWh entry-level version, The Powerful Four-Wheel Drive (also 73 kWh) and an 82-kwh Intermediate Version that is not yet available at Peugeot. That Large Battery is also immediately the main reason for the generous range, because the specific consumption of approxroximately 18 kWh per 100 kilometers is at most okay.
And how far does this long range go?
The car with which we took our first lap had 333 kilometers left at 65 percent with a consumption or 19.3 kWh per 100 kilometers. That would Amount to a Practical Operating Radius or over 500 kilometers, Still very but much less than 700. Fast Charging is the same as with the other versions with a maximum of 160 kw, but presumable the long range Will Maintain that high value for longer. Opel Promises Fast Charging Sessions of 27 Instead of 30 Minutes, which are more power is Pumped Into the Long Range.
But that huge battery is Certainly Heavy?
In Addition to the Grandland’s High Carriage, Weight undoubtedly has something to do with it. We don’t know Exactly Yet, but don’t forget that equally versions with narrower batteries already Weigh More than 2,100 kg Empty. The Long Range Undoubtedly Adds Even More to the Scale, And That Is Noticable. The Electric Grandland Feels Solid and Bulky on the Road. That also has its charm in an suv, but the chassis sometimes has some trouble with it. The Grandland Drives Neatly, But Sometimes Hobbles Somewhat Uncomfortable about bumps. The Steering is Distant and the Overall Picture is a car that does not Involve you in Driving, but also does not nomwelhelm you with comfort. The Grandland is also not fast, eSpeciate not for an ev. The Power is Slightly Increased Compared to the Standard Version, But With 230 HP On That (Very) Thick 2,000 kg, The Car Is Just Fast Enough. It works, absolutely, but don’t expect a spectacle.
How does the grandland relate to its peugeot cousins, the 3008 and 5008?
With a length of 4.65 meters, the Grandland fits nicely between the Peugeots (e-)3008 and 5008. It does not have a third row of seats, but with 550 liters, the loading space is slightly larger than in a 3008. The roof also slopes less sharply and the seating space in the back seat is Spacious, Although The Grandland is not a wonder of efficiency in Terms of Space Utilization Either. The Interior Itelf is Beautiful. The Blocky Structure Must Be To Your Taste, But The Whole Looks Nicely Quirky and Is also Clearly Different From The Even More More Idiosyncratic Arrangement That Peugeot Uses, So There Is Certainly Added Value Models.
And what does it cost?
At the time of writing, there is unfortunately no Dutch price tag for the opel grandland electric long range, but at peugeot you pay € 4,500 extra compared to the 73-kwh version with the same equipment. Is it WORTH IT? Difficult to say. On paper, seven hundred kilometers of range is nice, but in practice you quickly take advantage of the charging opportunities you see and the added value is of disappointing. This is underlined by the fact that experienced EV drivers USUALLY SETTLE FOR A SMERLER BATTERY MORE QUICKLY, While Newcomers in this segment are more likely to opt for long range options. There is something to be said for that, but you always carry an huge and heavy battery with you.
Technical Data Opel Grandland Electric Long Range
Dimensions (LXWXH) 4.65 x 1.91 x 1.67 m
Charging Options 11 KW/160 KW
All Data Accordance to Factory Specifications