The new Opel Frontera. This economical SUV ships with up to seven seats and plenty of cargo space, and is available as a mild hybrid or fully electric. A good family vehicle? REV puts it to the test.
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00:00In 1991, Opel brought a car into the market that should become rather successful.
00:15The name Frontera, a rather bulky off-road car that found a lot of friends around the
00:22globe.
00:23In 2004, the era ended and now, 20 years later, Opel brings back the name, the new Frontera.
00:30Welcome to Rev.
00:32As with most Opels today, the Frontera is available as both a hybrid and a purely electric
00:37car, which is what we're testing.
00:40Prices start at under €24,000.
00:43The general driving impression in the new Frontera is quite good.
00:48The amount of noise that gets into the interior is absolutely okay for that price segment.
00:55The suspension is good.
00:56It keeps most bumps away from the driver without being too soft and without the car leaning
01:03or rolling too much in curves.
01:11What's quite interesting and very different from most other electric cars, the Frontera
01:16Electric will have high recuperation as standard.
01:19And then, instead of having a B mode, the car will have a C mode, which stands for comfort,
01:26and that lowers the recuperation, thus making the car glide farther without decelerating
01:33too much.
01:39The Frontera Electric is driven by an 83-kilowatt, 113-horsepower electric engine, and that is
01:50as powerful as it sounds.
01:55You have a top speed of 140 kilometers an hour and an acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers
02:03an hour in more than 12 seconds.
02:07This car is definitely made for relaxed driving.
02:12Of course, in the city, between 30 and 50 kilometers an hour, it's quite nimble.
02:24The battery has a capacity of 44 kilowatt-hours usable energy, and that gives you a WLTP range
02:32of 305 kilometers.
02:36That is absolutely okay if you consider that the average daily usage of a car to go to
02:43work or anything is around 37 kilometers in Germany.
02:48So in theory, you could use the car the whole week and then charge it at the weekend if
02:53you're not going to plan to use it then, or charge it in between.
02:58That is always possible, and you should not have anything to worry about.
03:06Talking about charging, the maximum charging speed is 100 kilowatts.
03:12That is not exactly that fast.
03:15It is faster than some competitors, but you will still need around 26 minutes, 28 depending
03:26on what the temperature is, to go from 20 to 80 percent.
03:32In the future, Opel plans to offer a long-range version of the electric Frontera, which would
03:37take you around 400 kilometers on a single charge.
03:46As you can tell, Opel managed to give the new Frontera a similarly bulky look as the
03:51predecessor so you can somewhat recognize it, but of course, they also made it modern.
03:56Two-tone colors, somewhat softer edges, and of course, the Opel visor at the front.
04:07What's quite interesting with the new Opel Frontera is the way you turn it on.
04:13Opel kept it old school.
04:16So, key into the ignition, and then turn it to turn on the car.
04:23To be honest, at first I was kind of skeptical about that, but the moment you turn the key
04:31in the lock, it gives you that nostalgia feeling, and I really like it.
04:44Apart from that, the interior has a lot of plastic, of course, that is also cost-related,
04:49but looking at it, I find it absolutely okay, especially those matte parts here and down
04:57there are absolutely nice to the touch and will not attract as much dust or fingerprints
05:06as high-gloss black would do.
05:13Another thing that is good, Opel kept physical buttons for climate control, so no need to
05:19look at it.
05:20You will find it without having to take your eyes from the road.
05:29Behind the steering wheel, you will have the instrument cluster, which is fully digital
05:34and looks absolutely okay to me.
05:38You cannot adjust it, same goes for the infotainment system, but that is okay.
05:45Most of the time, at least what I do, I will use my smartphone, so wireless, Android Auto
05:51and Apple CarPlay is what you need, and the new Frontera has that.
06:01The entry-level version, however, will not have an infotainment system in the middle,
06:05but instead a holder for your smartphone, and then you can couple your smartphone to
06:11the car and listen to your music, use the navigation and everything from your smartphone,
06:16and since a lot of people do that, and I'm one of them, I think that is a quite clever
06:22solution from Opel to keep the price low for people that don't even need that infotainment
06:27system.
06:33There is a lot of space in the back of the new Frontera.
06:38You can tell there is a lot of legroom, a lot of headroom.
06:42Of course, the bulky form that doesn't go down towards the rear will give you that possibility
06:48of huge headroom, and what's even better, you will also have a lot of luggage space,
06:54up to 1,600 liters if you fold down the rear seat.
07:03The trunk has a height of more than 73 centimeters, so you can, for example, buy a washing machine,
07:09load it into your Frontera and drive home.
07:12No need to have it delivered to you.
07:14For those feeling a little more adventurous, an optional roof tent is available for the
07:19Frontera, giving you the freedom to camp wherever you like.
07:25For those who don't want a purely electric car, the Frontera is also available as a hybrid
07:31version, and then you will also save some money because the entry-level price is just
07:35under 24,000 euros in Germany, compared to the almost 29,000 euros you need to pay if
07:42you want the electric version.
07:49Considering the size of the car, the price is quite good.
07:54There are, of course, way cheaper electric cars out there, for example, the Dacia Spring,
08:01but that is a very small car, and this one can be had with up to seven seats, and with
08:07its length of 4.30 meters, it is rather big.
08:17A car that is similar in size and in form is Jeep's Avenger, but that one is almost
08:2510,000 euros more than the Opel Frontera.
08:36One thing that I found quite strange, though, is that you cannot see your average consumption,
08:41so you will see your battery state and how much range you have left.
08:53Summing up my Frontera experience, the car is absolutely decent.
08:58It has no major flaws, only minor weaknesses, and the fact that it is available as a seven-seater
09:06makes it very interesting for large families.
09:10You do, of course, have to take into account if you drive longer distances on a regular
09:14basis, then this is not the car for you.
09:17To sum up, the Opel Frontera comes at a very reasonable price for both the electric and
09:22hybrid version.
09:23Its plentiful cargo space and big trunk opening make it perfect for transporting large objects.
09:31On the downside, the range and charging speed of the purely electric version are a little
09:37And the fact that the navigation system does not support automatic planning of charging
09:41stops en route is also a drawback.