Those of us who remember the 1990s will remember the original Opel Frontera. Based on the Isuzu MU 4x4 (both companies were, at the time, owned by General Motors) that Frontera was rugged, with big ground clearance and low-ratio gears. Sadly, it was also a bit rubbish to drive, and allegedly one of the most unreliable cars you could buy 35 years ago.
As is the current fashion for resurrecting badges once thought dead, Opel has revived the Frontera name for its new compact crossover, which is a very, very different car. The old Frontera was intended to compete with Land Rover and Toyota - this one is based on the same affordable ‘Smart Car’ platform as the new Citroen C3 Aircross and Fiat Grande Panda, and its closest rival is not a Land Rover but the Dacia Jogger.
You can spot the Citroen hard points under the Opel’s skin, but the Frontera does get the brand’s ‘Visor’ blacked-out grille, and some very slim LED headlights which impressively are standard across the lineup. The rear end looks rather tacked on and it’s far from the prettiest car, but there are some nice colour options, an optional contrast roof finish and, for basic models, some handsome, white-finished steel wheels instead of alloys.
How much is the Opel Frontera in Ireland?
As with the bigger and vastly more sophisticated Opel Grandland, the electric Frontera is likely to be the most affordable version, and by a bigger margin than it is in the Grandland lineup. However, while the Grandland is meant to be a high-tech, almost high-end car with quasi-premium aspirations, the Frontera is the first sign of Opel reaching down to a lower price segment, chasing the sort of cash-savvy customers who normally buy a Dacia, or who might be tempted by some of the incoming Chinese brands.
Opel Ireland hasn’t yet set prices nor specs for the Frontera, and it won’t actually land here until April 2025 at the earliest, but it looks very likely that the starting price will be in and around €25,000.
A look inside the Opel Frontera
As you’d expect from a car with budget aspirations, the interior of the Frontera Electric looks and feels mostly cheap, with lots of hard plastics everywhere. However, Opel seems to have swerved the worst effect of all this cheap plastic, and so instead of feeling downmarket, it all just feels pleasantly utilitarian, in a sort of honest and hard-working sense.
It helped that our Design-spec car was livened up by the optional ‘Intelli-Seats’ which are more supportive than the standard chairs, and which get upholstery made from recycled plastics. They’re really good, with nary a twinge from our backs even after hours spent behind the wheel.
Space in the front is good, and the driving position is fine, as is the visibility out - although over-the-shoulder visibility is surprisingly poor. There is 23 litres of storage space divided up between various small cubbies, including door pockets, cupholders, a space under the armrest and a space at the bottom of the centre console, which optionally houses a wireless phone charger. The cupholders are surrounded by a slim stretchy fabric band, which is designed to hold in place later items, such as a laptop or tablet. There are two USB-C sockets up front, and two more in the back, with a fifth USB-C socket for seven-seat versions.
Seven seats? Yes, the Frontera can be had, optionally, with seats for seven, but only if you’re buying the hybrid model - this Frontera Electric can’t be specced with the extra row. As a five-seater, space in the back is very good, with plenty of legroom and headroom even for tall adults, and some useful storage spaces which include optional small seatback pockets - set up high by the front seat headrest - which are ideal for smaller electronic items. The back seats are also as supportive and comfortable as those in the front, which isn’t always a given.
The boot is useful at 460 litres, or 1,600 litres with the back seats folded. There’s an adjustable boot floor that allows you to set up a completely flat load area, and the load aperture is almost one-metre tall, so it should be easy to load in bulky items. Saying all that, the Frontera’s boot is noticeably smaller than that of the rival Dacia Jogger, so it’s hard to see how much space those in the third row might have - we suspect not much, but we’ll have to wait until Opel actually lets us test a seven-seat version.
In five-seat form, though, the Frontera is a genuinely useful, roomy and practical car.
How many child seats can I fit in the Opel Frontera?
There are only two ISOFIX points in the Frontera, both in the rear seat, and it’s a shame that a family-focused car such as this doesn’t have a third ISOFIX point in the front passenger seat. The middle rear seat is going to be too narrow for all but the slimmest booster cushions, but the good news is that the rear doors open nice and wide so that it’s easy to load up seats and people in the back.
How safe is the Opel Frontera?
The Frontera hasn’t yet been tested by Euro NCAP, but it does come with some impressive standard safety kit including automated emergency braking, driver drowsiness monitor, lane-keeping steering, a speed limit warning (which thankfully can be switched off with one physical button) and plenty of airbags.
The Opel Frontera’s on-board technology
The dashboard is dominated by two big 10-inch digital screens, one for the instruments and one for infotainment. As with other Opel models, the digital instruments look a bit underwhelming and there’s not much you can do to change the layout (others within the Stellantis group do this better) and the menu layout on the central infotainment screen can be too fiddly at times. In some European markets, the basic Frontera comes not with a touchscreen but a clamp that holds your mobile phone, and an app which connects that phone to the car and turns it into the infotainment system. It’s a neat idea, nicked from Dacia really, and one that we suspect might be more satisfying than the big screen. We believe Irish cars will all have the touchscreen.
Driving the Opel Frontera Electric
With a sluggish 0-100km/h time, you’ll not be expecting the Frontera Electric to have hot-hatch pace, and with the 113hp motor (and its tiny 125Nm of torque) so it proves. That said, it never feels truly slow, except when you go looking for extra acceleration at higher motorway speeds, when the Frontera quickly runs out of puff. It’s fine though and feels entirely adequate around town and on slower roads, where the tip-in torque does quite a good job of hauling the Frontera Electric briskly out of slow corners.
The thing you’re not expecting is that the Frontera will feel enjoyable through those corners, but it does. Opel’s engineers told us that they were in on the ground floor when it came to developing this new ‘Smart Car’ platform with Citroen and Fiat, and so were able to specify their own steering and suspension tuning for the Frontera. There were graphs and everything to prove this, so you can imagine just what a thrilling evening that was.
So, the Frontera’s steering is surprisingly firm and responsive, with good feel across the lock, and plenty of front-end grip to play with, thanks in part to our test car being shod with good quality Goodyear tyres. Up and down the hairpin bends of our test route across Mallorca, I don’t think I could describe the Frontera as being fun, but it’s certainly not bad.
What’s really impressive is the ride comfort which does an excellent job of soaking up the worst that Spanish tarmac could throw at it, and which was especially well-judged around town, which is surely the Frontera’s natural habitat. Equally, that comfortable ride doesn’t come at the expense of body control on twisty roads - sure, the Frontera leans a bit, but never uncomfortably so.
How economical is the Opel Frontera?
With a range of just 305km, this version of the Frontera Electric doesn’t look all that impressive on paper. However, that’s not the full story. The 44kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery is small, it’s true, but on the basis of our test - across a mix of urban streets, country road, mountainous hairpins and motorway blasts - the Frontera Electric is capable of delivering its maximum range in real-world conditions. The official energy consumption of 18.2kWh/100km seemed easy to achieve (if that seems high for a compact car, it’s because LFP batteries are less energy-efficient than more sophisticated, more expensive lithium-ion batteries) and across a full day’s driving we never once felt nervous about running out of range.
A 400km-capable version, with a bigger battery, follows later in 2025 although that too will only have a maximum charging speed of 100kW on DC power, which is a bit on the slow side. That said, the Frontera Electric does a better job of delivering its short, but useable, range than some other EVs that promise big ranges but can’t deliver in real-world conditions.
The reasons you'd buy an Opel Frontera
If Opel gets the pricing of the Frontera Electric right, then it will be one of the best-value EVs around, mixing useable - if short - range with copious interior space and practicality. It’s better to drive than you might expect, and slots into the utilitarian-but-pleasant end of the market which Dacia has made its home over the past decade. On this evidence, Dacia may at last have a convincing European challenger on its turf.
Ask us anything about the Opel Frontera
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