Opel Crossland X inside gq8u
Opel Crossland X static
Opel Crossland X rear
Opel Crossland X interior
Opel Crossland X badge
Marton Pettendy19 Jan 2017
NEWS

Holden says no to Opel Crossland X

But Opel's larger Grandland X luxury SUV will come Down Under

GM Opel has revealed the first of two new SUVs it will release this year, with the previously-teased Crossland X compact crossover breaking cover in Germany overnight.

GM Holden spokesman Sean Poppitt says the Crossland X, which replaces the compact Meriva people-mover in the Opel line-up and will also be sold in the UK by Vauxhall, won't grace Australian showrooms.

"We had a look and it's an interesting product, but it won't fit into our range any time soon," he said, adding that the facelifted Trax, which is closely related to Opel's Mokka X and arrives in Australia next month, will remain Holden's sole small SUV entrant.

However, Opel overnight also reiterated its intention to release a larger new SUV dubbed the Grandland X later this year, and motoring.com.au understands the mid-size European crossover will be sold in Australia as a Holden beyond 2018.

Holden has already confirmed it will launch the five-seat Chevrolet Equinox in Australia late this year, followed by the seven-seat Chevy Acadia here in 2018.

Together, the two US-sourced SUVs will replace the Captiva and, combined with last year's new seven-seat Trailblazer off-roader (a facelifted and renamed Colorado 7 and next month's facelifted Trax, brings to four the number of new Holden SUVs released by 2018.

Holden is yet to officially confirm the Grandland X – a name that could be seen here if Holden's global naming policy continues – but has promised to deliver 24 new or upgraded models between 2015 and 2020.

It's unclear exactly where the Grandland X will be positioned in the Holden line-up, but it's likely to be priced above both the Toyota RAV4-rivalling Equinox and Kluger-size Acadia to compete with premium medium-large SUVs like the upcoming Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace and Skoda Kodiaq.

For the record, Opel says the family-oriented Crossland X, which rides on a platform shared with PSA Peugeot Citroen and measures just 4210mm long, will compete with upmarket city SUVs like the Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008, while the Mokka X is pitched at mainstream baby SUVs like the Nissan JUKE and Skoda Yeti.

It features all-wheel drive, unique two-tone paintwork, a 70mm lower roof than the Mokka X, a "class-leading" 410-litre boot, 180-degree panoramic rear-view camera, advanced park assist, forward collision alert with pedestrian detection and autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, speed sign recognition, side blind-spot alert, 8.0-inch colour touch-screen, and petrol and diesel engines matched with manual and automatic transmissions.

Opel says it will launch five new models this year, and 29 by 2020. The next Opel/Vauxhall to be released in Australia will be volume-selling 1.6-litre automatic versions of the new Astra hatch, in April, followed by the Astra sedan (a rebadged Cruze sedan from Korea) in May.

Before then, Holden will release its final Australian-made model, the MY17 Commodore range, sedan and wagon versions of which will be replaced in early 2018 by the next-generation Opel Insignia, which debuts in Europe in March.

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