The Gravel goes where no Frontera has been before
Latest electrified SUV may have passed you by - time for something 'rougher, tougher'
‘Frontera’ felt like a good name to be resurrected by Opel/Vauxhall for a mid-size SUV. A bit like Maverick, Patrol, Explorer, Expedition and Discovery, it has the right kind of outdoorsy, off-roading connotations for a family-friendly 4x4. Despite not actually being a word. Throw in a bit of '90s nostalgia appeal and the only real surprise is that there hasn’t been a Frontera back before now.
Trouble is, the market is now awash with Frontera-sized SUVs in a way that it wasn’t 30 years ago, and so Opel’s latest electrified offering - with both hybrid and EV power in the UK, from £23,995 - might have gone largely unnoticed. Time to put it back on radars with an overlanding concept, because nothing says lifestyle in 2025 like a lightbar, a roof rack and knobbly tyres. Say hello to the Opel Frontera Gravel. Or GRAVEL, to give the car its official name, but that looks a bit shouty.
It’s been designed by Opel in collaboration with BlackFish and XS, ready for a public debut at something called the XS Carnight later this week. Which takes place at Wörhtersee, interestingly enough, where the enormous VW meet happened once upon a time. Opel reckons the Gravel is ‘rougher, tougher, made for life behind the asphalt.’ It’s based on the all-electric model, which should be ‘ideally suited… for soft roading adventures’ thanks to the instant torque and low centre of gravity. This isn’t quite a battery-powered Defender OCTA, though it does promise some useful extra ability.
Borbet is not a name we’ve associated with Vauxhall since modifying old Astras was a thing, but they’ve provided the 16s for this Frontera Gravel. BF Goodrich all-terrain tyres should provide some extra purchase while - just as importantly - making the concept look the part. Speaking of which, the Frontera is wrapped in a ‘Desert Stone’ foil, which is unique to the concept. The orange accents - see the bumper, mirror caps and logo - are said to help with off-road visibility.
There’s some proper equipment for the Gravel, too, not just a Mountain Warehouse makeover. There’s a winch (though we don’t know what it’s rated at), a substantial Thule Canyon XT roof rack that actually fixes to the bonnet, plus a pair of light bars. The roof-mounted one is familiar; the extra item on the bonnet is full rally car. They are said to provide ‘excellent visibility for night-time driving over rough terrain.’
Course a real-life version of the Frontera Gravel seems unlikely, but alongside concepts like the Mokka GSe it shows a willingness to have a little bit of fun with electric SUVs. And that must be better than no fun at all. Rebecca Reinermann, VP of Marketing for Opel and Vauxhall, said of the new car: "The new Opel Frontera is already standout. It is rugged, practical, and perfect for families and everyday adventures. But with the Frontera GRAVEL show car, we’ve pushed the limits, imagining a tougher, more daring, trailblazing version. This concept is built to fire up our fanbase and test the demand for a bolder, more rugged Frontera in the future. It’s all about freedom, adventure, excitement and pushing boundaries." So something like this could happen, it would seem. A trip to the petting zoo might never be the same again.
To anyone that's even been near a real 4x4, this just looks ridiculous. It's the equivalent of a Corsa covered in fake vents and wings from Halfords / Temu. For a start, this doesn't have enough ground clearance to warrant mud terrain tyres.
Regarding the roof rack "secured to the bonnet", those are supposed to be bush cables / limb risers but they're not even in the right place...although that'll be the least of your problems if you tried to take this off road and smacked the battery pack on a rock or obstacle.
Pretty sure they’re not allowed on road due to the ‘cutting pedestrians in half’ issue.
When I hear the band Frontera I think of a car from the 90s that was wildly s
t, even for the time, I like the look of that; nice to see a modern 'off-road' vehicle fitted with 16" wheels rather than the current fashion for 18's or 20's. Much better for most off-road situations.
Thing is I recall by early 00s there were hardly any left I think because they were a bit rubbish and we'll this looks the same exciting but likely rubbish
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wal... (credit S&S)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wal... (credit S&S)
My memory of Fronteras at the time was that they succeeded in having all the horribleness of an SUV on the road with the performance of a typical family hatchback off the road.
At least with this nostalgic re-use of an old car name on a bland family EV, they haven't wasted a good one on this like Ford did with the Capri....
My memory of Fronteras at the time was that they succeeded in having all the horribleness of an SUV on the road with the performance of a typical family hatchback off the road.
The original Frontera was seemingly pretty competent off road, caveat being... tyres dependent. Were they not deemed pretty good as they had a separate ladder chassis, property 4X4 with low range and pretty good suspension travel mated with decent ground clearance and fairly short overhangs?
They were pretty bad on the road granted, but this was the early 90's plus see the above... but also in an era when "SUV" wasn't really a thing. Do you had stuff like the Izusu Trooper (or Vauxhall Monterey) and the likes of the Ford Maverick plus Discoverys and such like. So saying it drove like an SUV, well... no, it'd be worse but I can't recall Vauxhall fitting 19's and low profile tyres.
To anyone that's even been near a real 4x4, this just looks ridiculous. It's the equivalent of a Corsa covered in fake vents and wings from Halfords / Temu. For a start, this doesn't have enough ground clearance to warrant mud terrain tyres.
Regarding the roof rack "secured to the bonnet", those are supposed to be bush cables / limb risers but they're not even in the right place...although that'll be the least of your problems if you tried to take this off road and smacked the battery pack on a rock or obstacle.
The original Frontera was seemingly pretty competent off road, caveat being... tyres dependent. Were they not deemed pretty good as they had a separate ladder chassis, property 4X4 with low range and pretty good suspension travel mated with decent ground clearance and fairly short overhangs?
They were pretty bad on the road granted, but this was the early 90's plus see the above... but also in an era when "SUV" wasn't really a thing. Do you had stuff like the Izusu Trooper (or Vauxhall Monterey) and the likes of the Ford Maverick plus Discoverys and such like. So saying it drove like an SUV, well... no, it'd be worse but I can't recall Vauxhall fitting 19's and low profile tyres.
Whether the overall styling aspects and Fisher-Price dashboard buttons are a bit naff is more a question for the time period in general, could level the same charge against many of their contemporaries.
If Vauxhall had managed to nail them together more competently, they'd probably be viewed more favourably.
This new thing seems like a bit of a stylistic lash up at best tbh.
The original Frontera was seemingly pretty competent off road, caveat being... tyres dependent. Were they not deemed pretty good as they had a separate ladder chassis, property 4X4 with low range and pretty good suspension travel mated with decent ground clearance and fairly short overhangs?
They were pretty bad on the road granted, but this was the early 90's plus see the above... but also in an era when "SUV" wasn't really a thing. Do you had stuff like the Izusu Trooper (or Vauxhall Monterey) and the likes of the Ford Maverick plus Discoverys and such like. So saying it drove like an SUV, well... no, it'd be worse but I can't recall Vauxhall fitting 19's and low profile tyres.
The 1 in every 10,000 than were actually used off road really were equipped to cope though.
This thing is just... embarrasing.
My memory of Fronteras at the time was that they succeeded in having all the horribleness of an SUV on the road with the performance of a typical family hatchback off the road.
The original Frontera was seemingly pretty competent off road, caveat being... tyres dependent. Were they not deemed pretty good as they had a separate ladder chassis, property 4X4 with low range and pretty good suspension travel mated with decent ground clearance and fairly short overhangs?
They were pretty bad on the road granted, but this was the early 90's plus see the above... but also in an era when "SUV" wasn't really a thing. Do you had stuff like the Izusu Trooper (or Vauxhall Monterey) and the likes of the Ford Maverick plus Discoverys and such like. So saying it drove like an SUV, well... no, it'd be worse but I can't recall Vauxhall fitting 19's and low profile tyres.
The only thing that seemed to stop it was the clutch overheating under heavy use.
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