Frontera name soon to return as Opel's replacement for the Crossland. Image: Opel
Rumoured last year as making a comeback, possibly as a replacement for the Crossland, Opel parent company, Stellantis, has confirmed exactly that by releasing a pair of teaser images previewing the new Frontera SUV.
Reviving a nameplate last used by the Blitz in 1998 and by UK sister brand Vauxhall in 2004 for a rebadged version of the Isuzu MU, known as the Isuzu Frontier in South Africa and the Holden Frontera in Australia, the all-new Frontera will be radically different to its predecessor that utilised a body-on-frame platform, selectable four-wheel-drive with low-range and an array of petrol and turbodiesel engines.
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As evident by spy images taken last year, the Frontera sports a more upright appearance similar to the current Crossland and the model it replaced, the Meriva, in a move Opel describes having resulted in a vehicle with a “high level of space and versatility”.
Confirmed to debut Rüsselsheim’s latest styling Bold and Pure styling language, likely to be an evolution of the current Opel Vizor and Compass grille that premiered on the Mokka and subsequently the Astra, the Frontera will also usher-in a redesigned take on the Opel blitz logo as part of a package supposed to “appeal to customers with an active lifestyle”.
Equally different from the original that offered five-doors or three in the case of the Frontera Sport, the incoming model will be a five-door only and derive motivation solely from an electric powerplant.
A move that forms part of Opel and Vauxhall becoming wholly electric brands by 2028, the Frontera is anticipated to ride either on the existing e-CMP platform, or the EV dedicated STLA Medium that debuted last year underpinning the all-electric Peugeot E-3008.
Should that be the case, expectations are the Opel will carryover the same battery packs, outputs between 157 kW and 240 kW, and range of as much as 525 km.
“The name ‘Frontera’ is ideally suited to our new exciting SUV model. It will have a confident character and be positioned right in the core of the market,” Opel CEO, Florian Huettl, said in a statement.
Set to be positioned below the second generation Grandland due in 2025, the Frontera, for now, remains otherwise under wraps, however, based on the release of the teasers, expect more details to emerge over the coming weeks and months.
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