Vauxhall Grandland X Hybrid EV Charging Cable

This is the one car where a 7 kW charge point is often half wasted

Most of the pages on this site explain why a big rating shrinks on a British driveway. This one is different: the car itself is small on the input side. Vauxhall press kit states it plainly, that the Grandland X plug-in hybrid "comes with a 3.7kW on-board charger, with an optional 7.4kW version also available", and the price guide puts the upgrade at £500 including VAT.

Vauxhall own charge times confirm the gap: four hours from a 3.6 kW supply, two hours from 7 kW. If your car has the standard charger, a 7 kW wall box will take four hours regardless, because the car draws 16 amps and not 32.

And the trim badge will not tell you

Unlike the Corsa-e, where Vauxhall put the charger rating in the trim name, the Grandland X gives no clue. A used car could be either. The 2023 and 2024 Vauxhall price guides even footnote a plug-in hybrid feature as requiring the optional 7 kW onboard charger, which is a reminder that plenty of cars left the factory without it.

The practical test is the clock. Plug into a 7 kW point with the battery low and see whether it finishes in about two hours or about four. That answers it definitively in one evening.

No rapid charging on any version

There is no rapid charging on this one, and no socket that could offer it. Every kilowatt hour it ever receives comes down the Type 2 cable, so the lead is a functional part of the car rather than something kept in the boot for emergencies.

That holds for the 2019 to 2021 Hybrid4 and Hybrid and for the facelifted 2022 on car. Vauxhall never offered a CCS socket on this plug-in hybrid, and no 11 kW three phase charger was offered either, so the 3.7 and 7.4 kW single phase units are the only two possibilities.

Battery and range, with a figure Vauxhall has not reconciled

The 2019 press kit and the motoring press give 13.2 kWh. Vauxhall own 2022 on price guide gives 14.2 kWh. No document prints both, so the most likely reading is 14.2 gross and 13.2 usable, but we would not present either as a confirmed usable figure.

Electric range is up to 35 miles WLTP for the all wheel drive Hybrid4, 39 for the front wheel drive Hybrid, and 41 miles for the 2022 on car including the 300 horsepower GSe. Independent testing landed nearer 34.

How long a full charge takes

The calculation is the battery over the delivered kW, uplifted 13 per cent for charging losses, quarter hour rounded. Miles per hour is worked at 3.5 miles per kWh, a figure that survives a cold morning. Worked from 13.2 kWh. Vauxhall own claim is four hours on 3.6 kW and one hour 45 minutes on 7 kW.

One more piece of misinformation to watch for

Vauxhall first UK press release on this car printed 3.3 kW and an optional 6.6 kW. Those figures were superseded by 3.7 and 7.4 in the full press kit, but they still circulate on dealer sites years later. Use 3.7 and 7.4. One warning about the published paperwork, because it has misled a lot of people. Specification tables are assembled from templates, and a row that does not apply to a particular car is sometimes filled in anyway rather than left blank. When a figure in a table contradicts the arithmetic, the arithmetic wins.

Which length for a Grandland X

The flap is on the nearside rear, with the fuel filler on the opposite flank. The inlet is at the nearside rear, in the conventional filler position. Being on the kerb side is a small everyday advantage; being at the back means the length you need depends on whether you nose in or reverse. The car is 4.48 metres, so ten metres is the general recommendation and five works where you reverse in close to the charge point. Take a tape measure to the run, inlet to charge point, and add a couple of metres before choosing.

How these cables are built

It is made to IEC 62196-2, CE marked, and sealed to IP55 across a -30C to +50C temperature range.

Three pin leads are made to IEC 62752, CE marked and IP67 sealed, with a -30C to +60C specification. The manufacturer warrants it for two years, delivery in the UK is free and next working day, and returns run to 30 days.

Also from Vauxhall: Vauxhall Ampera EV Charging Cable. The full range of Vauxhall charging cables is on one page.

Vauxhall Grandland X Hybrid charging cable questions

Will a 7 kW charge point charge my Grandland X in two hours?

Only if it has the optional 7.4 kW charger. With the standard 3.7 kW unit it takes about four hours whatever the charge point is rated at.

How do I tell which charger my car has?

Nothing on the badge says. Plug into a 7 kW point with a low battery: about two hours means the upgrade is fitted, about four means it is not.

Can it rapid charge?

No. There is no DC inlet on any Grandland X plug-in hybrid, before or after the facelift.

Where is the charge socket?

Nearside rear quarter, with the fuel filler on the opposite side.