The 2025 Opel Frontera – a fresh-faced family car expected to replace the Crossland model – has been revealed in Istanbul… and it is due to arrive in Mzansi next year.
We recently reported that the new Opel Frontera would likely replace the relatively shortlived Crossland medium SUV next year. The production version of the model, which will initially be available in 5-seat-, but later 7-seat guise, has now been unveiled by Opel CEO Florian Huettl, Opel’s vice president of design Mark Adams (pictured above), and Opel’s senior vice-president of product & pricing Tobias A. Gubitz.
Huettl described the newcomer as a “highly flexible, spacious, and electrified… new SUV (that) will win over new customer groups.” It is believed that the Stellantis group’s latest compact crossover shares its platform with the upcoming, 2nd-gen (European-spec) Citroen C3 Aircross and, according to Autocar, it measures around 4 400 mm from nose to tail (so, a fair bit longer than the 4 212-mm Crossland, then).
The new Frontera will be available either as a hybrid (with 48V technology) or a battery-electric vehicle. The Frontera Hybrid is powered by either a 74 kW or 100 kW 1.2-litre turbopetrol engine that works in conjunction with a 21-kW electric motor and an electrified 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The Frontera Electric, in turn, will have an optimal range “of more than 300 km” and an extended range version “will be able to travel up to around 400 km without stopping to recharge” (both ranges based on the WLTP cycle), the Russelsheim-based manufacturer claimed.
The newcomer will initially be available in Frontera or Frontera GS trim lines. The latter is expected to feature a pair of 10-inch displays (of which the centre panel is the touchscreen infotainment system with integrated satnav; it also displays the feed from a reverse-view camera). Other features include a cooled wireless smartphone charger and a pair of USB ports up front, with a further 2 USB ports in the 2nd row.
The Frontera’s front seats, which will be available trimmed in a “fully sustainable recycled material”, will offer “outstanding comfort, even during long journeys” and have smartphone pockets in their backrests.
The newcomer can also be specified with roof rails, which can carry loads of up to 240 kg, as well as a roof tent, replete with a specially designed ladder, the Blitz-emblemed brand said. The load-bay capacity is “more than 450 litres”, which can expand to 1 600 litres with the 60:40-split rear bench folded down.
So, will we see this model in Mzansi? Yes, Opel SA has confirmed to Cars.co.za that it plans to launch the newcomer locally in the 1st half of 2025 (we think the hybrid is the most likely version to be offered in our market). Previously, we noted the German firm had filed to register the “Frontera” trademark in SA in mid-2021, with this application accepted (though technically not yet registered) in early 2024.
Of course, this new family crossover revives a badge that traces its roots back to the early 1990s, when Opel first applied it to an Isuzu-developed SUV (remember, both companies fell in the General Motors camp at the stage). However, the “Frontera” nameplate won’t be particularly familiar to most South Africans since the version marketed here in Mzansi was known as the Isuzu Frontier…
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