Opel’s new Crossland X is a soft-roader designed to tackle the urban jungle

By Ronan Glon Published September 25, 2020

General Motors‘ Germany-based Opel division has introduced the 2017 Crossland X, a compact crossover designed to replace the Meriva.

While the Meriva was essentially a Euro-flavored minivan, the 165-inch long Crossland X adopts a more rugged design with a little bit more ground clearance as well as plastic cladding over the wheel arches and the rocker panels. Up front, it receives Opel’s shield-shaped grille and sharp-looking headlights that encompass L-shaped LED daytime running lights. The side view is characterized by a strip of chrome trim above the doors that creates the illusion of a floating roof. The upright back end gets Bolt-like horizontal tail lamps that stretch into the quarter panels.

Recommended Videos

The front passengers are treated to ergonomic seats and an eight-inch touchscreen that runs Opel’s newest infotainment system. The software is compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and the Crossland X can be ordered with OnStar and a built-in Wi-Fi hot spot at an extra cost.

Full technical details haven’t been released yet. Opel simply stated the Crossland X will be offered with a wide range of gasoline-, diesel-, and LPG-powered engines, and both manual and automatic transmissions. However, it sounds like front-wheel drive will be the only configuration offered. Dealers will direct buyers who need all-wheel drive to the Mokka X, which is just three inches longer than the Crossland.

The Geneva Auto Show is only a few weeks away, but an Opel spokesperson told Digital Trends that the Crossland X will not be on display in Switzerland. The model is scheduled to go on sale across Europe this summer. Like virtually every member of the Opel lineup, the Crossland X will be sold with a Vauxhall emblem on the grille in the United Kingdom. However, it’s too early to tell whether it will spawn a Buick-badged model in the United States.

Opel’s product offensive calls for the launch of seven new models in 2017. While details are few and far between, Opel has confirmed it will launch a bigger crossover aptly named Grandland X before the end of the year.

Former Contributor

Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

Topics

Tech News

Cars

Chery’s latest EV packs flagship tech for the price of a base Tesla, but you can’t buy it

Here's everything packed into Exeed's 2027 Exlantix ES, from its 27-sensor autonomous driving suite to its 860 km range, all starting under $31,000.

Car, Transportation, Vehicle

Chery's premium arm just dropped a sedan that makes you wonder why American EVs cost twice as much for half the tech.

Exeed's 2027 Exlantix ES ships with a driver-assist system called Falcon 700. It is built around an Nvidia Orin-Y chip and a genuinely stacked sensor suite.

Cars

A new AI model wants self-driving cars to think before they swerve

Forget guessing games, this self-driving AI actually shows its work.

Self driving car

Self-driving cars have gotten pretty good at driving. The harder problem is teaching them to drive safely in situations nobody planned for. We have heard horror stories of self-driving cars, behaving erratically in emergency situations, often times delaying first responders from reaching the scene.

A team at Seoul National University, led by professor Jun Won Choi from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, thinks they have cracked part of that puzzle with a new AI model called SafeDrive. The research was recently selected as a highlight paper at CVPR 2026, a distinction that goes only to roughly 3% of all submissions.

Cars

Your next car’s software update could become its biggest security risk

Your next car could receive updates like your smartphone. That's also becoming a cybersecurity nightmare.

OTA technology allows manufacturers to remotely deliver software updates.

Modern cars are no longer machines that stay the same after they leave the showroom. Increasingly, they're becoming software-defined vehicles that receive new features, bug fixes, and security patches wirelessly, much like smartphones. But while over-the-air (OTA) updates have made vehicle maintenance easier and cheaper, cybersecurity experts are warning that the same technology could also become one of the automotive industry's biggest security challenges.

Researchers and policymakers are now calling for stronger oversight as connected vehicles become increasingly dependent on remote software updates. Their concern isn't just about hackers stealing personal data. It's about someone potentially interfering with the operation of a moving vehicle.