THE VAUXHALL GRANDLAND X & LIFE HAX TOOL REVIEW
Okay, my trusty old car is in major need of an upgrade. It has seen me through many journeys. Through snow, through summer, road trips, long journeys to see Lady Gaga in concert... all of it. The most important journey it ever made was bringing my son home.
This car has been through it all with me. It’s had it’s fair share of work carried out on it too. And I feel we’re lacking in space and style now. It has no real modern features and I feel like it’s time to think about something new.
Enter, Vauxhall’s Grandland X. I have been lucky enough to have this beauty for the last week and give it a run for its money on the nursery drop off, the drive to and from work and at the weekend ferrying myself about with a four year old boy to the nanny and grandads, then a baby shower on Sunday... but not only that. The guys at Vauxhall have created the penknife for the modern parent… the Life HaX tool! “What on earth is a Life HaX tool?” I hear you cry…! The Life HaX is a hand-held multi-tool that brings the traditional penknife into 2018. It’s been created to assist the launch of the Grandland X and help parents understand what life hacks can help make their lives easier! But more about that in a minute.
First of all, the car. Now I am certainly no Jeremy Clarkson. If you open a bonnet I would be able to top up my oil and windscreen wash and that’s about it. This experience for me was seeing how this car works for families. On first impressions, it looks really smart and not too big. I wasn’t overwhelmed and thinking “How am I going to paralell park this beast?!”. It does however have that majestic-ness. You’re high enough from the road to feel like you have a good view on things and that other cars will just jump out of your way when they see you, yet it’s surprsingly compact.
The tinted glass is brilliant for little ones in the back. On those road trips to the beach at bank holiday weekends it’s the worst when they’ve peeled off the sun protector and it’s a straight road for 60 miles with the sun on their face. This glass really helps. But inside… this is where it doesn’t necessarily make you feel like you’re in a typical family car and the premium finish to the interior is certainly noticeable. The Vauxhall Grandland X SUV offers it all from leather seats to USB charging points through out. The sun roof is HUGE… it’s basically the entire roof so it offers so much light giving the car a real spacious feel. The display is fantastic offering top of the range sat nav display for your trips, radio, camera views when reversing… everything felt like it was there to make the driving safer and easier.
From the heated seats to the heated front screen, you know this car would be a pleasure to be in during the winter drives too. Something I have never even heard of was the lane control functionality. When on the motorway the car will sense if you’re nearing the white lines and reeling you to the centre of the lane. Um… is it the year 2099? Is this normal? To me this is amazing! #easilypleased.
A big plus was the space at the back and in the boot. Currently I feel like my son’s feet are too close to the front seat, whereas in the Vauxhall Grandland X he had so much room! Regular readers of the blog will know this kid is obsessed with cars! It’s the most important thing to feel safe when driving with your little one and the Grandland X does just that. It feels solid, secure with plenty of space. Just what you’d expect from such a new car. It’d fit another car seat or two in there perfectly fine so equally as good for those with more than one child.
Okay, so the Life HaX tool… if you’re a parent then you need this in your life! What’s included?
- Car maintenance laser – a world-first, attach to your Grandland X bonnet to shine a laser and highlight where the screen wash, oil cap and dipstick is. This really is insane (yet remarkably simple) how it works.
- Lego un-picker – to stop you breaking your fingernails trying to unpick your children’s Lego
- Wide-angle lens attachment – for those all-important Instagram snaps. It just pops out ready for you to attach to your phones camera
- Macro lens attachment – for awesome close-up photography
- Power bank – for when your phone runs out of battery on the move (compatible with iphone and other devices!)
- iPhone pin – for removing the SIM from your phone. Not quite sure when you’d need this but if you binned the iPhone box then you most likely binned the pin too
- Torch – for when you can’t see under the sofa or the back of the boot to find your children’s lost toys
- Stylus – this gives you that extra precision when drawing on your tablet
- Knot un-picker – for when the kids clothes (or the kids themselves) get in a tangle
- Screwdriver – because traditional household jobs haven’t gone away and lets face it, we probably have to switch toy batteries on the daily so a handy screwdriver in your pocket wouldn’t go amiss (My son has already used this to death as his favourite thing is to ‘fix’ things curretly).
It has come in handy the last week. I’ve used it to charge my phone when out and about and the torch worked a treat when having to get that little toy car out from the under sofa. I was honestly impressed with the laser function. You attach it to the bonnet and flick the dial to the icon of the area you want to see, and the laser will shine on that particular part of the car. Amazing.
All in all this has been a good week for driving the new Grandland X. I’ve been lucky with the weather and being able to fully benefit from the sunroof! But more importantly, my son has enjoyed this car too! He’s the car nut of the house. And now I feel like I most certainly do need an upgrade and a car with a lot more space and style. I am honestly a little sad to give it back. I’ll miss jumping in to that new car smell each morning!
This is a sponsored post written in collaboration with Vauxhall. They lent me the Grandland X for a week to test. All views expressed in the blog are my own.
