The Opel Frontera is the name Opel has used for two different SUVs. The first, sold from 1991 to 2004, was a rebadged Isuzu MU built in Britain; the second arrived in 2024 as a petrol and electric small crossover.
Opel Frontera at a glance
| Maker | Opel |
|---|---|
| First Frontera | 1991–2004 |
| Based on | Isuzu MU |
| Built in | United Kingdom |
| Bodies | three-door Sport and five-door |
| Drive | rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive |
| Second Frontera | from 2024 |
| Second Frontera type | petrol and electric B-segment crossover SUV |
The German Wikipedia page on the Frontera only lists the two model lines; the details come from the English article on the Isuzu MU on which the first Frontera was based. No free photograph of the first-generation car was available, so the entry keeps its earlier picture.
History of the Opel Frontera
An Isuzu under an Opel badge
The Isuzu MU was a mid-size SUV that Isuzu built from 1989 to 2005. The three-door version appeared in 1989 and the five-door, called the MU Wizard, in 1990. Both were based on the Isuzu Faster TF pickup of 1988 and shared bodywork and most internal components from the front doors forward, and like the pickup they came with rear- or four-wheel drive.
Frontera Sport and Frontera
Throughout continental Europe the three-door MU was sold as the Opel Frontera Sport, with Vauxhall and Holden using the same name in Britain and Australia. The five-door was sold by Opel, Vauxhall and Holden as the Frontera, and the same body also appeared as the Chevrolet Frontera in Egypt, the Isuzu Cameo and Vega in Thailand, the Isuzu Frontier in South Africa and the Chevrolet Rodeo in Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia. In North America the three-door was the Isuzu Amigo, and in Japan Honda sold it as the Honda Jazz between 1993 and 1996. The Opel version was built in the United Kingdom and stayed on sale until 2004.
The name returns
For twenty years the Frontera name disappeared from the Opel range, while other Opel SUVs took over its role. In 2024 Opel brought it back on a new B-segment crossover offered with petrol and electric power, once again using an old name for a completely different kind of car.
Design and features
- Isuzu engineering: the first Frontera was an Isuzu MU with Opel badges and trim.
- Two lengths: a short three-door Frontera Sport and a long five-door Frontera.
- Four-wheel drive: available alongside rear-wheel drive, as on the Isuzu pickup it was based on.
- A name reused: the Frontera badge came back in 2024 on a small crossover.
Opel Frontera versions
- Frontera Sport (1991): the three-door version of the Isuzu MU.
- Frontera five-door: the long-wheelbase MU Wizard under an Opel badge.
- Vauxhall and Holden Frontera: the same cars for Britain and Australia.
- Frontera (2024): a petrol and electric B-segment crossover.
The Frontera was replaced in the Opel range by the Antara, and its name returned on a crossover in 2024. More cars are in the Opel collection.
Sources
- Opel Frontera, German Wikipedia: the two model lines and their years
- Isuzu MU, English Wikipedia: the SUV the first Frontera was based on
