The Vauxhall Antara was the British version of the Opel Antara, a compact five-seat crossover sold from 2006 to 2015. It shared its platform and engines with the Chevrolet Captiva but had a shorter, five-seat body and its own styling.
Vauxhall Antara at a glance
| Maker | Vauxhall (Opel Antara on the continent) |
|---|---|
| Production | 2006–2015 |
| Class | compact crossover SUV |
| Platform | GM Theta |
| Related | Chevrolet Captiva, Saturn Vue, Holden Captiva 5 |
| Seats | five |
| Sales began | November 2006 |
| Preview | Opel Antara GTC concept, Frankfurt 2005 |
| Facelift | November 2010 for the 2011 model year |
| Engines after facelift | 2.2-litre Euro 5 diesel and updated 2.4-litre petrol |
| Production ended | March 2015 |
| Successor | Vauxhall Grandland X, 2017 |
Written from the English and German Wikipedia articles on the Opel Antara; the Vauxhall car is the same model with a different badge.
History of the Vauxhall Antara
The Antara was previewed by the three-door Opel Antara GTC concept car shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2005, itself based on the Chevrolet T2X SUV. The production car that followed was a longer five-door crossover on General Motors’ Theta platform, closely related to the Chevrolet Captiva but offered only with five seats rather than seven and with different exterior and interior design. Sales began in November 2006, and the Antara replaced the Isuzu-based Frontera as Vauxhall’s entry into the growing crossover market.
In November 2010 Vauxhall announced a facelift for the 2011 model year. The front end was revised and both front and rear lights were refreshed, while inside there was a revised centre console with more storage, better materials, improved instrument graphics and new interior lighting. An electric parking brake, a hill assistance system and a “shift up” indicator for manual cars became standard. The biggest mechanical change was a Euro 5 compliant 2.2-litre diesel that replaced the earlier 2.0-litre unit, alongside an updated version of the 2.4-litre petrol engine.
The Antara was one of several cars built on the same platform around the world: in North America it was sold as the Saturn Vue, in Australia and New Zealand as the Holden Captiva 5, in South Korea as the Daewoo Winstorm MaXX and in much of Latin America as the Chevrolet Captiva Sport. Production ended in March 2015, and the Grandland X arrived in September 2017 as the indirect successor.
Design and features
- Five seats only: unlike the Captiva it was based on, the Antara was never offered with a third row.
- Facelift kit: electric parking brake, hill assist and a shift-up indicator became standard in 2010.
- Euro 5 diesel: the 2.2-litre engine replaced the 2.0-litre at the facelift.
- Global platform: the same Theta underpinnings served as Saturn Vue and Holden Captiva 5.
Vauxhall Antara versions
- Antara (2006–2010): original car with 2.4 petrol and 2.0 diesel engines.
- Antara (2011–2015): facelifted model with the 2.2 diesel and revised cabin.
- Antara GTC: the 2005 three-door concept that previewed the range.
- Saturn Vue and Holden Captiva 5: the same car under other badges.
The Antara replaced the Monterey as Vauxhall’s four-wheel-drive offering in the range, and it sat above the Meriva. More cars are in the Vauxhall collection.
Sources
- Opel Antara, English Wikipedia: history, facelift, platform, global markets
- Opel Antara, German Wikipedia: model history
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