Antara get a facelift ... and it's cheaper 26 | 11 | 2010

VAUXHALL HAS breathed new life into its Antara range by giving it a facelift and slashing the price to ensure the entry-level model comes in under £20,000 when it enters Scottish showroom.

A new front grille, complete with Vauxhall’s revised badge, new fog lights (with chrome bezels on SE models), new 19in alloy wheels, and modified tail-lights all add to the SUV's new look.

There's also a new 2.2-litre turbodiesel unit in two guises, 161bhp or 181bhp. The 161bhp is available with front-wheel drive and a manual gearbox, or 4WD with either a manual or an automatic.

The 181bhp unit comes with 4WD only, and the same choice of transmissions. Though no figures have yet been released, Vauxhall claims the new powerplants offer improved fuel economy and reduced CO2 emissions.

Inside the cabin there's a new entre console with more storage and revised materials. New features include a standard electric parking brake, Hill Assist and a gearshift indicator to improve fuel economy.

But perhaps the most significant pasrt of the facelift is Vauxhall's decision to get aggressive with pricing; the 2.2-litre, front-drive Exclusiv entry-level model now starts at £19,995. That's almost £3k less than the outgoing base model, but definitely more in keeping with where the Antara should have been priced originally.

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Jim McGill