Ultimate. Adj. 1. Last, final. Beyond which no other exists or is possible.

That’s a bold adjective to add to any car, but Vauxhall feels entirely justified in placing it on the top-of-the-range model of arguably its best sports utility vehicle yet.

The Grandland X Ultimate shares much of its mechanical running gear with the Peugeot 3008 and there is nothing wrong with that, as the Peugeot is an excellent car.

Hop aboard the Vauxhall and there are remarkably few clues to the car’s French underpinnings.

I had a spin around the Warwickshire countryside in the new vehicle this week and it emerges as a convincingly styled and thoroughly worthy contender in the burgeoning SUV market.

Despite the shift to petrol across the car market following the continuing questionable demonisation of diesel, in this sector diesel models remain the big sellers.

So the Grandland X Ultimate is available only with a new 177 horsepower, 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. It is a powerful punchy package delivering powerful acceleration and refined high-speed cruising.

Priced at £35,000, it is also rammed to the rafters with standard equipment, from leather trim and dual-zone climate control, to heated front and outer rear seats and leather-covered heated steering wheel. The only option fitted to the car I drove was ‘tri-coat premium’ paint at £725.

A fact sheet supplied with the car listed no fewer than 48 standard features. Here is half a dozen just to give you a flavour – automatic cruise control, multi-function trip computer, side blind spot alert, lane departure warning, wireless mobile phone charging and Denon premium sound system.

Safety and convenience get a further helping hand from pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, driver drowsiness alert, and advanced park assist.

And the further additions of heated windscreen, 360-degree panoramic camera and adaptive LED forward lighting pack with projector headlights add to the upmarket flavour.

For the tech savvy, both the driver and passengers in the Grandland X Ultimate have Internet connectivity thanks to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatible systems.

The top-of-the-range model also comes with Vauxhall’s connectivity and service assistant, OnStar, which includes a Wi-Fi hotspot and additional services such as booking hotel rooms and searching for parking. Smartphones can even be charged wirelessly.

Vauxhall has also introduced the top-of-the-range Ultimate trim to the Astra hatchback with on-the-road prices starting at £24,935 and three engine choices – a 150 horsepower, 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine with both manual and automatic transmission; a 200 horsepower, 1.6-litre turbo manual petrol engine and a 160 horsepower, 1.6-litre bi-turbo manual diesel engine.

Incidentally, the secondary dictionary definition of ultimate is basic and all models in the Grandland X range are far from that.

Auto facts

Model: Vauxhall Grandland X Ultimate

Price: £35,765 as tested

Insurance group: 24E (1-50)

Fuel consumption (combined): 57.6mpg

Top speed: 133mph

Length: 447.7cm/176.2in

Width: 181.1cm/71.3in

Luggage capacity: 18.1 cu ft

Fuel tank capacity: 11.6 gallons/53 litres

CO2 emissions: 128 g/km

Warranty: Three years/ 60,000 miles