Why hasn't the Vauxhall Frontera gained classic car status?

Why do some cars obtain classic status when similar ones don’t?

This isn’t a position I ever thought I’d find myself in, but after reading details of the new Vauxhall Frontera, I’ve opened the classifieds to browse for originals. If you remember, the Frontera was a 4x4 of the early 1990s, when ‘SUV’ meant something more than just having a taller driving position and bigger boot.

It was considered a relatively road-biased car at the time, slightly maligned as not being a serious off-roader, even though it had considerable hardware by today’s standards: a separate chassis, low-ratio gears and selectable four-wheel drive system so crude that it couldn’t be used at road speeds.

So help me, I liked the look of it (I was young). And I think it has been through its naff phase and popped out the other side. You might say it’s a bona fide classic car. Or maybe you wouldn’t.

How to put it? Even at over 30 years old, the Frontera is more of an eBay Motors or Facebook Marketplace car than a Car and Classic one. While you can find plenty of other 4x4s on specialist classic websites, they seem to have no Fronteras, partly because few still exist but also, I suspect, because it isn’t perceived the right way.

There’s one for sale on eBay, and a good one, in the more desirable (these things are relative) three-door, removable-roof Sport form, with one owner from new, just 34,000 miles, routine servicing, a fresh MOT and a genuinely believable “you will not find another in this condition” description.

How much do you think a Frontera like this is worth? I think it will be less than that. It’s up for £2300, and I think if one promised the current owner an easy sale and that it were going to a good home, it could be yours for a little less.