Name: New Vauxhall Combo Life Electric models and Specifications
Brand: Vauxhall

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100kW

1.5 Turbo D

1.5 Turbo D 130

Design

Design XL

Ultimate

Ultimate XL

Vauxhall has an incredibly diverse range of cars on sale, a few of which stand out above the class average. Add in the fact that it still offers some of the largest Target Price discounts in the market (something it is trying, without huge success, to cut back on), and there are very good reasons to consider buying one of its better models.

However, you need to choose carefully, because it is also a brand in transition. It has a newish parent company – the same one that owns Citroën, DS and Peugeot. And while Vauxhall’s newer models tend to be competitive, some of the others feel dated; a quick check of our star ratings will reveal which is which.

Still, given the recent success of sister brands Citroën and especially Peugeot, each new launch should make its range more appealing to buyers.

VAUXHALL

COMBO LIFE

1.5 Turbo D Design 5dr [WAV]

1.5 Turbo D Design XL 5dr [7 Seat/WAV]

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1.5 Turbo D 130 Design 5dr Auto [WAV]

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1.5 Turbo D 130 Design XL 5dr Auto [7 Seat/WAV]

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100kW Design 50kWh 5dr Auto

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100kW Design XL 50kWh 5dr Auto [7 Seat]

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100kW Ultimate 50kWh 5dr Auto

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100kW Ultimate XL 50kWh 5dr Auto

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Vauxhall Combo Life Electric

Introduction

Performance & drive

Interior

Passenger & boot space

Costs & verdict

The Vauxhall Combo Life Electric is priced above entry-level versions of <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/berlingo/estate/review/n23857">Citroën e-Berlingo</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/rifter/estate/review/n23858">Peugeot e-Rifter</a>. It also has worse residuals than those two rivals, so PCP finance deals aren’t as affordable (residuals are used to calculate monthly payments). Another thing to consider is that traditionally powered alternatives like the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/tourneo-connect/estate/review/n17334">Ford Tourneo Connect</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/dacia/jogger/estate/review/n24141">Dacia Jogger</a> are far more affordable again.

Fortunately, it should be quite cheap to run a Combo Life Electric because there’s no annual VED road tax to pay. Home charging on an <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-electric-cars-2022/n17000">electric car</a> specific electricity tariff should cost less than filling up with petrol or diesel, too.

Standard equipment with Design trim is generous, with 16in alloys, air-con, automatic lights and wipers, cruise control, the 8.0in infotainment system, and rear parking sensors. Ultimate adds a&nbsp;heated steering wheel (which you have on the e-Berlingo or e-Rifter), dual-zone climate&nbsp;and a reversing camera.

As with those rivals, you get lots of active safety kit including automatic emergency braking (<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-is-aeb-and-how-does-it-work/n3283">AEB</a>) with pedestrian detection, a driver fatigue detector, speed-limit sign recognition and lane-departure warning.

The Combo Life Electric has been certified by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-safest-cars-on-sale-today/n19724">Euro NCAP</a> with a four-star rating, missing out on five stars partly due to its poor pedestrian protection score. If you want an alarm, you have to pay extra for it.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/vauxhall">Vauxhall</a> didn’t do particularly well in our 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2021-what-car-reliability-survey/n23397">What Car? Reliability Survey</a>, finishing in joint 23rd place out of 32 manufacturers. That’s well below Citroën, but well ahead of Peugeot. You get a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, plus eight years/100,000 miles for the main battery.

Charging the Combo-e Life will take a little over seven hours from a wall charger, or roughly 30 mins from 15-80% on a 100kWh rapid charger.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter<a href="https://pages.haymarket.com/whatcar/wcar-form.html"> here</a>

The Vauxhall Combo Life Electric shares a 134bhp electric motor and battery pack with the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/c4/hatchback/review/n22375">Citroën e-C4</a>&nbsp;but its shape and weight mean it's not as quick. That said, the&nbsp;11.7sec 0-62mph time of&nbsp;the five-seater version beats the&nbsp;non-electric <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/combo-life/mpv/used-review/n20274">used Vauxhall Combo Life</a>. It feels faster, too, because as with all <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-electric-cars-2022/n17000">electric cars</a>&nbsp;the power is available instantly and there are no gears to change, so it gets off the line swiftly.&nbsp;

The electric range is also important, and the official WLTP figure of 174 miles is good for the class (although you're unlikely to get that in real-world driving). It matches the<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/berlingo/estate/review/n23857"> Citroën e-Berlingo</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/rifter/estate/review/n23858">Peugeot e-Rifter</a>&nbsp;– which is to be expected given the three share a lot of parts underneath.

Refinement is impressive because wind and road noise are well contained at higher speeds considering this is a big box on wheels, although a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/touran/mpv/review/n17348">VW Touran</a> is a little bit more refined in these respects. You’ll be able to hear a small amount of electric motor whine at 70mph, though, and at lower speeds there’s a bit of thudding from the suspension.

The Combo Life Electric is quite composed over potholes and speed bumps around town. Sharper intrusions, such as expansion joints over bridges at higher speeds are dealt with well too, but if you want maximum comfort from your <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-mpvs-and-people-carriers-2022/n17001">MPV</a>, you’ll need to look at a non-electric model such as&nbsp;the Touran.

As for handling, there’s a bit of body lean through quick corners due to the vehicle's height, even with the help of the heavy batteries keeping the weight low to the ground. The steering is accurate enough for faster B-roads, but also light in town work. Again, the traditionally powered Touran handles better.

Fuel 

Gearbox

0-62 MPH

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100kw

It was inevitable that the Vauxhall Combo Life Electric would go up market with its new name change (from Combo e-Life). So this electric <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-mpvs-and-people-carriers-2022/n17001">MPV</a> is now available in a choice of two trims rather than just one: how profligate!

There’s also a choice when it comes to seating arrangements and body length. You can add an extra pair of chairs instead of having a boot in the regular-sized M version, or pick the extra long XL model to have seven seats plus a bit of cargo space.

That’s very similar to the size options offered by the near-identical <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/berlingo/estate/review/n23857">Citroën e-Berlingo</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/rifter/estate/review/n23858">Peugeot e-Rifter</a> – which share the same underpinnings – but they don't allow you to combine&nbsp;seven seats with the shorter (and easier to park) M bodystyle.

Powering the Combo Life Electric is the same electric motor and 50kWh battery pack that can be found in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/c4/hatchback/review/n22375">Citroën e-C4</a>. Remarkably, the batteries don't affect practicality, so you still get a huge amount of interior space. The addition of a battery pack does cause problems for those needing a wheelchair conversion with a low floor and ramp, but <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/vauxhall">Vauxhall</a> will sell you a traditional diesel-powered alternative if you ask your dealer nicely.

But the question you want answering is whether this electric conversion has helped (or hindered) this car, and whether the Vauxhall Combo Life Electric better to live with than the original.

In this review, we'll tell you all about it, and compare it with the rivals you might be considering. We'll be covering everything you need to know, giving this MPV rating for performance, practicality, running costs and more. We'll also compare it with rivals.

Once you've chosen your next new car, MPV or SUV, you can find the lowest price by searching our free&nbsp;What Car? <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals">New Car Deals</a> service. It's a good place to find the best <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals/category/electric">new electric car deals</a>.

If you like sitting high up, we have some good news: the Vauxhall Combo Life Electric’s driving position places you much higher than in, for example, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/touran/mpv/review/n17348">VW Touran</a>.&nbsp;The upright position and huge windows do make it feel like a van, but also mean it’s easy to see out in all directions. The seats are very flat and offer little in the way of side support to hold you in place through corners.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/vauxhall">Vauxhall</a> gives you a 10.0in digital instrument cluster instead of the analogue dials found in base versions of the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/berlingo/estate/review/n23857">Citroen e-Berlingo</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/rifter/estate/review/n23858">Peugeot e-Rifter</a>. The digital display provides a couple of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-electric-cars-2022/n17000">electric car</a> specific energy read-outs that are easy to read and understand. The gear selector and the major controls are within easy reach, and the dashboard controls are relatively easy to follow, although the air-con dials are a bit small.

Rear parking sensors are provided as standard, with top-spec Ultimate getting a reversing camera. One minus point is that the bodywork’s design slices a corner off each of the front side windows.

The Combo Life Electric has an 8.0in infotainment touchscreen with built-in sat-nav. It also has <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-android-auto/n1194">Android Auto</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-apple-carplay/n1193">Apple Carplay</a> smartphone mirroring, so you can run phone apps through the screen.

The infotainment is relatively straightforward to use, although the Touran's is easier and has faster response times. The screen is on top of the dashboard so you don’t need to divert your eyes too far from the road to see it, and you can specify a head-up display that puts your speed in your line of sight on the windscreen.

The most disappointing aspect of the Combo Life Electric’s interior is the quality of the materials used to construct it. The dashboard, for example, is a sea of hard, grey plastic and ill-fitting panels.&nbsp;That's perhaps the biggest reason you might turn your nose up and look instead at conventional<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-mpvs-and-people-carriers-2022/n17001"> MPVs</a> (such as the Touran) or posher versions of the&nbsp;e-Berlingo and&nbsp;e-Rifter with fancier finishes to lift things.

Electric MPV is practical and very well-equipped but costs more than similar alternatives

First, you need to choose whether you want five or seven seats in your Vauxhall Combo Life Electric. Then you need to decide if you want the regular-length (M) car or the stretched XL version.

So far, we’ve only tried the regular five-seater, and even that’s really spacious. There’s so much head room in the front and back that you could almost be in a townhouse. Rear leg room is generous too, and both outer rear seats have Isofix mounting points for child seats.

The car's sliding rear doors are very convenient when you’re parked up next to a wall or another vehicle. They’re operated manually by pulling the door left or right in the same way as you might the side door of a van.

There’s loads of stowage space, especially in the front, and the cupholder on top of the dashboard is a nice touch – it’s easy to reach and doesn’t obstruct your view of the road.

When it comes to clever seating tricks, the Combo Life Electric has three rear seating positions which each&nbsp;fold down flush with the floor of the boot. You can’t slide the seats back and forth, recline them or tumble them forwards as you can in most conventional&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-mpvs-and-people-carriers-2022/n17001">MPVs</a>. If you want second-row seats that can slide back and forth, you’ll need to go for a seven-seat model.

Although we haven’t tried the seven-seater, it’s pretty obvious that head room won’t be in short supply for third-row occupants. The extra two seats can be folded down out of the way or even be removed from the car completely.

As for boot space, there’s loads of it. Even the regular five-seater has nearly 600 litres below the parcel shelf, which is&nbsp;more than the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/touran/mpv/review/n17348">VW Touran</a> and some&nbsp;much pricier large SUVs.&nbsp;The boot is square, the aperture matches the width of the boot floor and there’s no lip at the entrance.

The only annoyance is the huge tailgate, which can only be opened when there’s plenty of clearance behind the car and is quite awkward to pull shut (there's no powered opening option). The saving grace is that you can open the glass instead of the whole tailgate when you want to load in smaller items.

design

design-xl

ultimate

ultimate-xl

If maximum practicality and zero tailpipe emissions are what you’re after from an MPV, the Combo Life Electric might fit the bill. Its high level of specification make it a costlier choice than a Citroën e-Berlingo.

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Sufficient range between charges to fit in with most people’s lifestyles – and in the real world, not on some far-fetched official test </li> <li>Quick charging times and compatibility with the most ubiquitous types of public charging points </li> <li>Priced to be within the grasp of more than just the privileged few </li> <li>As with any car, ride comfort, practicality and ownership costs can’t be ignored</li></ul>

We define an electric car as one that runs purely on battery power and has no tailpipe to puff out nasty chemicals.

The best of the breed offer sufficient range between charges to fit in with most people’s lifestyles – and in the real world, not on some far-fetched official test cycle.

Electric

Need to load up several people and all of their luggage for a big road trip? A van-based MPV could be the answer to your prayers. Although these vehicles are heavily based on commercial vehicles, most will include higher quality materials than their working siblings, and creature comforts designed to keep everyone comfy. Most are spacious, too, with a boot large enough to accommodate multiple large suitcases – even if every seat is also filled.

Van-based MPV

<h2>What we're looking for </h2><ul><li>Long range and ultra-fast charging capability</li> <li>Luxurious and comfortable interior</li> <li>Smooth ride and capable handling</li> <li>Lots of high-tech driver aids</li> <li>Strong performance and great refinement</li></ul>

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Vauxhall Combo Life Electric review

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