A DIFFERENT KIND OF LIFE (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 75

The Vauxhall Combo Life is more recently known as a full-EV, but between 2018 and 2020, it was sold only in combustion-powered form - and that's the version of this small MPV we look at here. As with its identically-engineered Peugeot Rifter and Citroen Berlingo design stablemates from this period, you get clever, efficient space-centred engineering with five or seven-seat interior formats and standard or long wheelbase body shapes, plus some clever MPV touches too.

Modelsword count: 5

5dr SUV [Design, Energy, Elite]

Historyword count: 283

This model may share much with its Combo Cargo commercial vehicle stablemate but there's no reason why you should care about that. It was designed primarily as a car, from launch we were told that it drove like a car and, like most van-based MPVs, it offers a very sensible solution to the sometimes vexing issue of practical family travel. Back in 2018, the Combo Life followed the Grandland X SUV as being the second Vauxhall to be based on the French PSA Group's EMP2 platform. And, like all new Vauxhall models by then, it drew heavily on the engineering that Gallic conglomerate had developed for its various Peugeot and Citroen models. In this particular case, the donor models in question constituted this Combo's two most direct rivals in the van-derived mid-sized MPV segment, the Citroen Berlingo and the Peugeot Rifter. As with those two competitors, what was on offer here was a choice of two wheelbase lengths, the option of either five or seven seats and a range of clean, frugal 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines. And, as in a Berlingo or a Rifter, there was just as much camera-driven safety tech and media connectivity as you'd get in any modern family hatch from this period. Certainly more than you'd find in other significant van-based mid-sized MPV models in this sector from this time, like the Ford Tourneo Connect and the Volkswagen Caddy Life. In 2020, Vauxhall discontinued sales of the combustion version of this Combo Life for private buyers (though continued it for WAV disabled transport conversions). For private buyers, the Combo Life range was then limited to a full-electric powertrain. It's the 2018-2020-era combustion models we look at here.

What You Getword count: 584

The practical, squarical shape makes this model's remit pretty clear. Previous people carrying Combo models offered for the European market were always based around a single design and platform but with this post-2018-era design, Vauxhall offered buyers not only a 4.4m standard-length body shape but also an alternative 4.75m 'XL' body style, which will be of particular interest to those wanting to get their Combo Life with a third seating row. Let's consider boot space. Whatever way this Combo Life was specified, its cargo area was vast. The standard-length model has 597-litres of boot space to the window line - or up to 2,126-litres if you were to fold the rear bench and load to the ceiling. With the lengthier 'XL' long wheelbase model, these figures would rise to 850-litres of boot space and up to 2,693-litres with everything folded. And in both cases, you could increase the available dimensions further if you were to get a model whose original owner paid extra for the optional fold-flat front passenger seat. Using that would give you enough loading length to accommodate something as long as a kayak inside this Vauxhall. If you just need the boot area, a nice touch is the way that the parcel shelf can be positioned at two heights and can take a reasonable amount of weight. Enough so as you could put the family dog on top of it, with your shopping safe below. And behind the wheel? It wasn't very long ago that a van-based MPV of this kind really felt LCV-like once you got inside it. That's certainly not the case with this Vauxhall - or at least it isn't if you get it in a form that includes the large 8-inch capacitive centre-dash screen, which came as standard with the 'Energy'-spec trim that most original customers chose. It offers easy access to DAB radio stations, hands-free 'phone connectivity and media streaming via Bluetooth or a USB connection. Plus there's smartphone-mirroring via the 'Android Auto' or 'Apple CarPlay' systems. We've saved what ought to be the best bit though, until last: cabin practicality. If you were to add up the capacity of all the 28 different nooks and crannies available within the interior of this Combo Life, you'd arrive at a figure of 192-litres - about as much as you'd get in the entire boot of a citycar from this period like Vauxhall's Viva. What about second row seating? Well the sliding doors are rather heavy to close but once you're ensconced inside, you'll certainly has no cause to complain about the room on offer, especially in terms of ceiling height - there's 1,050mm of it. Plus because the centre transmission tunnel is virtually non-existent, it's straightforward to accommodate three fully-sized adults if need be. If you've chosen a seven-seat model, you get the three individual rear seats that really ought to have been standard across the range. A conventional fixed bench had to be had with the five-seater variant. And that's about it, assuming you've gone for the kind of standard-length five-seat short wheelbase Combo Life most might choose. Were we to be buying this Vauxhall though, we'd be tempted to pay the small amount extra for the lengthier 'XL' body style, especially if we were ordering a seven-seat variant. Getting the longer body enables the two extra boot-mounted seats to be provided with a sliding function, which will make them potentially usable for adults as well as children. It's just another example of this Vauxhall's flexibility.

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