The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has seen more and more people taking an interest in campervans – as a safe and secure way of taking a flexible holiday. Now Vauxhall wants in on the action, and is launching a camper based on the British-built Vivaro van.
Converted by well-known British firm, Wellhouse Leisure, the Vauxhall Vivaro Elite Campervan will be available to order from early 2021, and is set to be priced from a highly attractive £46,000.
What’s more, there are also plans to build a version based on the Vivaro-e electric van. So if you’re a really keen camper who also wants to reduce their emissions, this could be something no rival model can match.
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The Vauxhall Vivaro Elite Campervan follows the tried and test formula of combining a medium-size van with a pop-up roof to create a spacious interior with travelling and sleeping space for up to four.
There’s a kitchen – with a 25-litre fridge, twin gas hob cooker, and 100 litres of on-board water storage – a 2.2kW heating system and both 12v and 240v power supplies.
The leisure battery that helps power all this is complemented by a 100W solar panel, and the main sleeping space is a foldout bed in the main van compartment. You can also have an upper bed in the pop-up roof, but this is only optional – which helps explain the more affordable entry-level price compared with a Volkswagen California or Ford Transit Custom Nugget.
Since it’s based on the range-topping Elite specification of Vivaro, buyers will also get 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors, a rear parking camera, head-up display, cruise control and an infotainment system with satellite-navigation.
Other options include a fifth passenger seat. The front seats are fitted with swivel mechanisms so they can be spun round to face the lounge / kitchen area of the van. Pictures of this and more can be found in our gallery at the top of the page.
How does the Vivaro Campervan compare with rivals?
The Volkswagen California is fully factory-built by VW while the Ford Nugget is a Westfalia conversion – so in this sense the Wellhouse Leisure-built Vivaro Campervan is closer to the Ford; both are manufacturer supported and come with the same warranty as the van they’re based on, but both are built by third parties on the companies’ behalf.
All three do essentially the same job, albeit with slightly different interior layouts. The Vauxhall is closest to the Volkswagen in this regard, with the kitchen in the centre of the van – something we prefer based on our recent extensive twin-test of the California and Nugget.
But one big advantage the Vivaro has is that it’s got a proper right-hand drive layout – meaning that the sliding door to access the rear is on the passenger side in the UK, rather than the driver side as it is with the California. The Nugget gets round this by having twin sliding side doors, but this forces the kitchen into the back and causes a few other issues we weren’t keen on.
Helping here is that the Vauxhall is built in the UK by a British converter.
What’s the price of the Vivaro Campervan?
The British-built, British-converted Vauxhall Vivaro Elite Campervan will be priced from £46,000 when it goes on sale in early 2021. The cheapest VW California is the kitchen-less Beach, which currently starts at £54,190, while the cheapest Ford Nugget is £59,000.
Vauxhall and Wellhouse could be on to a winner here – and hopefully we’ll be able to test one out soon.
Also read:
>> VW California vs Ford Nugget campervan comparison test
>> Volkswagen California full review
>> Ford Transit Custom Nugget full UK pricing and specification details
