Vauxhall Combo Life (2018-2022) review
At a glance
Price new | £19,965 - £29,960 |
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Used prices | £7,950 - £19,602 |
Road tax cost | £190 |
Insurance group | 8 - 15 |
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Fuel economy | 37.5 - 55.4 mpg |
Range | 657 - 748 miles |
Miles per pound | 5.4 - 7.1 |
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Available fuel types
Petrol
Diesel
Pros & cons
- Impressive safety equipment
- Spacious and comfortable
- Room for three child seats
- A little uninspiring to look at
- Even high-end models quite basic
- In-house rivals have braver design
Vauxhall Combo Life (18-22) rivals
Overview
The Vauxhall Combo Life is one of triplets – the Citroen Berlingo Multispace and Partner Tepee-replacing Peugeot Rifter – and it stands a chance of emulating the loyal following the French duo have achieved. Its perpendicular styling is indicative of its roots: this is a passenger car version of the fourth generation of Combo van.
Whereas the first two were based on contemporary Vauxhall Corsa hatchbacks, and the outgoing version a re-badged Fiat Doblo, this one is a derivative of the latest PSA Peugeot-Citroen small van. A change that follows PSA’s recent acquisition of the Vauxhall brand. Aside from the in-house competition, the Vauxhall Combo squares up to the Ford Tourneo Connect and Volkswagen Caddy Life, which are all similar van-based people carriers.
Huge amounts of space
Those vertical body panels liberate an incredible amount of interior room, with space for up to seven people. The middle-row seats are three individual chairs – all with Isofix child seat-mounting points, which may prove a strong selling point – while the side doors slide to avoid car park dings from over-enthusiastic kids getting in and out.
Two lengths of Combo Life will be available, measuring 4.40m and 4.75m nose to tail. Even in five-seater mode, the shorter Combo Life will still swallow 597 litres of luggage, while the longer one has a maximum two-seater capacity of 2,693 litres.
Interior storage is, as you’d expect, immensely practical and there’s a hinged rear screen to access the boot where there isn’t space to open the whole tailgate.
Efficient petrol and diesel engines
A pair of four-cylinder BlueHDi diesels, and a three-cylinder PureTech petrol are offered in the Combo Life, that already see service in a variety of Citroen, DS, Peugeot and Vauxhall cars. Three transmissions are available – five- and six-speed manuals will likely be the most popular, but an eight-speed automatic can be specified if two-pedal driving is preferred.
Wealth of safety systems
Setting the Combo Life apart from non-PSA rivals, there’s a wealth of safety equipment available – much of which is standard, contributing to low insurance groups and high Euro NCAP scores. Lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control are among the highlighted features, but one that caught our attention is the Flank Guard.
Rather than a sacrificial, physical panel, the Flank Guard is a series of 12 sensors along the Vauxhall’s sides that monitor for obstacles such as low-height bollards that the driver might not have spotted.
Read on for the full Vauxhall Combo Life review