How much will it cost to run?

• Relatively inexpensive to charge at home
• Limited driving range is frustrating
• But parts should be cheaper and last longer

The biggest draw of an EV is its low running costs. However, with electricity prices soaring, the gap in fuelling costs between combustion and electric vehicles has closed significantly. If you can stick to charging the Vivaro Life Electric at home, (and you’re fortunate enough to have one of those tariffs with cheap overnight rates), it’s still affordable.

A full charge using a dedicated home wallbox could cost you as little as £5, depending on your tariff. However, public charging (using a fancy 50kW rapid charger) doesn’t make financial sense at the moment. The uptick in wholesale gas and electricity prices means £10 of rapid-charge electricity won’t get you as far as the same amount of diesel.

You can brim the Vivaro Life Electric’s 50kWh battery pack in seven-and-a-half hours using a 7kW wallbox (which means you’re best off charging it up overnight). An 80 percent charge from a 100kW DC rapid charger will take just 30 minutes, while the same charge from a 50kW DC unit can be achieved in an hour.

Our biggest frustration with the Vivaro Life Electric is that you can’t have it with the larger 75kWh battery offered in the electric Vivaro panel vans. That seriously limits its usability, restricting its real-world range to around 125 miles in summer and roughly 100 miles in winter.

Servicing and warranty

There are fewer moving parts to maintain in an EV, so services aren’t as frequent. Vauxhall recommends taking the Vivaro Life Electric to the dealer every 25,000 miles – and it offers a three-year servicing package to help drivers spread the cost of maintenance. The package includes two years of roadside assistance, a brake fluid change in the vehicle’s second service and it covers the cost of the vehicles first MOT.

Every new Vauxhall leaves the factory with a three-year warranty. Unusually, the first year of this package has an unlimited mileage clause, while the following two years are capped at 60,000 miles. Vauxhall also warranties the Vivaro Life Electric’s battery pack for eight years or 100,000 miles.

Reliability

The DVSA vehicle inspectorate has issued a number of recalls for the diesel-engined Vivaro, but there haven’t yet been any recalls for the Electric model. Our experience with the MPV has been positive, too.

We haven’t experienced any mechanical maladies and, although the plastics are a little on the cheap side, the Vivaro Life Electric’s interior appears to be well-assembled. Trim pieces are also less likely to develop rattles and squeaks thanks to the smoothness of the electrical power system.

Our owners review section is also barren of reports on the Vivaro Life Electric, but we’d love to hear your experience with the vehicle. If you drive one, why not share your thoughts with us?