Electric Vauxhall Combo e-Life MPV starts at £31,610

The van-based people carrier has a range of up to 174 miles.

Vauxhall Combo-e Life

James Fossdyke

By: James Fossdyke

May 14, 2021 at 3:00am ET

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Vauxhall’s new Combo-e Life – a van-based electric MPV – is now on sale in the UK with prices starting at £31,610 on the road. The new family car comes with a fully electric powertrain that permits a maximum range of up to 174 miles between charges.

That powertrain centres around a 50 kWh battery and 134 bhp electric motor, both of which are shared with the Combo-e electric van. The Life models come with the ability to ‘rapid’ charge at up to 100 kW, which means the right charger will fill the battery to 80 percent in around 30 minutes.

The same powertrain is used no matter which variant you choose. There’s a choice of two sizes, with Medium models offered in five- or seven-seat form, whereas the longer XL model comes exclusively with seven seats. Both are spacious, but the XL comes with an 850-litre boot space that expands to 2,693 litres with the rear seats folded. That’s the sort of thing you expect from a decent-sized van.

Vauxhall Combo-e Life

Just one trim level is available – the SE – which comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, sliding side-access doors and LED daytime running lights. Body-coloured bumpers are also standard, along with electrically adjusting door mirrors and automatic windscreen wipers.

Inside, there’s an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration technology. That’s also complemented by a ‘panoramic’ wide-angle reversing camera, allowing drivers to see the road behind when backing up.

Vauxhall Combo-e Life

That’s just one aspect of the car’s driver assistance technology, which also includes rear parking sensors and cruise control. The car also comes with more advanced tech, such as the automatic emergency braking system that slams on the anchors for you if you fail to react to a hazard or obstacle. The system can even detect pedestrians.

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Prices for the Combo-e Life start at £31,610 once the government’s £2,500 Plug-In Car Grant has been applied. That buys you the basic Medium SE with five seats, but upgrading to seven seats will raise the price to £32,110 when the grant is taken into account. Opting for the seven-seat XL pushes the price to £35,710, making the vehicle ineligible for the grant.