Meet the ingenious, British-made, all-electric, nine-seater MPV that costs less than a family hatchback
The big, boxy, high-sided monocab MPV is suddenly right back in fashion. Cars like the Kia PV5 and VW ID Buzz have done their best to make them cool again; and Lexus and Mercedes (with the Lexus LM and Mercedes VLE) are also doing their bit to add some luxury sparkle.But what if you want something enormous, commodious, super-versatile – and also electric – but aren’t so fussed about the fripperies? If you just need a lot of space, and a lot of seats, for a bit less outlay? Well, more humble options with clearer commercial-vehicle connections have existed for some time, albeit out of the spotlight that these late-arrivals have brought. And one of them – made in the UK – is the Vauxhall Vivaro Life.The Vivaro has a reputation as one of Britain’s best-known and best-selling medium-sized vans. It switched from a shared Renault platform to a Stellantis-nee-PSA one with the third generation vehicle in 2019, still being assembled at Vauxhall’s old Luton factory at that time; and immediately becoming available as a ‘Life’-branded passenger car MPV alongside the regular panel van.Since then, however, the Vivaro has both moved home and had a radical powertrain shift. Having been introduced with combustion engines, the Vivaro Life passenger version is now available in electric form only (unless you happen to be a producer-converter of wheelchair accessible vehicles; in which case you can order a diesel). And – like all of the electric-powered, monocab-style MPVs that Stellantis makes for its various in-house brands, as well as for joint-venture partner Toyota – is produced at Vauxhall’s old Ellesmere Port plant.So the question here is: just how many seats, and how much electric-powered versatility, do you need? And exactly how much Vauxhall can you make room for on your driveway?
