Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric 2025: Price, specs & boot space

If you need to transport eight or nine people on a regular basis, and you need a single car in which to do it, then the Vivaro Life Electric is one of the few cars on the market that fits the bill. That makes it suitable for very large families, or private hire taxi firms that need to carry the maximum number of people with the minimal amount of fuss. However, just be sure you don’t need to carry those people too far because the electric-only powertrain gives a very limited range.

All versions of the Vivaro Life Electric get the same 136PS motor, but there are two battery options, a 50kWh one and a 75kWh one. We’d definitely recommend the latter: the range it gives you isn’t great, but it’s better than that of the former, which is frankly rubbish.

On the trim level front, the tooled-up Ultimate version is definitely the nicest to live with, with its posher-feeling interior and generous luxury equipment. It is pricey, though, so the Combi version is there if you can only afford something rather more bargain-basement, while the Design version is there if you want something somewhere in the middle-ground.

There are two cars that are extremely similar to the Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric, and that’s the Citroen e-SpaceTourer and the Peugeot e-Traveller. ‘Similar’ doesn’t really cut it, either: they’re essentially the same car underneath, with only a few styling, spec and pricing differences to separate them. Other large van-based MPVs available with an electric powertrain include the Ford Tourneo Custom, Toyota Proace Verso, Mercedes V-Class and Volkswagen ID.Buzz long-wheelbase, while if your MPV doesn’t absolutely have to be electric, you might want to consider the Renault Trafic Passenger or the Volkswagen Multivan instead.

There’s quite a difference in this area depending on which of the three trim levels you go for. In all of them, the main structural bits of the interior are made from the same hard-wearing plastic as found in the panel van version of the Vivaro, so they’re not very touchy-feely, but they are solid and durable, and they look smart enough. 

In Combi and Design trims, these are accompanied by fabric seats and a plastic floor covering that continue the no-frills feel. In top-end Ultimate trim, though, your seats are finished in full leather, your floor is carpeted, and there are a range of other higher-quality trim pieces to add a bit of zhuzh to proceedings, and it’s all very effective in transforming the cabin into quite a swanky-feeling environment.

Despite there being vast differences in poshness between the top and bottom ends of the Vivaro Life range, all versions come with the same basic infotainment system. Initially, this took the form of a seven-inch central touchscreen that comes with Bluetooth, DAB radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Make the upgrade to range-topping trim, and you also got built-in navigation. It was a fairly basic-looking system, but that also made it reasonably easy to find your way around.

During the car’s 2024 facelift, the infotainment system was upgraded big-time. The analogue driving instruments were replaced by a 10-inch digital driver’s display behind the steering wheel, and the seven-inch central screen was replaced by a larger 10-inch one across the range. Importantly for some buyers, the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility was also made wireless. Again, the range-topping Ultimate trim added sat-nav on top, along with an upgraded TOSCA speaker system.

It looks more sophisticated than before, but it still looks rather rudimentary next to the all-singing systems found in some passenger cars these days. However, we actually prefer that because it makes the system far easier to use: you’re not forever getting lost in seemingly endless submenus.

This is obviously the whole raison d’etre of a car like this, so it’s an area in which the Vivaro can’t fail to dazzle. And it doesn’t, provided you choose the right version. You might have to bear with us while we explain why, though, because it’s complicated.

The first thing to say is that the Vivaro Life comes in two different body lengths: the Standard, which measures just under five metres long, and the XL, which measures just over 5.3 metres long, and all of that extra length goes into the car’s rear overhang.

On paper, the entry-level Combi version sounds like the most practical, because it’s a nine-seater. These seats take the form of a single driver’s seat, an extended-width front passenger seat that can (just about) fit two people on it, and then in rows two and three, you get three-seater benches. In the Design and Ultimate trim, meanwhile, the extended-width front passenger seat is swapped for a conventional one-person one, making the car into an eight-seater.

Regardless of which length of vehicle you go for, there’s enough legroom for everyone on board to get comfy, and the boxy van-like dimensions mean that headroom is plentiful, too. The cabin is wide enough so that those in rows two and three can sit three abreast without feeling too crammed in, too. You’ll also like that the sliding rear side doors give excellent access to the passenger compartment, especially in tight parking spaces: these slide manually in Combi and Design trim, and are powered in Ultimate trim.

However, despite its extra seat, the Combi is actually the least practical version of the lot. That’s because the third-row bench is fixed and can’t be removed or folded to free up more cargo space. In the Design, the third-row bench can be folded and removed, while in the Ultimate, both rows two and three are mounted on runners so that they can be slid backwards and forwards, as well as folded and removed.

And that’s not it. If you’re prepared to pay extra, then the options list allows you to swap one or both rows of rear seats for two individual armchair-style chairs that are more luxurious, and these are also slidable, foldable and removable (this option is only available on the Ultimate range-topper, though). So, depending on which version of the Vivaro Life you pick, how you spec it, and how many seats to remove at any one time, your Vivaro can have between two and nine seats installed at any one time.

In terms of boot space, it’s actually pretty difficult to quantify with all the variables identified above. Just know that there’s absolutely loads of the stuff even with the minimum supplied, and when you remove all your rear seats to turn your van into a two-seater (if you can, and you have somewhere to store them, and enough muscle to get them out and in again), then you return your Vivaro Life to van-like levels of cargo space.

There’s one slight issue you might have to contend with, and that’s that the very long top-hinged tailgate is impossible to open if you back up flush to a wall or another car. This can be remedied via the options list, which allows you to specify a rear window that opens separately from the rest of the tailgate, letting you drop in small items without having to open the whole shebang.

There are two different battery sizes available in the Vivaro Life Electric, but whichever one you go for, you get the same electric motor. It delivers a maximum of 136PS to the front wheels, but in order to get the full amount of power, you need to switch the car to its ‘Power’ driving mode. 

And while some electric cars have enough off-the-line pace to give some hot hatches a red face, the Vivaro Life Electric isn’t one of them, not by a long shot. The 0-62mph time of more than 14 seconds is extremely leisurely indeed, and it feels it from behind the wheel. Your on-the-move acceleration feels just as gentle, too.

Do nothing with the drive mode selector switch, and the car defaults to ‘Normal’ mode when you turn it on. This gives you a bit less power in an effort to conserve a little more of the car’s potential range. You can detect a difference in pickup between the two modes, but the difference feels very small in terms of your overall rate of progress, so we reckon you’re best off just leaving the drive mode switch alone in most situations.

You can go a step further and select ‘Eco’ mode, which restricts power even further to conserve even more range. This is fine for crawling along in town, but once you’re free of the city limits, you’ll want the extra urge that Normal mode gives you in order to keep pace with the ebb and flow of the traffic.

With the Vivaro Life Electric’s relatives from Citroen and Peugeot, they were initially offered with a 50kWh battery, but then that battery option was replaced with a 75kWh unit. The Vauxhall, however, is the only vehicle of the trio to still offer you both battery options.

Either way, the range isn’t great. The 50kWh option gives you a combined WLTP range of 136 miles, while the 75kWh upgrade elevates that to 214 miles. Already, those figures look pretty measly compared to those of most EVs, and when you consider that your real-world returns are likely to be around 20% less, even in seemingly optimal conditions, then you really shouldn’t be banking on high-mileage use. Attempt a long motorway schlep at high speed in cold weather, and you’ll observe the range figure on your instrument panel rolling back at a rate that even Asda would be proud of.

You’d expect an EV to be quieter than a combustion-engined car simply because electric motors are much quieter than petrol and diesel engines. As such, you hear a faint whirr when you first pull away, and sometimes when you accelerate, but nothing more. That immediately makes the Vivaro Life Electric a tranquil means of transport.

Wind and road noise was also fairly well isolated in the example we drove, too, but it should be noted that we sampled a high-end version, and Design and Ultimate cars get extra sound deadening over and above what you get in the Combi. With that in mind, it’s likely that the entry-level version won’t be quite as good on that score.

The standard safety spec has changed a bit during the Vivaro Life’s time on sale. Buy a brand new one right now, and you’ll get a decent amount of safety kit as standard. That includes a driver assistance pack that includes important features like autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, driver attention alert, and intelligent speed limit assist. However, you only get six airbags, and only for the front seats, so those in the back seats have no airbag protection whatsoever.

This is remedied in the Design-trimmed car, which gets curtain airbags in rows two and three, which is much more like it in a car designed to carry so many people. Upgrade further to Ultimate trim, and you also get blind spot detection.

If you’re buying a used example of the car from a few years back, though, you’ll probably get less in the way of standard safety measures. When the car first went on sale in 2021, the all-important driver assistance pack only came on the range-topping Elite model of the time, where later on, it was fitted to mid-range Design and top-end Ultimate, but not to the Combi like it is now.

Regardless of the trim level you choose, adaptive cruise control remains on the options list, and is only available on the top two trims.

The Vivaro has been crash-tested by Euro NCAP, but way back in 2016 when it was sold exclusively with combustion engines. It achieved the full five stars, but the testing standards were much lower then, so it’s very doubtful that the vehicle would achieve the same result were it tested today.

You might find it somewhat alarming, though, that the latest data from our go-to source of reliability information - HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index - placed the Vauxhall brand in 31st place out of 33 car makers for reliability. Only Jeep and Alfa Romeo did worse, both of which are also Stellantis brands. Indeed, no Stellantis brand featured any higher than 25th. Tsk tsk.

Even less impressive is the Vivaro’s warranty, which is - inexplicably - even less impressive than you get on the mechanically identical offerings from Peugeot and Citroen. With those, you get a two-year manufacturer cover with unlimited mileage, followed by a third-year of retailer-supplied cover limited to 60,000 miles. With the Vauxhall, however, the unlimited-mileage manufacturer cover lasts for just a year, while years two and three are the retailer-supplied cover limited to 60,000 miles. That’s rubbish, frankly.

The data we’ve seen suggests that, depending on the spec and age of your Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric, the insurance grouping of your car will sit somewhere between groups 31 and 36. If you didn’t already know, all cars are allocated an insurance grouping between 1 and 50, and the higher the number, the more expensive your premiums are likely to be. That suggests that buying cover for your car won’t be cheap, but it shouldn’t be unreasonably expensive, either.

Right now, at the time of writing (March 2025), you don’t pay anything for VED vehicle tax on the Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric by virtue of it being an EV. However, the VED exemption for electric vehicles is due to be binned in April 2025, at which point you’re likely to be liable for the same level of tax costs as drivers of petrol and diesel cars. Although, we don’t know that for sure yet, because the Government still hasn’t told us what the new rules will be. Helpful.

Bear in mind, too, that vehicles costing over £40,000 when brand new are currently liable for the exchequer’s ‘luxury car’ VED surcharge, which adds another £410 to the £195 flat rate of tax between years two and six of the car’s life. EVs are currently exempt from that, too, but come April, they may well not be.

For most of its time on sale, the Vivaro Life Electric has been offered in three trim levels of varying salubriousness. The entry-level option is called the Combi, and this is intended as a bog-standard, no-frills offering for those wanting to pack-’em-in and pile-’em-high without too much regard for comfort and poshness. As such, it comes with nine seats, along with important basic features such as air-conditioning, powered front windows, sliding side doors, remote central locking, high-beam assist headlights, automatic lights and wipers, cruise control, and rear parking sensors. That said, it looks a little awkward from the outside with its black plastic bumpers and exposed steel wheels.

The mid-range Design trim remedies those visual shortcomings with body-coloured bumpers and smart trims for the steel wheels, plus LED headlamps, front foglights, and tinted rear windows. It also looks a fraction smarter inside, with slightly different decorative interior finishes. The extra money you pay for the Design also gets you a foldable bench seat in row three, extra soundproofing, and electrically adjusting and folding door mirrors.

Range-topping Ultimate trim feels like a considerable step up in poshness again, with full leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, the infotainment upgrade, sliding and foldable rear bench seats, a heated leather steering wheel, powered and heated front seats with massage facility, powered sliding doors with hands-free operation, front- and rear parking sensors, a 180-degree reversing camera, keyless entry and start, and alloy wheels.

If you’re considering a used example of the Vivaro Life Electric from a few years back, though, it's worth noting that when it first went on sale in 2021, it was offered in Combi and Elite trims. These were essentially equivalents of today’s Combi and Ultimate trims, with no middle-ground Design option.