Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life review

Unless you’re the spokesperson for a well-known brand of sweetcorn, the words ‘green’ and ‘giant’ are rarely used together. But if you regularly need to fit up to nine bottoms on seats, yet you still want to do your bit for the planet, those are exactly the qualities you’ll be looking for in your next vehicle. Unfortunately, your buying options are very limited indeed – however, don’t despair, because the Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life could be right up your street.

First off, the Vivaro-e Life is big. Really big. It’s based on the Vivaro-e van, but before you go thinking that’s a bad thing, the Vivaro-e is our Van of the Year 2021, so as the starting point for a large, electric people carrier, it couldn’t be better.

Available in either Normal or extended-wheelbase Long forms, the Vivaro-e sits alongside rivals including the Mercedes EQV and Citroën e-SpaceTourer in this very niche market. Although it can seat up to nine, most buyers will opt for having up to eight instead, plus enough luggage space left over to embarrass the cargo hold of a plane if you opted for the longer version we’re testing here.

If you’d rather have a traditional combustion engine, then the regular Vivaro Life is equally spacious, or if you can live with seven seats, similar van-based MPVs like the Citroën Berlingo or traditional MPVs such as Volkswagen Touran should also be on your shopping list. Of course, you might also choose a seven-seat SUV instead, such as the What Car? Award-winning Peugeot 5008.

Should the Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life be on your shortlist, then? In this review we’ll tell you what it’s like to drive and to live with, as well as which version we think you should choose. And don’t forget that if you want to buy a Vivaro-e Life or indeed any other new car, just use our New Car Buying Service to secure a great deal which could save you thousands.