Item: Vauxhall Vivaro Life
Rating: 3
Author: Steve Huntingford

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Vauxhall Vivaro Life

Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life

Volkswagen Caddy MPV

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Introduction

Performance & drive

Interior

Passenger & boot space

Accessibility & Motability

Costs & verdict

Pricing for the entry-level Vauxhall Vivaro Life Edition undercuts the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/space-tourer/mpv/review/n17326/on-the-road">Citroën SpaceTourer</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/traveller/mpv/review/n17329">Peugeot Traveller</a>&nbsp;considerably, although you'll have to put up with less standard equipment as a result. The cost evens out if you select the range-topping Elite model, and the Vivaro Life's&nbsp;worse <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-best-cars-for-depreciation-and-the-worst/n23009">depreciation</a> compared with those rivals will add&nbsp;to your ownership costs.

In terms of fuel economy,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/vauxhall">Vauxhall</a> quotes over 40mpg for both the 1.5 and 2.0-litre diesel engines. Company drivers are more likely to go for the all-electric <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/vivaro-e-life/mpv/review/n22307">Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life</a>&nbsp;because both diesels sit in the top 37% bracket for <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/check-your-company-car-tax-rate/n1255">benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax</a>.&nbsp;

If servicing costs concern you, the 2.0-litre diesel is a better option because its servicing intervals are 10,000 miles longer.

Entry-level Edition models are rather spartan, with 16in steel wheels and part vinyl and cloth seating, so we’d recommend the Elite trim, which includes heated and massaging front seats.

As a brand, Vauxhall ranked a disappointing joint 22nd out of 30 car makers in the 2021 <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2021-what-car-reliability-survey-brands/n23418">What Car? Reliability Survey</a> – putting it behind Citroën, and only just ahead of Ford. A three-year/60,000-mile warranty is good, but hardly class-leading.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/top-10-safest-cars-on-sale-today/n20301">Euro NCAP</a> has yet to safety test the Vivaro Life, although the Traveller and SpaceTourer it's&nbsp;based on both received five-star ratings in 2015. The top-spec Elite trim gets a lot more safety kit than Edition, adding lane-departure warning and automatic emergency braking <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-is-aeb-and-how-does-it-work/n3283">(AEB)</a>&nbsp;and four more airbags (Edition gets six).

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The Vauxhall Vivaro Life may look rather van-like&nbsp;but shares its platform with the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/grandland-x/hatchback/review/n115">Vauxhall Grandland X</a>&nbsp;and other PSA Group cars so&nbsp;it’s far more enjoyable to drive than commercial vehicles tend to be.

The first thing that will catch your attention as soon as you set off, though, has nothing to do with its driving manners, yet is a big reason why you might choose an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/category/mpv/">MPV</a> over an SUV – the even higher view from the driving seat. You can see over most cars' roofs, giving you (and lorry drivers)&nbsp;the best view of the road ahead.

The impressive visibility extends to your view from the sides, thanks to big, square windows that keep blind-spots to a minimum. The flat sides of the Vivaro Life also make it easy to judge its extremities, so it’s much less stressful to thread it down a tight road than you might expect.

Once you start picking up speed, the Vivaro Life remains pleasingly quiet, especially considering its shape. The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/galaxy/mpv/review/n142">Ford Galaxy</a> is quieter still but the margin is impressively narrow.

You’ll quickly remember you’re in something rather taller and bulkier than a typical MPV, though, when you first encounter a corner. The Vivaro Life leans strongly in bends, even at fairly gentle speeds. You’ll want to avoid vigorous cornering for the sake of passenger comfort.

Speaking of which, on craggy roads it tends to bounce and twitch a bit too much over to be considered truly comfy. However, none of the van-based alternatives (such as the closely related&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/space-tourer/mpv/review/n17326/on-the-road">Citroën SpaceTourer</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/traveller/mpv/review/n17329">Peugeot Traveller</a>) have flawless ride quality. If you want something with a calmer ride, you'll need the Galaxy.

As there’s little reward for driving the Vivaro Life quickly, you might think it’s better to stick with the entry-level 118bhp 1.5-litre diesel. However, its pedestrian 0-62mph time of 14.3sec means you’ll need to work it and its six-speed manual gearbox quite hard to get it up to speed.

If you’re regularly loaded up with passengers, the more powerful 178bhp 2.0-litre engine will be a much better option. It gets to 62mph four seconds faster and comes with a smooth eight-speed automatic as standard, making it easier to drive in traffic.

The electric-powered version is actually a&nbsp;little bit quicker than the 1.5 diesel (as well as offering zero-emissions motoring) – for details see our full <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/vivaro-e-life/mpv/review/n22307">Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life review</a>.

Fuel 

Gearbox

0-62 MPH

http://example.com

100kW

100kw

If you need the ultimate people mover and don’t want an SUV, you really should test drive the Vauxhall Vivaro Life MPV.

No really, you should. While the Vivaro Life's commercial vehicle origins are plain to see from its exterior, this eight-seater is more than just a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/vauxhall">Vauxhall</a> van with up to nine&nbsp;seats and extra&nbsp;windows.&nbsp;

Once you get behind the wheel, it&nbsp;might well win you over with its driving manners, which are&nbsp;much closer to those of a car than you’d think after glancing at its boxy body. You might also be attracted to its high driving position, which gives you a commanding view of the road.

As with many of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-mpvs-and-people-carriers-2022/n17001">best MPVs</a>&nbsp;out there, you can have the Vivaro Life in either Normal (medium) form or with a longer body&nbsp;– called, logically enough, Long. It's&nbsp;available with a choice of two diesel engines, but there's also an electric version. To find out all about that, check out our full separate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/vivaro-e-life/mpv/review/n22307">Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life review</a>.

Of course, there are alternatives, such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/citroen/space-tourer/mpv/review/n17326/on-the-road">Citroën SpaceTourer</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/v-class/estate/review/n17287">Mercedes V-Class</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/traveller/mpv/review/n17329">Peugeot Traveller</a>. If you want something easier to park, you might also consider the cheaper and less spacious&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/galaxy/mpv/review/n142">Ford Galaxy</a>&nbsp;or a&nbsp;seven-seat SUV&nbsp;such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/peugeot/5008/estate/review/n17369">Peugeot 5008</a>.&nbsp;

So is the Vauxhall Vivaro Life the best option for you and your family? Read on over the next few pages of this review to find out. We'll give you a run down of how it rates for performance, handling, interior quality, running costs and more, and also recommend our favourite version.&nbsp;

When you've decided which car is for you, we can help you find it for the lowest price if you search our free <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals">What Car? New Car Buying service</a>. It's a good place to find the best <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/vauxhall/vivaro-life/mpv/deals">Vauxhall Vivaro Life deals</a>.

If you’re in the market for something that can carry lots of passengers, you’ll be expecting a decent amount of interior space. We’re happy to report that you get plenty in the Vauxhall Vivaro Life.

The seats are more like living-room chairs if judged by the amount of padding they have. The driver&nbsp;gets a seat that’s just as comfy, but, if you like to rest your arm on the top of the door panel while driving, you’ll find the hard plastic trim quite uncomfortable.

Although you won't find any soft-touch plastic, the Vivaro Life's interior is a pleasing enough place in which to pass a journey. The places you’ll most likely touch, such as the steering wheel and gear-lever, have a quality feel.

All models get a 7in&nbsp;touchscreen infotainment system that's positioned fairly high up on the dashboard where it’s easy to reach. However, the screen isn’t all that large in the context of the car's huge interior, so some might find the icons a little too small.

Top-tier Elite trim includes built-in sat-nav, and it's&nbsp;easy enough to use thanks to logical menus and reasonable reaction times. If you don’t like the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/vauxhall">Vauxhall</a> system, you can always hook up your phone via its standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.&nbsp;

Music lovers might want to invest in the Elite trim because its 10-speaker sound system is more up to the task of being heard in a vehicle as big as this than the four-speaker alternative in entry-level Edition models.

Vauxhall has an incredibly diverse range of cars on sale, a few of which stand out above the class average. Add in the fact that it still offers some of the largest Target Price discounts in the market (something it is trying, without huge success, to cut back on), and there are very good reasons to consider buying one of its better models.

However, you need to choose carefully, because it is also a brand in transition. It has a newish parent company – the same one that owns Citroën, DS and Peugeot. And while Vauxhall’s newer models tend to be competitive, some of the others feel dated; a quick check of our star ratings will reveal which is which.

Still, given the recent success of sister brands Citroën and especially Peugeot, each new launch should make its range more appealing to buyers.

VAUXHALL

VIVARO LIFE

If there's a potential obstacle for getting in and out of the Vauxhall Vivaro Life, it's the step up into the interior. The door sill is some 545mm from the ground – an awful lot higher than most car-based MPVs.

Better news is that the driver's door opens wide to 70 degrees, and the lofty seating position. With the seat in its lowest position, the driver sits 912mm from the ground, and it can be lifted to as high as 941mm from the road surface. That's a little lower than the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/transporter/van/review/n18205">Volkswagen Transporter</a> Shuttle's seat (966mm-997mm) but considerably higher than the front seats in most <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-mpvs-and-people-carriers-2021/n17001">MPVs</a>.

When you step out of the car you'll need to be aware of the long drop to the ground, but the 5mm lip between the floor of the car and the door sill shouldn't pose a problem. That said, a Transporter Shuttle is even easier to get out of, with a sill that's flush with the interior floor.

Being based on a commercial vehicle and with considerably larger exterior dimensions than your average MPV, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is a lot of room inside the Vivaro Life. That's true whether you pick the normal or long version.

If all three rows of seats are in place, there's room for a folded wheelchair in the boot, but a fully assembled chair won't quite fit. However, removing the third row of seats opens up a huge amount of luggage space allowing an unfolded wheelchair to fit with space to spare.

The second row of seats can also be taken out – do that and you're literally driving a van with windows.

You won't have to lift a wheelchair too high to get it inside the boot, thanks to a boot sill that's just 585mm from the ground. What’s more, the drop between loading sill and boot floor is a mere 15mm. That said, it’s worth noting that the VW Transporter Shuttle has an even lower boot height and a floor that's flush with the opening.

It’s only the more powerful of the Vivaro Life’s two diesel engines, the 178bhp version, which is available with an automatic gearbox.

Alternatively there's the all-electric <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/vivaro-e-life/mpv/review/n22307">Vivaro-e Life</a>. Like any <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/class/electric-cars">electric car</a>, it's an automatic and therefore presents another option if you need a car that changes gear for you.

A rear-view camera and rear parking sensors are&nbsp;standard on Elite models. Front parking sensors can be added to all versions as an accessory.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/vauxhall">Vauxhall</a> gives you an impressive array of different ways you can rearrange the rear two rows in the Vivaro Life. All seats are on runners so you can fine-tune the position of each row.

As an option, you can have swivelling mid-row seats and a fairly large fold-out table, which, if you were good with your Transformers toys as a kid, you’ll be able to rearrange in a kind-of mini conference orientation with the middle row facing the rear row across the table in the middle.

This seating flexibility also helps you to cram in as much luggage and people as possible. You can also remove the seats to open up a truly huge luggage space that is roughly twice the size of what the most capacious SUVs can offer. It's also fairly square so you can stuff pretty much anything in there.

Don’t worry too much about opening the whole tailgate in a tight parking bay – the rear window on Elite models can be opened separately.&nbsp;

There are also plenty of places to store bits and pieces, with cubbies dotted around the interior&nbsp;just where you’d expect them to be. A prime example is the small cubby just above the glovebox that's ideal for&nbsp;your front passenger's mobile phone.

Combi

combi

Design

design

Ultimate

ultimate

If you’re in the market for a big people mover, the Vauxhall Vivaro Life should definitely be on your shortlist – it’s spacious, well equipped with interior tech and easy to drive, with fuel-efficient engines. What’s against it is that it's not exactly cheap, and there are plenty of car-based MPVs that ride and handle better that are available for less money.

Need to load up several people and all of their luggage for a big road trip? A van-based MPV could be the answer to your prayers. Although these vehicles are heavily based on commercial vehicles, most will include higher quality materials than their working siblings, and creature comforts designed to keep everyone comfy. Most are spacious, too, with a boot large enough to accommodate multiple large suitcases – even if every seat is also filled.

Van-based MPV

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Plenty of space for all the family and their paraphernalia</li> <li>Comfortable ride for everyone inside</li> <li>Seats with plenty of adjustment and versatility of layout</li> <li>Engine that can cope with a full load of people and luggage</li> <li>Excellent efficiency to avoid big fuel bills</li></ul>

Practicality is king in the MPV market, which has taken a hit as buyers have turned towards trendier SUVs. There are still plenty of decent offerings to suit most budgets, though, with Citroën fielding a particularly strong line-up. The French manufacturer’s Berlingo offers bags of space for not much money and you can easily haggle off thousands of extra pounds in discounts, too.

Citroën also scores with the larger Grand C4 Spacetourer, which offers seven seats, lots of oddment space and appealing running costs for something so large. A similarly priced and even better option is the Volkswagen Touran. Meanwhile, if you prefer a premium badge, there's always the BMW 2 Series Active and Gran Tourers or Mercedes B-Class and V-Class.

But for something sizeable that's still decent to drive, we’d recommend you check out the Ford Galaxy, which can offer three rows of seats and decent luggage space at the same time. It’s not that much pricier than the smaller S-Max.

Practicality

Vauxhall Vivaro Life review

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Vauxhall gives you an impressive array of different ways you can rearrange the rear two rows in the Vivaro Life. All seats are on runners so you can fine-tune the position of each row.,As an option, you can have swivelling mid-row seats and a fairly large fold-out table, which, if you were good with your Transformers toys as a kid, you’ll be able to rearrange in a kind-of mini conference orientation with the middle row facing the rear row across the table in the middle.,This seating flexibility also helps you to cram in as much luggage and people as possible. You can also remove the seats to open up a truly huge luggage space that is roughly twice the size of what the most capacious SUVs can offer. It's also fairly square so you can stuff pretty much anything in there.Don’t worry too much about opening the whole tailgate in a tight parking bay – the rear window on Elite models can be opened separately. There are also plenty of places to store bits and pieces, with cubbies dotted around the interior just where you’d expect them to be. A prime example is the small cubby just above the glovebox that's ideal for your front passenger's mobile phone.,

Read review covering Vauxhall Vivaro Life boot space, size and dimensions, front and rear seat comfort by the expert What Car? test team.

Vauxhall Vivaro Life review

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