Vauxhall Vivaro-e Review

£35,370- £39,020 (excluding VAT)

Electrifying.com score

9/10

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This van marks a turning point – it is an all-electric vehicle which makes proper commercial sense for businesses. The new Ford e-Transit is worth a look too though.


  • Battery size: 50-75 kWh
  • Miles per kWh: 3.01
  • E-Rating™: C

    Click here to find out more about our electric car Efficiency Rating.​

  • Max charge rate: 100 kW
  • Range: 133-194 miles
  • Battery size: 50-75 kWh
  • Miles per kWh: 3.01
  • E-Rating™: C

    Click here to find out more about our electric car Efficiency Rating.​

  • Max charge rate: 100 kW
  • Range: 133-194 miles
  • Vauxhall Vivaro Sportive electric van
  • Vauxhall Vivaro e electric van exterior front driving in city
  • Vauxhall Vivaro e electric van interior dashboard and display
  • Vauxhall Vivaro e electric van exteror side driving
  • Vauxhall Vivaro e interior storage space
  • Vauxhall Vivaro e electric van exterior rear driving in city
  • Vauxhall Vivaro e electric van badge
  • Electrifying.com E-Rating C

Ginny Says

“This is the first really convincing electric van I've tried. The Vivaro-e has proper carrying capacity, respectable range and sensible pricing. Add in the carrot of £8,000 government grants with the stick of zero emission zone charges and going electric makes perfect business sense.”

Tom Says

“I like electric vans and the Vivaro-e makes huge sense. A big 75kWh battery gives over 200 miles of range (although a bit less payload than the 50kWh model). Plus, urban deliverers get all sorts of grants from the government, including paying a grant on the purchase price up to £8k. That’s a big incentive to go electric.”

The short wheelbase version isn’t quite as spacious as a Transit Custom or LEVC VN5 – so if you need room go for the bigger L2. Payload is class-leading though.

  • Length:4998 - 5398mm
  • Width:1956mm
  • Height:1,971mm
  • Load space:5.5 - 6.0 m3
Vauxhall Vivaro e interior storage space

Practicality and Boot Space 

The electric Vivaro has exactly the same load volume as the diesel-engined versions, and there’s a variety of different options to tailor the business end of the van to suit your, er, business. It’s currently available with two different lengths – called L1 and L2, with a payload of between 987 and 1226kg depending on the battery. You can even have a ‘crew van’ with five (six at a push) seats, but watch out for any tax implications with passenger versions as they will be cheaper on benefit in kind but might not be eligible for van purchase grants as they could be classed as a car.  

Load volume is 5.2 m3 for the L1 version and up to 6 m3 for the longer wheelbase model. For comparison, a Transit Custom PHEV offers 6m3 and a LEVC VN5 is 5.5 m3. Uniquely for an all-electric van, the Vivaro-e is capable of towing a trailer of up to one tonne too – although this is less than the diesel version and we wouldn’t suggest it’s something you’d want to do regularly or it will kill the range.

Technology

The level of tech fitted to the Vivaro might come as a surprise to anyone used to stripped out commercial vehicles. Even the cheapest model has a trip computer, cruise control, connected app, 7-inch colour touchscreen, DAB radio and rear parking sensors. 

Upgrade to the Elite model and it all starts sounding quite posh, with a rear view camera, navigation, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and even a head-up display. This shows the speed projected onto the base of the windscreen. The van will even read speed limit signs as you pass them and show them too – useful if you are a professional driver and need to keep your licence clean.

Safety

The independent crash test boffins at Euro NCAP don’t tend to do vans, so haven’t smashed up the latest Vivaro in the name of science. There is a passenger version of it though (and the sister vehicles from Citroen and Peugeot) so it might still happen. We’ll update this if it does meet the wall of doom. 

Before then, we’ll just have to rely on the list of standard safety kit to suggest that the Vivaro will keep you out of trouble. Plump for the Elite version (which we’d recommend) and you’ll be treated to speed sign recognition, blind spot alert and Forward Collision Alert. This uses radar to reduces the car’s speed to avoid collisions with vehicles, pedestrians, bikes and motorbikes and is pretty much essential in the van, as visibility isn’t great and the mirrors are on the small side.


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