Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric Review & Prices

The Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric is a niche piece of kit, because there are undoubtedly few people looking for a nine-seater EV - so if you’re got eight mates to drive around in relative silence, the enormous Vauxhall will jump right to the top of your shortlist. It’s absurdly practical and affordable to run, but it’s also too big to live with for most people.

It’s practically student accommodation on wheels; a cheap-enough way to get all of your mates under one roof…or a group of strangers you’ll likely never see again once you’ve completed your journey together. Either way, your only real alternatives are the near-identical Peugeot e-Traveller and Citroen e-Spacetourer.

You won’t mistake the Vivaro Life for anything other than a van at a glance, though, no matter how car-like they’ve tried to make it look on upper trim levels with alloy wheels, body-coloured bumpers and LED headlights. The only way you’ll get near this level of seating capacity in car-based transport is the Land Rover Defender 130…which will cost you three times as much.

Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 214 miles
Efficiency: 2.9mi/kWh
Battery size: 75kWh
Max charge speed: 250kW
Charge time AC: 11hrs 20mins, 0-100%, 7kW
Charge time DC: 45mins, 5-80%, 100kW
Charge port location: Left side front
Power outputs: 134hp

The interior isn’t much more car-like than the Vivaro van either, though that’s not really a bad thing because the four-spoke steering wheel, standard-fit digital driver’s display and widescreen infotainment system are all rather swanky. Mid-tier Design models get some posher trims on the dashboard and better speakers, while Ultimate models get sat nav and leatherette seats.

Entry-level models come with the same triple-front-seat layout as the van, meaning nine seats in total, while the upper trim versions get individual front seats with armrests. They’re posher and more comfortable, but less practical, while along the same lines you can ditch the six rear seats for five or four face-to-face seats instead; practically a private jet with wheels.

You get a hefty boot behind the seats too: 3,900-4,500 litres depending on whether you go for the short or long-wheelbase model, with the rear seats folded down. Even with the seats up you get almost 1,400 litres of cargo capacity.

Every Vivaro life comes with a 134hp electric motor and a 75kWh battery pack, which Vauxhall claims will take you as far as 214 miles on a charge. If you’re regularly hauling lots of people and cargo around, that already-short range doesn’t seem very realistic.

A 100kW fast charger can get the Vivaro Life up from 5-80% in 45 minutes - which is hardly quick, while a standard 7kW wall charger will do the same job in eleven hours and 20 minutes.

Check out the latest deals on the Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric, or Vivaro Life Electric lease deals, instead. There are used Vivaro Life Electrics for sale through our network of trusted dealers, or other used Vauxhalls for sale if you’re looking for something smaller. Carwow can even help you sell your current car when the time is right to switch.

The big Vauxhall starts at a hair under £36,000 in short wheelbase Combi trim, though it’s pretty agricultural in this spec - ideal as a low-frills taxi or shuttle bus. It’s only available as a nine-seater in this trim level, too.

Design trim costs a hefty £6,500 more but distances the Vivaro Life from the Vivaro Van with body coloured bumpers, LED headlights, gloss black mirrors, privacy glass and an upgraded speaker system. You can get it in green, too.

Top-spec Ultimate models are a whopping £5,000 on top of that again, and for that you get the leatherette interior upholstery with heated front seats, automatic air conditioning, alloy wheels, electric tailgate, a rear-view camera and sat nav amongst other bits and bobs.