Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life electric MPV starts from £34,645

• Fast-charging available
• Only one size for the electric version
• Orders open now

The Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life electric MPV is now on sale. Sold alongside the diesel versions, the Vivaro-e Life is available in two trim levels and starts from £34,645 after the UK’s £3,000 plug-in car grant (PiCG).

Edition, the cheapest trim level, is clearly aimed at the taxi and shuttle market. It gets cruise control, DAB radio and Bluetooth but very little else. Elite, meanwhile, is much more luxurious, with a 10-inch sat nav screen, massaging heated front seats, auto headlights and wipers, parking sensors, a head-up display and xenon headlights. The Elite version starts at £46,415 after the grant, meaning both electric Vivaro models are only around £500 more than the diesel equivalents.

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Besides the front end and the badge, the Vivaro-e Life shares most parts with the Citroen e-SpaceTourer and Peugeot e-Traveller. Aside from those two alternatives, electric MPVs are few and far between, but you might also consider the seven-seat Nissan e-NV200 and the Mercedes EQV, although that looks set to be much more expensive.

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The 134bhp electric powertrain in the Vivaro-e Life is carried over from the Peugeot and Citroen. It’s also used in the Vauxhall Corsa-e and Peugeot e-208, but the 50kWh battery offers a slightly lower range here because of the van’s size. You can expect up to 143 miles on a full charge, while 0-62mph takes around 13 seconds and the top speed is 80mph.

Connecting to a 100kW public DC charger means the battery will be 80% full in half an hour, or using the 7.4kW wallbox fully recharges the battery in 7.5 hours. An 11kW charger is optional, and takes five hours. A smartphone app lets you access most charging networks, schedule charging (to take advantage of cheaper tariffs) and preset the air con.

Like the Citroen (but unlike the Peugeot), the Vauxhall Vivaro-e Life can only be ordered in the longer body style. The Edition comes with up to nine seats, while Elite gets the ‘Lounge’ seating package as standard, which means two middle seats can rotate to face those in the rear.

Dimensions have not changed for the electric version, so it’s still 1.9 metres tall and will therefore fit in most underground car parks. Unusually, a tow bar is optional, and the Vivaro-e Life can tow up to 1,000kg.

Read more about the Vauxhall Vivaro Life here.