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The What Van? Road Test: Vauxhall Vivaro Electric
Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2023
As well as being environmentally-friendly, electric vans can potentially turn just as many heads as a rip-snorting V6 petrol Ford Ranger Raptor pick-up.
That is something Volkswagen has demonstrated to great effect with its uniquely-styled ID. Buzz Cargo, and Vauxhall has clearly taken note. While not having the stand-out looks of VW’s offering, with a rear roof spoiler, a front lower spoiler, extended side-sill mouldings, and black 18in alloys, its Vivaro Electric L1 GS is guaranteed to attract plenty of attention in high streets across the UK.
Such cosmetic enhancements also help the battery-powered Vivaro stand out from the rest of the Stellantis pack. The global automotive behemoth owns Citroën, Peugeot and Fiat Professional as well as Vauxhall.
Economies of scale being what they are, Vivaro is also available as the Citroën Dispatch, Peugeot Expert, and Fiat Professional Scudo. The exterior styling, equipment levels and powertrains available may differ a little from one to another, but if you take away the badges, they are at heart all the same vehicle.
That vehicle is additionally sold by Toyota – and with a particularly attractive warranty – as the Proace thanks to a joint venture between Stellantis and the Japanese giant.
The Vivaro Electric is marketed in entry-level Prime and mid-range Pro trim as well as in GS guise, with two different overall lengths – L2 (5,309mm) and L1 (4,959mm) – and one roof height. Available too is an L1 platform cab.
Customers can specify either a 50kWh or a 75kWh battery pack. The former gives you roughly 200kg more payload capacity, but less range.
The GS is sold solely in L1/75kWh guise and is considerably more expensive than its stablemates. Taking care not to scrape its shimmering paint finish or dent those big alloys, we decided to put Vauxhall’s fancy offering with its three-seater cab through its paces.
Here’s how we fared.
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