VAUXHALL VIVARO
Hugely popular Vauxhall Vivaro is produced in Luton but shares its DNA with a French sister
The current generation Vauxhall Vivaro is one of the UK’s most popular commercial vehicles, the go-to mid-sized van for many businesses up and down the nation. The original Vivaro came onto the scene back in 2001 and was based on the Renault Trafic. The newer generation is exactly the same, based on the latest Trafic instead but manufactured by Vauxhall in Luton, Bedfordshire.
As a medium-sized van, there isn’t a large selection of body styles with two lengths, two heights and four basic bodies - panel van, double cab, platform cab (for specialist conversions) and the Combi, which is the mini-bus variant. The maximum possible load capacity available from the Vivaro is 8.3m³, while maximum possible payload is rated at 1.2-tonnes. With a maximum possible length of 4.15m, the Vivaro can swallow up to 3 euro pallets and be loaded with them from the side or rear doors, which can be optioned to fold flat to the sides of the van on the longer ‘L2’ models.
Powering all Vivaro models is a 1.6-litre turbo diesel with 3 states of tune – 94bhp, 124bhp and 143bhp, which uses a twin-turbo arrangement to provide that extra oomph. The 124bhp engine delivers some very impressive figures, being capable of 47mpg while putting out 155g/km of CO2. All models come with a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard.
Up front in the cabin Vauxhall has installed a number of clever storage and practicality solutions, an example of this being the centre front seat which folds down forward to become a desk, complete with cup holder. All Vivaro models come with DAB digital radio and Bluetooth, but you have to step up to the ‘Limited Edition Nav’ model if you want to have Vauxhall’s touchscreen infotainment and navigation system, along with a couple of other luxuries like automatic lights and wipers.
The Vauxhall Vivaro’s enduring popularity is easy to understand given its excellent pricing and practical, tough design and with another new Vivaro on the way in 2019, its popularity looks set to continue.