No style, but Opel’s Combo is real life

ROAD TEST/ If usable space and price rank high in your family car objectives, this Opel Combo Life may just be what you need, writes Phuti Mpyane

The Opel Combo Life on test here isn’t the hottest car to hit the market in 2019 and it’s plain to see why. It’s a tall box of a thing with little pavement appeal thanks to it being a bull-nosed, van-based MPV fitted with carpets, windows and rear passenger seats.

But take a closer look and all manner of good basics that most people seek in flashier, less attainable cars start to jump out in stark contrast to its drab shape. That value story is immediately communicated through its enormously spacious cabin, where substantial rear leg, head, knee and shoulder room is revealed by opening either of its dual rear sliding doors.

A wheelbase measuring 2,785mm makes it handy for commercial use but in passenger-carrying Life guise it accommodates five people on comfortable seats with 850l of boot space accessed from a wide opening tailgate.

With the rear seats folded the load volume increases to a whopping 2,126l. That’ll be hard a match for any trendy crossover or a full-sized SUV.

Above: It s a life of practicality over design in the Opel Combo Life. Right: The Combo Life cabin seats four to five and will gobble up luggage aplenty.

A trio of baby seats fitted at the rear of the Opel Combo Life demonstrate the exemplary space available..