Vivaro up to the task

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Emerging from a newly installed plant at Vauxhall’s HQ in Luton is the latest Vivaro medium van, which the company claims heralds a bright future for the UK’s largest van production centre.

It’s the result of a £100 million investment by new parent company the PSA Group, which plans to produce around 100,000 vehicles every year with a mix of vans and the MPV version, the Vivaro Life.

It’s the third generation of the Vivaro and a great deal of work has been put in to something which will appeal to cost-conscious buyers who also need comfort and state-of-the-art technology for their drivers as they go about their daily business.

It comes in two lengths – 4.95m and 5.30m – over the same wheelbase with the

extra capacity coming from an extended rear overhang.

Prices start at just over £22,000, but all three trim levels have dual side sliding doors, driver and passenger airbags and cruise control with speed limiter as standard.

I drove a mid-range long Sportive model and not only did it look smart with body-coloured mirrors, handles and body-side moulds, but also features such as auto lights and wipers, acoustic windscreen and thickened side glazing, which are quite a step up for this market.

Its list price was £26,370, but with a stack of options including hands-free, electrically operated sliding side doors and panoramic rear-view camera, the final bill came to £30,335.

It had been loaded with several hundred kilos of weights in the back, but the two-litre turbodiesel was well up to the task.

The investment will help secure 1,250 jobs at Luton and while the company may now be French-owned, it is proud of the Vauxhall heritage going back to 1903...and each new vehicle displays a “Made in Britain” badge on the back door.