As we head towards the brave new world of electrification, the Vauxhall Vivaro Electric has a central role to play in the UK’s transitioning light commercial market.
Vauxhall may now belong to the sprawling Stellantis empire, which means that all its products are also now available stamped with the badges of other manufacturers; the Vivaro Electric, for example, is available as the Citroën e-Dispatch, Peugeot e-Expert and Fiat Professional e-Scudo, not to mention Toyota’s Proace Electric, which shares the Stellantis platform, but the Luton-based brand has a history and presence in the domestic arena that the others cannot rival.
Vauxhall is not shy to shout about the fact that it’s been the UK’s top-selling e-LCV brand for two years running, with the Vivaro Electric leading the charge.
Of the 5,038 e-LCVs it sold in 2022, (a rise of 73% from 2021), the plug-in Vivaro accounted for 4,212, making it the UK’s most popular electric van. With Ford’s E-Transit Custom set to arrive before the end of the year the Vivaro Electric will likely be knocked off its perch but for now it is sitting pretty.
Vauxhall simplified its Vivaro and Vivaro Electric trim levels in January this year; out went Dynamic, Sportive, Elite and Edition and in came Prime, Pro and the ‘sporty’ flagship GS, which is the one focused on here.
The GS features 18in alloy wheels, a lip spoiler at the front, side skirts around the vehicle and a two-piece spoiler at the rear to improve stability when unladen, according to Vauxhall. Inside leather seats with red stitching and a GS logo add to the styling enhancements.
Safety equipment includes lane departure warning, blind spot protection, semi-adaptive cruise control, forward collision alert with automatic emergency braking, hill start assist and a good rear-view camera.
While the Prime and Pro grades come with a choice of 50kWh or 75kWh batteries, the GS gets just the larger of the two. This gives the GS a range of 189 miles on the WLTP cycle compared to 143 miles on versions with the smaller battery. The GS is short-wheelbase only, unlike the Prime and Pro, which are also offered with a longer wheelbase.
The manufacturer has dubbed the GS the UK’s first fully-electric sports van. Although this is primarily because of its styling features, the van’s performance is certainly impressive, particularly when in Power mode rather than Normal or the far more sedate, not to say sluggish, Eco setting.
When Power is engaged the GS zips away from a standing start if the throttle is floored but beware, leave it in this setting and battery juice will equally rapidly evaporate.
Normal mode offers the best mix of performance and range if you’re carrying a load but once the delivery has been made, and particularly if it’s a long way home, then the sensible choice is Eco for drivers who do not have a dependable means of charging in place.
B mode can be selected to maximise regenerative braking but could stand to be ratcheted up a notch as it is not really strong enough to enable one-pedal driving.
Charging at the fleet’s HQ or back at home for small businesses and owner drivers is the most economical and least stressful solution but otherwise electric van users have to take their chances with the public charging infrastructure.
We were lucky enough to come upon a free InstaVolt charge point in a McDonalds restaurant car park and over a coffee and a bite to eat charged the GS Electric from 60% to 90% of its capacity for £18,79.
Vauxhall claims a 100kW DC charger will deliver a 0 to 80% fill in 45 minutes, an 11kW AC charger will go from 0 to 100% in seven hours and a 7kW AC charger will do the same in 11 hours 20 minutes.
Vauxhall Vivaro Electric L1 GS
Price (ex VAT, inc. PiVG) £50,000
Price range (ex VAT, inc PIVG) £33,305–£50,000
Insurance group 41E
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 10,000mls
Load length 2,512mm
Load width (min/max) 1,258–1,636mm
Load bay height 1,397mm
Gross payload 1,000kg
Load volume 5.8m3
Engine size/power 136hp 75kW electric motor
Range (WLTP) 189miles
CO2 0g/km
