Vauxhall Combo Review 2024

Always popular and good to drive, the latest Vauxhall Combo is the company’s best small van yet – but does it have enough to take it to the top of the class? Read our comprehensive Vauxhall Combo review to see if it has got what it takes.

The smallest van in Vauxhall’s model range is now in its sixth generation and shares much of its architecture with the other small vans in the Stellantis stable – notably the Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Partner, and Fiat Doblo. That, though, is no bad thing because collectively they’re the best small vans on the market.

The latest model is based on the version introduced in 2018, but it was heavily revised in the spring of 2024 to gain Vauxhall’s distinctive “Vizor” front-end styling.

The revisions also brought in a raft of new technology and safety equipment, including a new ‘Smartphone Station’ for media integration, digital instrumentation, a new 10-inch HD infotainment display, ‘Flank Guard’ blind spot warnings, Vauxhall’s unique “Intellilux” dynamic headlights and optional Dynamic Surround Vision, which uses a screen in the place of a rear-view mirror to transmit the view from the rear of the van via a camera system to the driver’s eyeline.

There are two diesel engines on offer as well as an electric model in the form of the Vauxhall Combo Electric, reviewed separately. As it stands, the diesel models will make up the bulk of UK sales in the lifecycle of the current Vauxhall Combo, before Vauxhall evolves into an electric-only brand in 2030.

There are two body lengths on offer for the UK market – M and XL, the latter of which is offered as a crew cab variant with flat-folding seats and a fold-up bulkhead to maximise loading capability when they’re not in use.

Two trim levels are offered. The entry-level Prime specification includes a smartphone station as standard, featuring DAB radio, Bluetooth and a smartphone interface with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as Vauxhall Connect data services. Prime models also get a suite of safety systems, including advanced emergency braking, driver attention alert, intelligent speed assistance and lane keep assist. For added convenience, drivers benefit from rear parking sensors, automatic lighting control with high beam assist and cruise control.

Pro trim adds Vauxhall’s Multimedia Pro Navi infotainment system, which includes a 10-inch touchscreen with satellite navigation and natural voice recognition. The instrument cluster is also upgraded to a 10-inch digital display, while visibility is enhanced by the Dynamic Surround View system. This comprises two cameras, one located above the rear doors and another under the passenger-side exterior mirror. The images – of the rear while driving and (when activated by the indicator stalk) of the side blind-spot – are displayed in the digital rear-view mirror.

Another first for the Vauxhall Combo is the addition of adaptive, glare-free ‘Intellilux’ Matrix LED headlights on Pro variants, becoming the first model in its segment to have this technology. Its matrix headlamps, comprised of 14 LED elements, automatically cut out oncoming road users from their beam, ensuring drivers have a clear view ahead without dazzling others.

The Pro also adds 16-inch wheel trims, body-colour bumpers and door handles and black, power-folding door mirrors. Meanwhile, the FlexCargo Pack provides greater practicality with a load-through bulkhead, dual front passenger seat, a fold-flat centre seat backrest with table and two-way foldable outer seat.

All Vauxhall Combos have a three-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

The Vauxhall Combo is offered in two lengths for the UK market. In ‘M’ format it’s 4.4 metres long, with 3.3 metres of usable load bay and the option of a load-through bulkhead. It’ll swallow a Euro pallet easily, but only comes with a single side loading door.

Twin doors are offered on the 4.75-metre-long XL, as well as a crew cab option which will still swallow a pallet and has a clever fold-out bulkhead and retractable rear seat, meaning you can take advantage of the full load bay length when it’s not being used.

Whichever model you go for, you’ll get a flat load bay and narrow wheelarch intrusions, making them extremely practical and spacious for vans of their size, while there’s also the option of a half-width bulkhead and folding passenger seat to extend the left-hand side of the load bay.  

Thew Vauxhall Combo has a maximum payload of one tonne – an impressive claim for a van with such a small footprint.

The cabin is extremely smart, comfortable and well laid-out ergonomically, with neat digital instruments and a flat-bottomed steering wheel that allows better access to and exit from the driver’s seat.

Most of the major controls are operated either via the 10-inch touchscreen or (in the case of the heater and ventilation controls) through fiddly buttons mounted beneath it. But that’s as critical as we can be of what’s a genuinely brilliant small van.

One thing that wasn’t heavily revised with the 2024 model update was the Vauxhall Combo’s driving behaviour – but that’s because it was already one of the very best small vans on the market to drive.

It feels extremely car-like, with a compliant ride, predictable handling and sharp steering, both laden and unladen.

There are two engines on offer - both derivatives of Stellantis Group’s 1.5-litre diesel, which if offered in power outputs of 100 and 136PS.

The less powerful of the two is the volume seller and it punches above its weight, coping easily with the one-tonne payload and coupled to a well-spaced and slick-shifting six-speed manual gearbox, our only real criticism being that the rectangular shift lever is unnecessarily bulky to hold.

The 136PS derivative is offered only with the company’s eight-speed automatic gearbox, and that’s a real shame in two respects. First, that the engine is so lively it would be a lot of fun attached to a manual transmission, and also that the auto is extremely good and would probably suit the lower-powered engine just as well. Despite this the perky 136PS auto is our pick of the range, in its element both within and beyond the city limits – though it is notably more expensive than the 100PS manual models.

Visibility is good, helped by Vauxhall’s new Dynamic Surround View system which projects a view of the rear of the van to a digital rear-view mirror. It’s helpful for changing lanes and driving in traffic, but unlike a traditional mirror the camera system makes it quite hard to judge the distance of following vehicles, and reverse parking manoeuvres are best conducted using the mirrors and parking sensors to accurately judge distance.