Last Updated: 10/06/2009
Remember me? Vauxhall Combi gets a make over
So how do you bring those well proven vans back into the minds of cash-strapped buyers? Well an increase in specification is always a good place to start.That’s just what Vauxhall has done recently with the faithful Combo. Though undeniably getting long in the tooth, the addition of the Maxx Function and Styling packs certainly gives the compact van some much needed presence. And a week in the van was more than enough to remind us just what a good standard package Vauxhall’s high cube still is.
So what do you get when you take a Combo to the Maxx, and how much does it cost? The Maxx Function pack will set you back £630, but for that you get air conditioning, one-touch electric windows, electric heated body-coloured mirrors and sports seats with lumbar and lateral support.
The Maxx Styling pack includes body-coloured front bumper, rear quarter bumpers and door mirrors, along with 15” alloy wheels. That lot will cost you £350. Our test vehicle also came with a Winter pack, which includes heated front seat and front fog lights for £115, and that metallic silver paint at £345.
All of which does improve the van’s looks and makes it a nicer drive. But can the Combo really compete with some of its more recent competitors?
As the pictures show, this wasn’t just the base van but a Combo crew van, with a second row of seats and double sliding side doors. It also gets a full headlining, which reduces noise in the van on the motorway.
Though available with a 100hp 1.7 litre CDTi engine, our van came with the smaller 1.3CDTi motor. This Ecotec-4 engine produces 75hp and 170Nm of torque, which is enough to give it sprightly acceleration around town.
More surprising was the Combo’s ability to cruise on the motorway, providing a relaxed drive and the power to make the occasional overtake when needed. How it would have performed with five burly construction workers and their tools on board is another thing of course.
Oddly enough, Vauxhall claims better fuel consumption for the larger engined van, the 1.7 promising 54mpg to the 1.3’s 51mpg. Certainly given the choice and the budget, I’d opt for the 1.7 litre, but this drive showed that the 1.3 litre driver is not being that hard done by.
By not equipping the crew van with rear side windows you can keep the VAT classification and the rear seats fold forwards to provide almost the full load carrying area. They don’t fold completely flat, but do have a 60/40 split for varying combinations of load and people carrying.
You get a reasonable capacity too, the crew van with air conditioning has a payload of 678kg. There is plenty of room in the rear seats as well, in fact more than in the front, where the Combo’s Corsa origins do rather limit seat travel.
The crew van is well specified, with driver and passenger airbags as standard and disc brakes all round. Even the rear passengers get individual height adjustable headrests.
The insurance group is 1E and service intervals are every 20,000 miles or once a year, which along with that competitive fuel consumption contributes to cheap motoring. However, the Combo crew van has an on-the-road price of £13,790 plus the VAT. Add on those two Maxx packs and the Winter pack and you are up to £15,230, which is a lot of money for something of this size.
Of course it is doubtful that anyone is paying anywhere near list price at the moment, but you have to start the discussion somewhere.
Whether you opt for the crew van or the conventional two-seater, the Maxx packs certainly add a lot of specification for the money. But more than that, they are a good way to remind buyers of the Combo’s place in the market, and of the fact that it remains a highly competent high cube van.
