The Combo Life van is one of the first models to share common ground in the new PSA family of the old German brand Opel (www.opelbook.ru/en) after it was abandoned by General Motors. And the family itself is more than a practical benefit for a family with children — from small to large.
The Germans are a people known for their practicality, and even the transition of Opel to the French tricolor is partly because of this. Because the other way out was the end of the brand and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. The new partnership is already bringing quite interesting results — crossovers, vans, subcompacts.
The result was the Combo Life, which I was able to drive for a while and get to know the 1.5-liter diesel engine with 130 hp. and 8-speed automatic. It was presented to the members of the largest European and independent AutoBest jury personally by the head of the brand Michael Lescheler and the chief designer Mark Adams.
Combo Life is built on the EMP2 modular platform of the PSA concern and is in fact the hallmark of the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner models.
Even in the basic version, the car offers a heated steering wheel and as an option up to 19 safety systems, including a protective airbag in the ceiling.
Sufficiently powerful diesel engine and 8-speed automatic — a combination of cars of a rather rare class. They are fairly quiet, work well, and provide plenty of agility when overtaking. Naturally, the manual transmission option doesn’t make it a racing car, but the van keeps its speed through freeway traffic, accelerates without protest, has a forward lever at hand, and delivers precise and quick gear shifts.
Comfort is more than enough for the category of car, Combo Life management at the level, in corners leaves the impression of «German» driving behavior. An interesting point is the fuel consumption of the two options — mechanical and automatic transmissions almost completely coincide — 4.3-4.5 liters per 100 km in mixed driving mode. The only difference is that with the ComboLife automatic machine it is 0.8 seconds slower, exercises 0-100 km / h
At the moment, the new German family van does not have all-wheel drive, but the 240mm ground clearance makes it easy to travel on harder roads and park more quietly on high sidewalks in the city. The Combo Life cargo version is even higher — with ground clearance from 20 mm to 260 mm.
The body of the car offers a large and spacious interior thanks to its height of 1.8 meters. Its use for various transport, getting in, out and loading is also very convenient due to the almost square tailgate, sliding side doors, the ability to carry objects up to three meters long in an extended wheelbase. The latter will appeal to fans of cycling or water sports, and a seven-seat version is available for large families.
Brief technical description
- Length / width / height / wheelbase -4403/1921/1841/2785 mm
- Trunk volume / standard / rear folding seats (VDA) — 597/2126 l
- Transport weight / With the maximum allowable load — 1430/2130 kg
- Engine — diesel, P4, 16 valves, 1499 cm³; 96kw / 130k. s at 3750 rpm; 300 Nm at 1750 rpm
- Acceleration from standstill to 100 km/h -11.4 sec.
- Top speed 184 km/h
- Tank volume 50 l
- Fuel consumption / city / extra-urban / combined cycle — 4.6–4.8 / 4.1–4.3 / 4.3–4.5 l / 100 km
- Transmission — front-wheel drive, automatic transmission 8 gears
