New Vauxhall Combo Life Electric gets a fresh look, courtesy of the Vauxhall Corsa

How do you make a dowdy electric people carrier more appealing? This was the question Vauxhall faced with its Combo Life Electric seven-seater. However, the British brand thinks it might have the answer thanks to a recent facelift, which brings a striking new look and updated tech from the best-selling Vauxhall Corsa.

Due on sale in spring 2024, the facelifted Vauxhall Combo Life Electric now gets the brand’s trademark ‘Vizor’ front end design. This comprises a black mask-like trim piece which connects a set of adaptive LED ‘Intellilux’ headlights. At the rear, the new Combo Life now gets a tweaked set of taillights, ‘COMBO’ script across the bootlid and a small spoiler that we predict offers about as much downforce as sellotaping a floor board to the roof.

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Those wanting after the latest tech won’t be left disappointed as the updated Vauxhall Combo Life Electric also gets a fully-digital instrument cluster and a new 10-inch touchscreen. While this isn’t mounted in the same ‘Pure Panel’ arrangement as in the Vauxhall Astra Electric, the Combo’s touchscreen utilises a Snapdragon processor – just like in the latest smartphones – so should be pretty responsive to your inputs. Furthermore, if you’re not a fan of Vauxhall’s software, a wireless smartphone charger and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on all models.

As alluded to above, the Vauxhall Combo Life Electric is available with up to seven seats, with two body lengths available. For maximum passenger comfort, buyers can also specify three individual seats in the second row. Top-spec cars get a large panoramic sunroof, which should help flood the cabin with light, plus buyers can spec their Combo Life Electric with up to 18 safety systems, including a new 180-degree reversing camera.

The boffins at Vauxhall have made some tweaks to the Combo Life Electric’s 50kWh battery pack which now means its capable of up to 205 miles on a single charge – a 31-mile increase and more than the Combo’s Citroen e-Berlingo and Peugeot E-Rifter siblings. As before, the Combo Life’s maximum rapid charging speed is 100kW, meaning a 10-80% top-up is possible in around half an hour.

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Also still the same is the Vauxhall’s 134bhp front-mounted electric motor; the British brand has decided not to include the more powerful 154bhp motor seen in facelifted versions of the Vauxhall Mokka Electric, meaning 0-62mph should still take roughly 12 seconds.

Exact UK pricing and specs for the new Vauxhall Combo Life Electric are yet to be confirmed, however, Vauxhall has said two specifications will be available in the UK. Of course, as is seemingly always the case nowadays, you can expect the facelifted car to demand a small price increase over the old model.