Opel Combo-e Life XL - 7-Seater EV For Your Family? (ENG) - Test Drive and Review

[@lhb82]

Whats up with some of the scene transitions effects? Hope they don't become standard.

[@slava_trushkin]

Dear Opel, why do you keep ruining seats in your cars? I've had Zafira B, which was super comfortable, then bought Zafira C, where seats are terrible (even driver's AGR seat that supposed to be super comfy is so small and uncomfortable, like they took it from Corsa). Then even after merge with PSA, situation didn't get any better. Zafira B was the last comfortable car Opel made. Great review. Thanks Marek!

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Thanks for sharing!

[@lukaszlewczuk]

I must confirm it. I am using Zafira C now (2018) with AGR and in comparison to standard seat from Ford S-Max 2008 which I had previously it is still lower level.

[@feridunozmen]

Great pleasure to see the new tweaks, new camera angles and effects on the videos! Another excellent to-the-point review! Thanks Marek!

[@MarekDrivesENG]

My pleasure!

[@kevinn1158]

This thing brings me down. It says, don't have children, see what might happen to you? LOL. MY kids keep saying, get a 3 row SUV daddy! I think to myself, you 2 were sent here by the devil weren't you!!?? NEVER 3 row box of hell!! NEVER!! Thanks for making my Friday a little bit brighter Marek.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Kids these days ;)

[@janhendrikschuette5225]

The range is just not good enough for this price. I dont think the Combo will do well. There is definitly a market for electric family cars but they have to offer at least 350-400 km range. The ID Buzz may be the first to do so. But for twice the price...

[@BillyNoMates1974]

Now I know why Dacia will sell a shed load of Jogger's

[@janhendrikschuette5225]

Yes! I would go for the Jogger instead of this Combo. The Combo is too expensive for the quality and bad range it has. The Jogger with lpg is still very inexpensive.

[@stoilstoychev9283]

And we all eagerly expect Marek's mild-sarcasstic, possibly amusing review of the Dacia Jogger :)

[@alecbutcher4508]

Good work Marek. Your videos are full of facts and your opinions are very well justified plus your English is like a native (I’m an English teacher!). About this car, we considered it and an EQB 7 seater costs only 10K more with a range of 350Km. And it’s a Merc….

[@MarekDrivesENG]

The GLB/EBQ 3rd row is for kids/occasional adult use, but I see the badge appeal.

[@lookoutleo]

I've had electric car for 4 years and was thinking of one these as camper car, do they all have 50kwh battery ? I've not seen the XL , maybe not available in uk? Thanks for your review

[@bartoszrudnicki4119]

I preferred the Zafira , I can't belive that they have finished production of it , it was such a good car

[@lukaszlewczuk]

What makes the car a "family car" ? Is it just 7 seats? Is it long range? Or maybe a combination of both? In Poland only combination of both factors. This car could be a real family car if only it had a long range. Being an EV it is just a city car with 7 seats unable to take family for a journej from ....Zakopane to Mazuria land for instance. With the reasonable hybrid-diesel motor (Mercedes ingeneers know how to make it) this car could be a good offer ;-) Thanks Marek and Ania (I know Aniu you are somewhere behind the camera) - thumb up!

[@Ambienfinity]

Great review. I agree with others, while it's a useful size, the range will limit its appeal.

[@laupakhin]

I'm in Australia and the EV charging network here is non-existent, so even if this was available to me it would be a no given the short range. Recently took my family on holiday and on some days we covered 500-600km, which this would struggle with. Also not sure why anyone would choose the Opel over its siblings. Guessing there's some sort of price advantage?

[@matthiashejlskov5008]

I've got a peugeot e-expert, basically the bigger brother of this. But cargo van rather than people carrier. I got 22kwh/100km average when it was warmer without even trying. Now that the weather is colder it's gone up, and winter tires didn't help either. But i can still easily do over 250km with a full battery if i take it easy. (~180-200km between charging stops on long trips) I do have a bigger battery though, but my van is also bigger and heavier so should have higher consumption than this. It should easily be able to do over 200km even in winter. Just don't drive it like you stole it. 😉

[@user-bz9cb8bp2y]

EV, love the tech, but price is a problem

[@MotorTorq_ZA]

The design has aged horribly it looks 10 years old

[@Mech0z]

I cant seem to see Adaptive cruise control as an option on this car? Seems like a something that should be possible on higher trims :/

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Not necessarily. This is a pretty basic car, as it is. Also with chip shortage some options may be unavailable. If you want better tech, I'd look at the Citan/T-Class (and whatever their ev versions are called - EQT?).

[@Mech0z]

@@MarekDrivesENG Thank you, but no EQT is > 2x the price, but will see if the upcoming ID 7 is practical enough and priced around ID 4 instead of all these impractical SUV/Crossover EVs to replace my Octavia

[@andreasmalmqvist3087]

Great video marek! I know, Im not an Opel man, but why the all the negativity. Its about the only ev that can transport 3 kids, the luggage and a large stroller for a one week holiday. It can cope 200km in the spring, summer and autumn. To travel 300km(about the longest we travel on holiday), it only require one 15 minute chargestop at a 100kw charging station. The rest are trips shorter then 120km per day. Does anybody have any equal alternative for family with three children in child seats that can load cargo aswell? Most ev's that are affordable cant handle 3 kids in child seats and cargo(Most are under 500 liters). I will gladely take any suggestions. I currently have an peugeot 5008 2019 (3 seats back and 720 liters in the back) and its been great, but we are saying goodbuy to petrol and diesel, just to expensive. These, well boring, cars(berlingo, combo life, rifter) are the only pratical left and thats not to expensive.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

It's a plastic box on wheels that can barely do 200 km on a single charge. And it costs more than a 7-seater ICE car, so I can see a few down sides. Also if you don't live anywhere near an electric socket (not to mention a DC charger) this becomes a hassle. So not for everyone.

[@andreasmalmqvist3087]

@@MarekDrivesENG @Marek Drives in English But if you have less then 70km to work(which like 90% of people have) and a 11kw home charger, its not a problem. And with petrol prices reaching 2.35 euros per liter, one saves a heck of a lot money. Where I live, most people dont buy evs, they lease them. And compared with, lets say a peugeot 5008 petrol, its cheaper to lease and have and cost me 120 euros less per month because of petrol prices. For me who never had fancy cars(well a 5008), its a bit of a low point, but when the economy is crashing one had to take the money into account. Its cheaper to lease new then any other if you have 3 kids and travel with alot baggage. Sure the Mg Cars are even cheaper but cant handle 3 kids + stuff. Marek, any other takers besides just shooting it down because its not a tesla? In its own segment and target audience its a winner. Mostly because people only travel maximum 120km per day with car. And it can handle that, even in the winter. But of course, if you go on ski holidays with the car, its not ideal in any way.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

@Andreas Malmqvist I'm having different versions of the same discussion, depending on what I say about a car. I was recently accused by a self-proclaimed English socialist of poor shaming people, who can barely afford a Dacia Jogger. This time I'm playing the devil's advocate, and saying that outside of Norway relatively few people have convenient access even to 230V plugs outside their home (i.e. no charging while street parking, unless you run a power chord out of an apartment window), so telling them a short-range EV is a way for them to save money is like telling a beggar on the street that they've "got to spend money to make money" ;) I live in Poland, I own house with a driveway, so I can make an EV with a wallbox work for short-to-mid distance. However in my profession I need a car for mid-to-long distance, which in Poland is still a hassle, as DC chargers are spread thinly, you can never be sure if they will work, etc. And for the kind of money you have to pay for this Combo e you are getting dangerously close to a diesel Multivan. Again, it will all depend on the region, as buying an ICE car may be more expensive in some places, there may be EV incentives, etc. However most of Europe only talks about banning ICEs, but does very little to make it a viable option.

[@andreasmalmqvist3087]

​@@MarekDrivesENG Thanks for the great response! We all live in different countries so reviews arent applicable everywhere. You are right it depens on what kind of charging solution you have at home and how your country/area has with public chargers. In Sweden, where i live, you can find a 100kw chargingstation every 100km, and 22kw and 50kw even more common in between. Tesla superchargers are now also available for everyone so the amount of quickchargers has increased. But we will only use public chargers only for holidays and longer trips(150+km), which are maximum of 5-6 times a year. The rest of the year, an 11kw charger will do the main charging at night with hour based electricity bill. So pretty cheap charging. In sweden, new petrol and dieselcars(almost no diesel is sold anymore) have high taxes each year, 600+1200 euros per year, for a 2021+ model, getting higher every year. EV's are 35 euros a year. So you are right, if you cant charge at home at all or only a 230V charger, EV's arent right for you at all. Im my opinion, then a nice fuel effecient diesel will win every time. Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my comments, absolutely didnt expect you to do. As a follow up, do you have any suggestions for a family with 3 kids to go for? If we exclude the berlingo and take EV off the table? Thanks again for your great videos! Keep up the good work!

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Thanks! In your case infrastructure doesn't seem to be a problem. In Poland we're lucky to get a working 50 kW DC charger every 200 km :) As for a car for three children, I know these are increasingly hard to come by, because of the three individual rear seats (or rather lack of them). I suppose you're left with something like the Touran/Sharan or a relatively new second hand C4 Picasso. Maybe a Ford C-Max, also second hand these days. Mazda5 used to be a great car, but that's way too old now to recommend second hand.

[@LondonerUK64]

You are the best

[@AliHijazi]

the range is short 150 Km? price is expensive

[@renaultopelbmw]

i get 140km in summer on a 2014 ZOE with 85% SOH battery. How is this even an option 150km on a 7 seater ?

[@MarekDrivesENG]

50 kWh + boxy shape + weight + cold weather.

[@nichpiantsil]

Interested

[@extreme8808]

Marek, what library do you use for your music? This particular music sounded very . . socialist 😅😅 I literally need this for a funny-themed TikTok video, depicting and mocking the olden days in Bulgaria. As for the car, I have a silly question - what would happen if your passengers and luggage weigh more than 550 kg? Hopefully it won't act like an overweight elevator 😂

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Artlist. It's called Hippopotenuse by Jake Bradford-Sharp.

[@extreme8808]

@@MarekDrivesENG Thank you so much!!! ❤️

[@alliejr]

It’s funny that Opel still has an American Buick “face” (front end design) even though they’ve been divorced from Buick for many years now. 🤔

[@shroomyesc]

Well, arguably Buick had an Opel face. They all shared the same design language, Vauxhall, Holden, Opel and Buick. But yeah this model just hasn't been facelifted yet into the new Opel design.

[@goncalo33]

It's the other way around.

[@numbereightyseven]

I love your channel and watch probably every vid. But that scene transition thing, it hurts the eyes and I can't actually watch. I skipped most of this vid. ☹️

[@michaelflinn7784]

Who needs 7 seats?

[@MarekDrivesENG]

I don't know. Families apparently.

[@MrAndrei4777]

What a useless car actually...

[@Commentator541]

This life style is my idea of hell. Having a bunch of kids that will not shut up in the back and a nagging wife up front, driving a car to go to the seaside because that is what you can afford when you have 5 kids. And it looks like you are set out to deliver furniture.

[@Commentator541]

And I just realized you can’t even do that due to the range.

[@MarekDrivesENG]

Think of it as a crew van. Then it's just a bunch of smelly men. Possibly drunk half the time.

[@tomapopescu2425]

Useless car. This is why european cars don't make IT în China and elsewhere. We are too tradițional în thinking. Europeans come up with this while the chineese make electric cars like the dacia spring that do the work done and and compleetly rewrite the car industry.