Opel Vivaro-e Electric 75 kWh (A) Review

Opel is no stranger to small commercial vehicles: Its Blitz light and middle-weight truck has been at the core of the firm's success ever since its first debut in 1930.

It was also the first model which the firm revived after the devastation of the Second World War, and eventually became the product that would set Opel on the path to reestablish itself from its new plant in Russelsheim.

In fact, that lightning bolt badge that now fronts every Opel even has its origins from the Blitz model itself.

But now, that lightning bolt logo has come to take on a new meaning at the front of this: The Vivaro-e, the firm's first all-electric commercial vehicle.

So, is it lightning fast?

Not exactly, but it is still mighty fast for a commercial vehicle. Opel quotes a zero to 100km/h sprint time of just 11.9 seconds, just a tenth of a second faster than the Maxus e-Delivery 3 we tested a while back.

Acceleration in the Opel is also smooth and quiet. However, some of that light-footedness we see in other electric vehicles has been lost here thanks to its meaty steering and an accelerator pedal that is both long and heavy in travel.

Once you're on the move the ride in the Opel Vivaro-e is also mighty decent. It's fidgety over poor roads, picking up a fair amount of road imperfections and transmitting them into the cabin as any other unladen van does, but surprisingly pliant over larger bumps.

And will it do well as a work van?

It will. If it's long drives and long hours on the road you'll be doing, the Vivaro-e will impress. All models sold in Singapore will be equipped with the larger of the two battery sizes available in other markets, which offers a total 75kWh of capacity.

And with a tested energy consumption rate of 5.07km/kWh (completely unladen mind), it should be rather easy to reach Opel's stated range of 330km for the Vivaro-e as well, even without any careful driving.

And you'll be able to bring plenty of goods along with you for that long drive as well, thanks to the Vivaro-e's 5,300-litre cargo area (without the optional Flexcargo folding passenger seat), which trumps the Maxus e Deliver 3's 4,800 litres, or the 3,800 litres of cargo space offered by the BYD T3. But that should be expected, given that the Opel Vivaro-e is a larger vehicle compared to the other two.

You also can opt to get your Opel Vivaro-e with automatic sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle for easy loading and unloading, and the rear doors here have hinges that stop the doors at the 90 degree position before swinging out by 180 degrees once the door locks are undone.

And what about the cabin?

Here's where things stray into unexpected territory, for the Opel Vivaro-e has a cabin that is actually fairly nice to be in.

Sure, there is an abundance of hard plastics here, as to be expected of any hardworking commercial vehicle, but its still well-equipped.

You get a 7.0-inch infotainment unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, comfortable seats to rest your bum on, as well as a rotary dial that allows you to choose your ideal air-conditioning temperature to the Celsius (as opposed to one of those dials that simply transition from a blue marking to a red one).

And its mighty practical in here too, with downright massive cubby holes in the door pockets, a closing glovebox, as well as an additional hidden storage compartment under the central seat.

Should I get one?

At $109,500, the Opel Vivaro-e is asking for $11,200 more than the significantly smaller BYD T3, but will still cost $2,488 less than the Maxus e-Deliver 3, its closest all-electric rival (all prices as of 1 October 2021).

However, given that the Opel Vivaro-e comes with such a well-appointed cabin and a far larger battery, as well as a larger cargo area and payload capacity than its next two rivals, I think it is rather clear that the spirit of the Blitz still lives strong at Opel.

Who says lightning doesn't strike twice?