Ranked #206 car in the UK · MPV · 890 units sold last year
The Vauxhall Combo Life is the passenger MPV version of the Combo van - a boxy, space-led family carrier twinned with the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Rifter. Petrol, diesel and electric, in standard and long (seven-seat) bodies, with sliding rear doors and a vast, flexible cabin. It's pure practicality-and-value motoring: roomy, easy to access and cheap to run, the sensible choice for families who prioritise space over badge or style.
How these figures are sourced — the valuation is anchored to a researched used-market price for this model (AutoTrader median, 2023 at 30k miles). Reliability, mileage and variant data are real DVSA MOT records. Dimensions, tyre sizes and costs, servicing figures and the insurance group are segment-level estimates rather than sourced per car, and are being replaced model by model.
combined
The short version
Forecourt score
Value 53 · Reliability 8 · catalogue percentiles
The Vauxhall Combo Life holds its value about averagely and is cheaper to run than most. Its MOT-based reliability is below average — an MOT score of 55/100, ahead of 40% of the cars we track. On three-year value retention it ranks better than 53% of models.
The Forecourt score blends how this car ranks against the catalogue on value retention, reliability and insurance cost (weighted 40/40/20) — the from-new ownership picture. Higher is better; running cost is not yet folded in.
Estimates are tuned to the version you choose.
Fuel
Petrol · 1199cc
Power
110 ps
Drivetrain
FWD
Cam drive
Wet belt
Quoted MPG
45 mpg
The volume Combo Life. 1.2L PureTech (same as Berlingo/Rifter), 110 PS, manual. Design trim adds 16-inch wheels, climate, twin sliding rear doors. The Vauxhall-badged MPV.
Tidy and well looked-after for its age — the typical car.
Remembered as you browse other cars.
Optional — fills in the exact year and ULEZ status for your specific car. The registration isn’t stored.
Estimated market value
How we got this number — click for the breakdown, or to challenge it.£14,850
Range £12,500 – £17,400
medium confidence
Past the steep drop — most of the depreciation is behind it.
At 23,835 miles it’s about the ~23,698 typical for a 3-year-old.
Seen one for sale?
A data-led guide from the depreciation curve, UK parc trend and reliability — not financial advice.
How a 2023-registration Vauxhall Combo Life loses value over time.
Based on the 2023 car with 23,835 miles you entered above — worth about £14,850 today — here is the cost of owning it for the next 5 years, at roughly 7,945 miles a year.
5-year total
£14,335
Per year
£2,867
All-in per mile
£0.36
Fuel per mile
14.8p
If a company carAround £354/mo Benefit-in-Kind tax at the 40% rate (£177/mo at 20%) — 36% band
If you're a company-car driver
At 36% BIK, a 40% taxpayer would pay about £354/month in company-car tax (£177/month at 20%) — on top of the running costs above. Full BIK table below for context.
Best age to buy — around 2 years
A 2-year-old example loses roughly £1,650 a year — 80% less than the £8,150 a one-year-old sheds. The steepest drop is behind it.
Uses current UK pump and home-charging prices (DESNZ weekly), typical-driver insurance and manufacturer service intervals. "Fuel per mile" is just the energy input — so an EV at ~9p and a diesel at ~22p make running-cost comparison direct. A guide; your own costs will vary.
Where this car ranks against the 340 vehicles in our index — higher is better.
Percentile rank across our full index. A measure is shown only where the data spreads meaningfully across the index.
How the available versions compare on price, running cost, and the headaches each tends to develop.
Vauxhall's badge on a Citroen Berlingo. Identical mechanically. Pick on local dealer convenience or trim preference. Volume practical family transport with sliding doors. Vauxhall network broader than Citroen in some areas.
Watch for
Fuel/energy costs based on this week’s UK averages (w/c 03/08/2026) · Petrol 159.9p/L, Diesel 179.2p/L, Electricity 27.0p/kWh · DESNZ
Group 18 of 50 (mid — around the UK average) · Comprehensive · 3 years NCB
Indicative annual comprehensive premiums for this car, by driver age band and risk profile. Pick the combination closest to your circumstances.
Estimated annual premium · typical, age 33-39
£653/ year
Roughly £54 per month
Typical
Average UK driver — 3 years NCB, average postcode, no recent claims.| Age band | Lower risk | Typical | Higher risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 17-25 | £1,488 | £1,860 | £2,418 |
| Age 26-32 | £776 | £913 | £1,114 |
| Age 33-39Selected | £574 | £653 | £770 |
| Age 40-49 | £487 | £542 | £628 |
| Age 50+ | £435 | £483 | £570 |
How we estimate this
Indicative annual comprehensive premium estimates. The 'Typical' figure represents an average UK driver in each age band; Lower and Higher risk show the realistic spread driven by factors UK insurers legitimately price on (postcode, occupation, claims history, NCB, voluntary excess, modifications). Based on 10,000 miles/yr, £250 voluntary excess, and the no-claims bonus selected above. Always get individual quotes before buying.
Adjust the annual mileage to match how you'll actually use the car. Insurance is what you selected above (age 33-39, typical risk, 3 yrs NCB).
Routine service
£185
Annual main-dealer service
Major service
£210
Every 2 years, annualised
Road tax
£200
Standard rate, post year-one
Fuel
£670
45 mpg, £1.60/L
Insurance
£653
Age 33-39, group 18
Clean-air zones
✓ ULEZ compliantBased on London ULEZ standards — Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow and other UK clean-air zones generally follow the same rules.
Excludes depreciation and unscheduled repairs (see next section).
What out-of-warranty repairs typically run, by mileage band. Your selected mileage is highlighted.
0-30k miles
£80
per year · low risk
30-60k miles
£240
per year · low risk
60-100k miles
£520
per year · medium risk
100k+ miles
£900
per year · high risk
205/60 R16 · 215/55 R17
What a full set of four will cost you (including fit and balance), and which brand each tier of buyer should pick. A typical set lasts about 24,000 miles.
Budget
£300
set of 4, fitted · £60 per tyre
Mid-range
£440
set of 4, fitted · £95 per tyre
Premium
£620
set of 4, fitted · £140 per tyre
Factory options ranked by how much of their original cost they recover at resale. Anything above 70% return tends to make money back; below 40% is paying for your own enjoyment.
| Option | New cost | Added used value | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
Tow bar (factory-fit) Niche, but the buyers who want one will pay for it. | £650 | £450 | 69% |
Parking sensors & reversing camera Near-expected now — its absence costs more than its presence returns. | £500 | £300 | 60% |
Heated seats / cold-weather pack | £450 | £200 | 44% |
Metallic or premium paint Almost universal — an unusual colour is the bigger resale risk. | £600 | £200 | 33% |
Panoramic / opening roof | £1,100 | £350 | 32% |
Larger alloy wheels | £700 | £200 | 29% |
Drawn from owner reports and warranty data. Filtered for relevance to 23,835 miles.
Watch now
Failure typically happens around your current mileage.
Upcoming
A known weak point — but you haven't reached its usual mileage yet.
Already due
Past its usual failure mileage. Either already fixed, or about to.
Recorded in 9.0% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 23,705 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 9.0% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 23,705 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 3.9% of MOT tests 30k-60k miles — from 23,705 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 3.6% of MOT tests 60k-100k miles — from 23,705 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 3.6% of MOT tests 60k-100k miles — from 23,705 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 3.5% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 23,705 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
"Parts low/medium/high" indicates how easy the replacement part is to source — discontinued or specialist parts mean longer workshop time and bigger bills.
How this model fares at its MOT as it ages — from 25,662 real DVSA test records.
MOT pass rate by age
A 3-year-old Combo Life passes its MOT 82.9% of the time; by 7 years that has slipped to 79.5%. The y-axis is zoomed to this model’s range so the trend is readable.
Longevity
Not enough older examples yet to gauge longevity.
Survival by registration year
Each point is one registration cohort. Older cars on the left, newer on the right. A flatter line means the model holds up over time; a steep drop means cohorts disappear from UK roads faster.
What’s on the road
The fuel-type split of every Combo Life with MOT history in the DVSA record. From 10,946 vehicles tested at least once - not the number on the road today, which is lower.
What fails at the first MOT
The defect categories a Combo Life registered 2020–2023 fails on at its first MOT, from 7,184 first tests. Every car here is the same age and the same generation, so these are the faults that show up first - not the wear a high-mileage older example collects.
Share of first MOT tests recording at least one defect in that category. DVSA test-item categories, not parts: “Driver’s view” covers mirrors, wipers and glass.
Typical mileage by age
The average odometer reading for a Combo Life at MOT, by age — measured from the same DVSA records, not assumed. A useful yardstick for whether a given car has done more or fewer miles than its age suggests.
Mean recorded mileage at MOT by vehicle age, from DVSA test records. Ages below three are not shown: the first MOT is due at three years, so the few cars tested earlier are a self-selected minority rather than a representative sample. Ages with at least 10 tests shown.
Below average
First-MOT pass rate and defect rate for cars registered 2020 onward (7,184 first tests), with cohort survival — high confidence.
MOT outlook · age 5 years
40th percentile — Below catalogue average
Based on 4,067 MOT tests · ranked against 248 catalogue models with comparable data
Where this car sits in the catalogue
Pass-rate distribution across 248 catalogue models
Safety recalls
Manufacturers occasionally issue safety recalls to fix a fault free of charge. You can check whether the Vauxhall Combo Life, or your exact vehicle, has any outstanding recalls on the official DVSA service.
Check on GOV.UKOpens the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency recall checker. Choose the make, model and year of manufacture — no registration needed.
A general indicator from UK 2025 theft data and this car’s characteristics — not a prediction for any one vehicle.
Whole-car theft
Around average
Theft risk is around the UK average. Like most modern cars it has keyless entry, so relay theft is the method to guard against.
Parts theft
Around average
Parts-theft risk is around average — catalytic-converter theft is the main thing to be aware of on any petrol or diesel car.
Worth doing
Whether driving a Vauxhall Combo Life into a UK clean-air zone will cost you anything. Rules use the same Euro standard across most zones — petrol from 2006 and diesel from 2015 onwards are exempt; pure electric is always exempt.
| City | Area | Daily charge | Likely outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | All of Greater London (within the M25) | £12.50 | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Birmingham | Inside the A4540 Middleway | £8.00 | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Bristol | City centre and part of the Portway | £9.00 | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Glasgow | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Edinburgh | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Aberdeen | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Dundee | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
Model-level guidance only. To check a specific registration, use the official gov.uk clean-air zone checker. Zone charges and boundaries are set by local councils and change over time.
What HMRC's Benefit-in-Kind charge looks like if you ran this Vauxhall Combo Life as a company car, by tax year and income-tax band. Calculated from a CO₂ of 152 g/km, using £29,500 as the P11D value.
| Tax year | BIK % | Tax @ 20% | Tax @ 40% | Monthly @ 20% | Monthly @ 40% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 35% | £2,065 | £4,130 | £172 | £344 |
| 2026-27 | 36% | £2,124 | £4,248 | £177 | £354 |
| 2027-28 | 37% | £2,183 | £4,366 | £182 | £364 |
| 2028-29 | 37% | £2,183 | £4,366 | £182 | £364 |
| 2029-30 | 37% | £2,183 | £4,366 | £182 | £364 |
P11D value is approximated from the latest new price; the exact figure on your tax code will depend on options fitted. The 4% diesel surcharge applies only to non-RDE2 (pre-2021) diesels — we assume RDE2 compliance for current models. Bands and rates from HMRC's Autumn Budget 2024 confirmation through 2029/30.
How well-supported Vauxhall is across the UK — a practical read on how easy servicing, parts and warranty work will be to find.
Franchised UK dealers
~195
Large network
Mass-market
Network size relative to the UK's largest (Vauxhall is 4.3% of all franchised outlets)
Servicing, parts and warranty work are easy to find UK-wide, and most independent garages know the brand well — which keeps maintenance competitive.
For context, the UK has roughly 4,500 franchised car-dealer outlets in total, plus about 15,500 independent garages.
Approximate figures, curated from public UK industry sources (NFDA, Car Dealer Magazine). Franchised networks shrink year on year — these indicate network size, not an exact count.
Length
4,600 mm
Width
1,850 mm
Height
1,700 mm
Kerb weight
1,650 kg
Boot
775–2,000 L
Fuel tank
48 L
Same underpinnings
Mid-size modular platform from PSA used across compact SUVs and mid-size cars. Supports PHEV variants. Different badges, often substantially different residuals, but broadly the same mechanicals and repair cost profile.
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Common questions
Answers are generated from this car's Forecourt data — DVSA MOT records, DfT licensing statistics and our valuation model — and update with the weekly data refresh.