Opel presents a second Combo Life to daylight. No, we are not dealing here with the successor to the Opel Combo Life as you can buy it in the Netherlands. Perhaps that is a good thing.
Since the end of last year, the passenger version of the current Opel Combo is no longer called Combo Tour in the Netherlands, but Combo Life. That Combo is, just like its delivery brothers, a brother of the current generations of Peugeot Partner / Rifter, Citroën Berlingo and Toyota ProAce City / ProAce City Verso. Opel is now also bringing a Combo Life on the market in Russia, a car that has little to do with the model known here.
The new Opel Combo Life, intended for the Russian market, is, just like the Combo Cargo presented for that market at the beginning of this year, based on the previous generations of the Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner. That is striking. The Berlingo and Partner originate from 2008, while the previous generation Opel Combo known here was a few years younger. After all, the previous practical Opel, based on the Fiat Doblò, was born in 2011. Opel is part of Stellantis, so it can be explained that the brand bases its Russian ‘budget-Combo’ on a model from Stellantis. Opel has only been active on the Russian market since 2019. Why does the rear of this Combo, like that of the previous Berlingo and Partner, so closely resemble that of the current models? The back of the orderers’ platform is practically taken from those previous models, so that part has been transferred relatively unchanged to the current models.
The Russian Opel Combo Life will soon roll off the production line in Kaluga, Russia. Fortunately, the ‘new old Combo’ is practical. The model has a luggage capacity of 675 liters and thanks to a fully removable second row of seats, the storage space increases to 3,000 liters. In the various compartments and niches you also have 154 liters of storage space. Opel screws a 7-inch infotainment system in the dashboard of the Combo in Russia, a copy that does not look very official. The Russian Opel Combo Life will soon be available with a 115 hp and 150 Nm strong 1.6 petrol engine and with a 90 hp and 230 Nm strong 1.6 diesel. Standard equipment includes air conditioning, electrically operated front windows, rain and light sensors, seat heating, LED daytime running lights and two sliding doors. The starting price in Russia is € 14,960.
Relevant news for the Dutch market? No, but it remains interesting to see how car manufacturers in other markets supply completely different models. Piece of perspective.