Vauxhall Combo: the Corsa-based van and the Astramax before it

The Vauxhall Combo is the British name for Opel’s small panel van, on sale since 1993 and based on the Corsa. Before it, Vauxhall sold the high-roof Astramax, a van derived from the Kadett E and badged first as a Bedford and later as a Vauxhall.

Vauxhall Combo at a glance

Written from the English and German Wikipedia articles on the Opel Combo; the Vauxhall versions are the same vans with different badges.

History of the Vauxhall Combo

The Combo name was first used as a suffix on a three-door panel van version of the Opel Kadett E from 1986 to 1993. That Kadett Combo was introduced in January 1986 and built in Britain at Ellesmere Port by Vauxhall until January 1989, when a facelift brought a new grille separate from the bumper and production moved to Azambuja in Portugal. In the United Kingdom the three-door estate-based van was sold as both the Bedford and Vauxhall Astravan, while the high-roof version was the Bedford Astramax, later sold as a Vauxhall; the change from Bedford to Vauxhall badging took place on 1 June 1990. The Astramax came in base and better-equipped L versions, each offered in 365 or 560 form, the numbers standing for payload in kilograms.

The first true Combo, the Combo B, was launched in October 1993 and was based heavily on the Opel Corsa B that had appeared six months earlier. The front section up to the B-pillar was practically identical to the Corsa apart from a roof spoiler, but the platform, wheelbase and body were extended to take a tall, boxy cargo compartment able to carry a Euro-pallet. It had symmetrical twin rear doors opening to the sides rather than a single tailgate. In the summer of 1995 Opel added a five-passenger Combo Tour with side windows in the cargo area and a split-folding rear bench. The Combo B was also built in small numbers in China as the Shanghai Auto Saibao and sold in Australia as the Holden Combo, and it was offered in Britain as the Vauxhall Combo with 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrol engines and a 1.7-litre diesel.

The second-generation Combo, the Combo C, was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2001 and went on sale in January 2002, again based on the Corsa. The front clip was shared with the Corsa back to the A-pillar, but the van gained sliding rear side doors, with a single passenger-side door or double doors, and retained the twin rear doors on commercial versions. A Combo Tour followed, and then a Combo Tour Tramp, sold in some markets as the Arizona, with enhanced suspension, increased ground clearance, chassis protection and styling details meant to give it an off-road look. The Combo Tour was not offered by Vauxhall in Britain.

Design and features

• Corsa base: the Combo has always been a Corsa with a box on the back.
• Euro-pallet load bay: the Combo B was designed around it.
• Astramax ancestor: the high-roof Kadett van, sold with 365 kg or 560 kg payloads.
• Sliding doors: added with the Combo C in 2002.

Vauxhall Combo versions

• Bedford and Vauxhall Astravan: the low-roof Kadett Combo sold in Britain.
• Bedford and Vauxhall Astramax: the high-roof version, later a Vauxhall.
• Combo B (1993–2001): Corsa B-based van and Combo Tour.
• Combo C (2002–2012): Corsa C-based van with sliding doors.
• Combo Tour Tramp: the raised, off-road-styled leisure version.

The Combo is based on the Corsa, and the Astramax shared its body with the Astra estate. More cars are in the Vauxhall collection.

Sources

• Opel Combo, English Wikipedia: Kadett Combo, Astramax, Combo B and C
• Opel Combo, German Wikipedia: model history