Start with what the Opel Combo is: a Van, built from 1986, in the age of turbocharging and the first electronic engine management. What it meant takes a little longer.
Where it came from
The Opel Combo is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle from the German automaker Opel. The Combo first appeared in 1993, a second generation model was introduced in 2001, and the third was manufactured from December 2011 to December 2017, based on the Fiat Doblò. The name "Combo" was previously applied as a suffix to a three-door panel van body style of Opel Kadett E from 1986 until 1993.
Opel/Vauxhall joined Groupe PSA in March 2017: the fourth generation Combo, launched in March 2018, shares the platform and bodywork of the Peugeot Rifter and Partner, as well as the Citroën Berlingo. The Combo B and Combo C share platforms, vital components and some body panels with contemporary subcompact Opel Corsas, which used to be a typical pedigree for such a vehicle. The generations are denoted B and C in typical Opel fashion, but Holden applied the codes SB and XC respectively, reflecting the relation with SB and XC Holden Barinas (Opel Corsa B and C, respectively).
Under the skin
The record carries the shape — a Van — and the layout: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
In context
In the Opel line-up the Opel Combo has a clear place: it replaced the Bedford Beagle / Bedford Chevanne / Bedford HA / Bedford Rascal / Opel/Vauxhall Astravan H; it handed the line to the Chevrolet N200/N300 (for all Chevrolet rebadges only); the factory was Azambuja. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Jeep Wrangler, the Ferrari F40, the BMW 5 Series. Nearby in the Opel catalogue sit the Opel Sintra and the Opel K-180.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Opel Combo has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.
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