The new Vauxhall Vivaro ecoFLEX, in a suitably green setting!

Eco-versions of popular vans are increasingly common – there’s the Transit ECOnetic and the Volkswagen Crafter BlueMotion, for example.

Vauxhall has now joined the party with the Vivaro ecoFLEX, which joins the other, smaller ecoFLEX van models already in its range. There’s also an ecoFLEX version of the Vivaro Combi (9-seater minibus), for the first time.

The Vivaro ecoFLEX is Euro 5 compliant and promises CO2 emissions of just 180g/km and fuel consumption of 40.9mpg, compared with 198g/km/37.6mpg for the equivalent standard model.

That means a theoretical range of 800 miles from the 90-litre fuel tank, although you couldn’t expect to manage that in London traffic.

The Vivaro ecoFLEX is based on the standard wheelbase, low roof model, with a few changes:

• Exhaust gas circulation cooling
• Optimised gear ratios
• ‘Improved thermal management’ – probably means that the engine warms up faster
• Low rolling resistance tyres
• An aerodynamic kit

Anyone really keen on saving fuel can also specify an optional speed limiter, which can drive fuel consumption down as low as 42.7mpg, according to Vauxhall. I cannot verify this for the Vivaro, but I can confirm that limiting top speed really makes a difference.

On holiday in my Transit campervan in Norway last year, I spent a lot of time driving on main roads at the Norwegian national speed limit of 50mph. As a result, I managed to average over 40mpg for a whole tank of fuel on several occasions – and it’s an ageing van with 100k+ on the clock.

The Vivaro is the top-selling van in the medium panel van retail segment and the Luton-based manufacturer has already put 3,351 new Vivaros on the road in 2012, after hitting an all-time sales record in 2011.