The Vivacious Vauxhall Zafira

By Author: Paul Greer
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

The Vivacious Vauxhall Zafira

It is hard to believe that at any given time the Vauxhall Zafira has not been looked at enviously by the makers of small MPVs. Back in year 1999 when the original was launched, it offered a new and exclusive proposition: it was not just seven seats that it had, but when extra space for the luggage was needed, all you had to do was just flip the seats forward and they disappeared into the floor leaving plenty of room. For several years of its life, that made the Zafira a best-seller MPV in the country, so the engineering of the second generation of Vauxhall was once again based on Astra's platform and was launched in year 2005. Third generation of Zafira called the Zafira Tourer is larger and now available. Previous model is still on sale but in a reduced range of Vauxhall engines powered by 1.6-litre petrol or a 1.8-litre petrol engine. With Vauxhall Zafira diesel engine a 1.7-litre turbo with two power output choices is available.

The 1.9-litre turbo-diesel with 148bhp has been dropped out from the range. Vauxhall ...
... petrol engine range is offered in 1.6-litre with 237bhp in Zafira VXR which takes 12.5 seconds to reach 0-62mph then a 1.8-litre petrol engine which does 0-62mph in just 10.8 seconds. Zafira diesel engine is offered as EcoFlex 1.7 CDTi with two outputs to choose from: 109bhp or a 123bhp both in high-economy EcoFlex guise. The low-powered 1.7 CDTi EcoFlex with 109bhp is not as impressive as 1.9-litre old engine, it reaches 0-62mph in 12.5 seconds, produces 134g/km of CO2 and returns 55.4mpg. Zafira was launched shortly before the EU regulations sought to improve pedestrian impact performance. At 0.31cd, Zafira has the lowest drag figure in its class. Chrome-lines on the tail-lamps look slightly aftermarket accessory but this people-carrier does look what it is.

Tailgate has low lip which is quite helpful in loading and unloading luggage. A glass roof with a central internal spice made up of high level storage boxes comes with all up-ranged models, for a gimmicky one it's a pretty good idea. The Flex7 seating system remains one of the cleverest pieces of MPV design. Commonly the Zafira will be used as a five-seat hatchback, for two passengers in the front and three passengers in the back seat, it has good room for legs and head although shoulder room for three passengers is limited. To balance the load-space against the passenger space, the rear bench can be slid backward and forward. One brilliant option is when you slide the rear seat fully forward, two additional seats in the third row especially designed for the teen-agers, can be unfolded from the boot-floor. These seats can be accessed through the rear doors while the central seat position can be adjusted by a button on the outer side of the seats.

However, the environment in the far back is claustrophobic due to lack of doors and rising window-line that make you feel like you are sitting in the boot. Zafira can also be used as a loading van; all you have to do is just fold the back seats that go completely flat into the floor and the middle row can be folded hard against the front row, expanding the volume from 140-litres with every seat in place, via 645-litres as a five-seater, to an extraordinary 1820-litres with all five seats folded in the rear. Most of the interior surfaces are covered in soft feel plastics, most of the switch gear has rubber-like feel. Driver's seat is height-adjustable and steering wheel is reach-and-rake-adjustable. Zafira has Astra-flavoured suspension systems, at the front it's struts and in the back is torsion beam. Accurate steering amazingly feels good, so do the grip as it corners rather smooth. Zafira used torsion beam because it need cope with wide payload ranging from one to seven persons.

Paul Greer is an expert in Engines For Vauxhall. If you are interested in learning more about engines, please Read More or call us at 442085960396