Vauxhall Meriva facelift revealed
The Vauxhall Meriva has received a midlife facelift and gets a new diesel engine
The Vauxhall Meriva has been given a fresh new look and is now available with a new 1.6-litre CTDi diesel engine. Sales are set to begin next month ahead of first customer deliveries in January.
Changes to the second-generation Meriva are subtle but there’s a new grille, flanked by redesigned ‘eagle-eye’ headlights, and chrome accents now frame the fog lights set in the front bumper. That means the little kick in the waistline on the Meriva, just rear of the B-pillar, is carried over from the outgoing model and does a good job of breaking up its boxy stance. Optional 18-inch alloy wheels and daytime running lights are now available on the Meriva for the first time.
The Ford C-Max rival also retains the rear-hinged back doors, which Vauxhall claims allows a 20 per cent bigger opening for passengers. The interior on the Meriva is largely the same, with the exception of some additional chrome inserts. The FlexSpace system, which makes for a variety of different seating combinations, also stays.
Now available with the 134bhp 1.6-litre CDTi diesel engine adopted from the Vauxhall Zafira Tourer, the Meriva will return 64.2mpg with CO2 emissions of only 116g/km. The new diesel engine replaces the old 1.7-litre CDTi motor and boasts a ten per cent improvement in efficiency as well being almost a second quicker to reach 62mph, taking 9.1 seconds.
Petrol engines are carried over from the outgoing model and include a non-turbo 99bhp 1.4-litre and two turbocharged 1.4-litre motors developing either 118bhp or 138bhp. Prices will be announced later next month when the Meriva is due to go on sale.
