Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 Elegance

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Sharon Donald

March 2002

Rating:

When we bid farewell to the Zafira next month, it will depart with the dubious honour of being one of the hardest- working long termers on the fleet. In the space of nine months, it's carried more washing machines and televisions than a Comet delivery truck, and moved enough people to populate a small island.
Key to the Zafira's attraction has been its sheer versatility. Four years on from launch and nothing has come close to rivalling the Flex7 seating system that magically allows you to go from five to seven seats in a matter of seconds. It may sound like a gimmick, but I've used it on countless occasions and it's never let me down. My only criticism would be that there's no three-point centre seatbelt on the middle row. Although I don't carry three in the back very often, on the occasions that I have, I've had to crawl into the back and pop one of the Flex7 seats up. No big deal in itself, but the toll it takes on luggage space can be a pain. On the plus side, the Zafira's compact dimensions make it much more manoeuvrable than some full-size MPVs I've driven. All-round visibility is good and, because the car is only a few millimetres longer than a standard Vauxhall Astra, parking in multi-storeys has never been a problem.
The transmission's final drive is very short which means that, at 70mph, the engine is revving at nearly 4,000rpm. As a result the car is both noisy and tiring - not qualities you want when the back is full of children. The second problem is the gearshift itself, which has never loosened and, if anything, has grown worse. Notchy and reluctant to engage when cold, it's uncooperative at best and plain awkward in stop-start traffic. That noted, the rest of the dynamic package is first-class.
First a confession. Our Zafira hasn't survived nine months of long term life totally blemish-free. However, it has stood up to an extremely demanding schedule as well as could be expected. First to show signs of premature ageing was the centre-seat cushion which parted company with its trim after 5,000 miles. I tried to repair it, but the broken clips were beyond salvage.
Then the car developed an odd, musty smell which grew so bad that the car was booked in for an inspection. Just days before it was due at Vauxhall West End in London, I found the cause - a half-eaten sandwich (ham, I think) which had found its way into a tiny bulkhead just under one of the Flex7 seats. The moral of this story? Don't feed the animals! Other problems have been no fault of the car's - the passenger's side was keyed outside a supermarket, and the big, black drainpipe in our office car park accounted for a scrape on the front bumper.
The Zafira has yet to trouble us with any big bills. And with Vauxhall's new 20,000-mile service intervals, we're not expecting any major outgoings for some time. That said, we'll need to replace the spare wheel, which was stolen in the dead of night. The Zafira's daily running costs haven't caused too many headaches. Fuel consumption has averaged 32.1mpg while tyre wear has been minor and even. I reckon there are a good few thousand miles left on the fronts.