Vauxhall Zafira Tourer

The Vauxhall Zafira Tourer is a more spacious and luxurious seven-seater than the standard Zafira, designed to rival the Ford S-MAX

Auto Express Car Reviews

Rating:
Latest deal price: from £14,172 to £21,498
For : Modern luxurious cabin, good range of engines, practical
Against : Less fun than rivals, rough diesel engine

The Zafira Tourer is not a replacement for the Zafira but will instead be sold alongside it for a short period of time. The older model starts at £13,995 while the Zafira Tourer costs £21,000. The extra money buys you a modern and luxurious cabin with a real quality feel and plenty of standard equipment. There's a good range of engines, with frugal diesels and petrol turbocharged units. It's also a sharper and more comfortable drive than the Zafira and comes with a more spacious and practical cabin.

Our pick: Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2.0 CDTi (130) ecoFLEX S/S SE

Video: watch our video review of the Zafira Tourer

Styling

The Vauxhall Zafira Tourer gets the manufacturers latest design language including boomerang style headlights and a 'tick' shape on its flanks. Compared to its predecessor, it's a much classier look which holds its own in the MPV style stakes. This cabin represents a step up in quality for Vauxhall, with a dash covered in soft-touch materials and higher-spec models coming with full leather upholstery and leather-lined door panels. The centre console is a bit cluttered but all the switches feel solid. Some models get a panoramic sunroof, adding to the feeling of space. A few classy touches like ambient interior lighting give it a premium feel.

Driving and Performance

The engine line-up consists of a naturally-aspirated 1.8-litre petrol with 138bhp, a turbocharged 1.4-litre with the same power and three 2.0-litre diesel engines putting out between 109bhp and 163bhp. Our favourites are the diesels which provide plenty of go, low running costs and a relatively refined driving experience too. The 1.8-litre petrol feels strained so, if you can afford it and you're after a petrol engine, it's worth going for the turbo. Handling is good for a car this size but it feels more stable and predictable than thrilling. A Ford S-MAX is the choice for keen drivers.

MPG and running costs

The Zafira Tourer 2.0 CDTi ecoFLEX is the cheapest in the range to run, boasting CO2 emissions of just 119g/km and 62.3mpg. Although we've only tested the range-topping 163bhp 2.0-litre we can imagine the lower powered ecoFLEX feeling a little underpowered so it may be worth opting for the 52.3mpg 163bhp model. The 1.8-litre petrol engine is cheap to buy but will be expensive to tax and fuel.

Practicality

Practicality has to be an MPV's strong suit and thankfully the Zafira Tourer has plenty of clever functions. The seven-seat arrangement features a second row of three individual seats that can be moved forwards and backwards, folded individually, and the middle seat can even be folded away while the outer seats move further out to allow passengers more room. The third row of seats can be folded completely into the floor to maximise boot space. With five seats up, there's 710 litres of space and with only two seats up there's 1860 litres.

Safety and reliability

The Zafira Tourer hasn't yet been tested by Euro NCAP but expect a five-star rating once it has been tested. Electronic gadgets will help to prevent a crash in the first place, like forward collision alert, blind spot monitoring and lane keep assist. The older Zafira came 47th in our list of the 2011 Driver Power top 100 models, and the new Zafira Tourer should prove equally reliable.

For an alternative review of the latest Vauxhall Zafira visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

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1 Comment

But will it suffer from the same old problems?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder or so they say, well I don't like it's gaudy looks, and I much prefer my 58 CDTi
With the extended V shaped headlights the front end is an angular mess, while the rear is just a blatant Ford Galaxy copy, although I have no doubt that it will do the job and will be nice to drive.
I do hope that Vauxhall have redesigned the EGR valve, or problems with the diesel engine will undoubtedly and inevitably follow, as EGR valve problems are a major failing at Vauxhall.

In only 27000 miles I have had 3 EGR valves in my Zafira, and while Vauxhall have had this problem for years they have not as far as I am aware solved it, so lets hope they have done the honourable thing and cured the problem for this latest model.
If I were thinking of buying this latest Zafira model I would first want cast iron assurances that EGR problems had been solved.
But to be fair, other makers also have EGR problems, and the auto industry it seems, keep the problem hidden

By Bobbybev on 17 December, 2011, 2:08pm

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