Vauxhall Meriva (2014-2017) review - Reliability and Safety

Vauxhall knows a thing or two about building reliable, safe cars, so the fact that the Meriva offers a five-star EuroNCAP test result should come as no surprise. However, only four airbags are fitted as standard, with only Exclusiv, Tech Line and SE models getting additional curtain airbags – you can add these desirable extras to other models for £460.

Elsewhere you’ll benefit from electronic stability control, adaptive brake lights that flash during heavy braking, ISOFIX child seat mounting points and hill-start assist. However, unlike newer rivals there’s no option to add blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist or autonomous emergency braking.

The EuroNCAP crash-test ratings were 89 per cent for adult occupants, 77 per cent for children, and 55 per cent for pedestrians. Equivalent scores for the Ford B-Max were 92 per cent, 84 per cent and 67 per cent, while the Hyundai ix20 managed 89 per cent, 85 per cent and 64 per cent – they’re both 5 star cars too.

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While safety is fully covered, we’re not quite so confident in the Meriva’s reliability, having witnessed its poor performance in the latest Driver Power 2015 survey. Out of 200 cars surveyed, the Meriva came in 186th overall for customer satisfaction, and its 156th for reliability and 163rd for build quality weren’t much better either.

The overall manufacturer/brand ratings don’t paint a better picture either, as Vauxhall ranked a poor 28th out of 32 manufacturers for reliability. For overall satisfaction, owners ranked Vauxhall an even worse 30th.

Warranty 

The entire Vauxhall range comes with a standard three-year, 60,000-mile warranty – and it’s been looking a bit stingy for a while now. The Meriva is up against rivals such as the Kia Venga, which has seven-year cover, and the Hyundai ix20, which comes with five years. 

Servicing

Vauxhall maintenance prices are pretty competitive, with fixed price servicing for the Meriva starting at £129. The manufacturer also has fixed prices for changing wear-and-tear bits and pieces, so we can tell you a new set of brake pads is £99, and a clutch replacement is £529.