Vauxhall Zafira Design MPV 2.0 DTi - used car review

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So which MPV to buy? Read on.

Produced by the General Motors Group the Zafira made its first appearance in the UK in 1999, with the second generation successor arriving in 2005. 

The Zafira concept was quite revolutionary at the time: a 7 seater where the 6th and 7th seats could be folded flat into the floor and did not need to be physically removed, unlike for example the Ford Galaxy or the Volkswagen Sharan. 

The Zafira is also slightly smaller than other 7 seater MPVs, a quality that is therefore reflected in the price.

It’s this magic combination of flexibility and price that makes the Vauxhall Zafira one of the better MPVs on the market. In fact, if we’ve not got one on our stock pages, we’re always keeping our eye out where we can find a Zafira.

The review

We purchased this Vauxhall Zafira 2.0 DTi Design as a 4 year old diesel MPV with 70,000 miles on the clock and full service history.

Having a small family ourselves, we took this Zafira on a road trip to Liverpool for a weekend and managed to fit in the boot 3 suitcases, laptop, 2 bags, baby overnight bag, baby travel cot, baby high chair and a pram, not to mention the four of us. We still had the flexibility to pick up a few friends when we emptied the boot at the B&B, as the back 2 seats just slide into the floor when not in use: you don’t have to physically remove them and leave them somewhere when you need the space.

Thumbs up for the drive as well: the 2 litre diesel turbo intercooler (DTi) engine of this Zafira gave a steady 100 bhp which meant this MPV still had a bit of pull even fully loaded. Not to mention seat position, giving all of us a decent view without losing the handling of a lower positioned non-MPV.

Decent spec, air con as standard, nice dark upholstery for the kids to let themselves loose on, electric windows and mirrors, colour coded bumpers and mirrors, stereo remote controls. The ‘flex 7’ seating system even allows you to lift the bottom of the middle bench seat to be parallel with the back and slide the whole thing up to the back of the front seat giving you a 5 foot long boot (dimensions L160xW110xH100cm).

In fact the only criticisms we could level against the Zafira 7 seat MPV would be the road tax at £170 per year and the fact that the Design model doesn’t come with alloys as standard.

Nonetheless, at £5495 on the road, this MPV still has to rate in the top 3 all-rounders of the MPV class.