Vauxhall Zafira pros & cons

[hopperdee]

We're thinking of getting a new car and quite like the idea of a Vauxhall Zafira. Just want some good and bad points from any owners or friends of owners. I have a renault laguna at the moment which has a massive boot (I need a big boot for my massage couch..long story). Do cars like the Zafira have room for large items in the boot if you're not using the very back seats?
We want a manual car as mine is automatic and boyf has just passed driving test, I also would like another manual. Also, more seat options would be nice. Other brands of people carrier look a bit too massive.

So, how are they on -
petrol
space
general faults
comfort
etc.

I'm boring myself now..

we had a zafira.
if you don't use the 5/6 seats the boot is brilliant. we loved it as it fitted all dd's wheelchair in it.

Our Zafira is a 1.6 engine petrol. We have noticed it is thirstier than our old car which was a diesel.

we really like the car, the boot is brill if you do not have the extra seats up.

It does have a horrid blind spot, I tend to notice this more when I am driving on motor ways.

They are grrrreat on Motorways...but lousy for driving around town with lots of lower gear work!

Or is it high gear? I never know the difference. I mean gears 1 and 2.

Cons: It is quite expensive.

It is a Vauxhall.

Pros: Ummm....

I looked into this recently (before deciding to run the ancient Galaxy into the ground) and was surprised to find that the much nicer alternatives (VW Touran, Honda FRV, Toyota Corolla Verso) are all the same price or cheaper.

...and none of 'em are Vauxhalls....

I've had mine (2002 2.0dti) for 5 years now - no probs (touch wood ) - I love it, & quake to think that I will have to get rid one day.

Main cons with mine are

lack of good general stowage spaces up front
lap-belt only in middle seat of middle row
the need to evacuate middle row in order to slide it forward to access rear seats (middle row bench is in one piece so whole thing has to slide back & forth)
nowhere to stow rear floor covering & luggage cover if you suddenly want to use one or both of rear seats while out.

Pros are

wonderful flexible engine (prob doesn't apply to petrol engines though)
excellent economy (c 45 mpg)
brilliant acceleration (pisses off boy racers at lights )
massive boot space without 2 rear seats up (& if you fold up middle row & ram it as far forward as poss the space is vast)
pretty good boot space with only 1 up
can seat 7 if you don't mind lapbelt (see cons)
dead easy to park
small wheelbase (based on Astra) so fits anywhere
high seats & lots of space & headroom

I've had mine from 12K miles up to 50K so far, & maintenance has been minimal until this year (tyres & brakes). Also, has chain cam, not belt, so should never need replacing.

Mine is only worth about £4K now so actually not that expensive either (depends how new you're looking for. I had a new model on hire 2 years ago & didn't like it as much as my old one)

HTH