Does anyone have a Zafira?

[letseatgrandma]

I'm looking at a 2008 Vauxhall Zafira tomorrow and keep hearing such mixed reviews that I am very confused! They seem a bit like Marmite...

Anyway-could anyone be kind enough to answer my questions!?

I have three children-4, 8 and 12. One is in a high-backed booster, one in a booster seat and the other with no carseat. I want to know if they all went in the middle row (this model has 3 3-point seat belts)-would they have a reasonable amount of room? I presume it would be best having the eldest child in the middle, but I don't want them to be too squashed. Also-if it's just me and the children, can the 12 year old sit in the front? Is there an airbag? What are the back seats like-can you just have one up or do they both need to be up?

I don't know if something like the Picasso or the Grand Scenic would be better?

Ok - I don't have a Zafira but the problem with putting the eldest child in the middle is that they block the rear view (in an SMax) and it irritates me immensely. My 12 year old sits in the front, with an airbag, but with the seat well back.

I do know that my brother used to have just one of the rearmost seats up in his Zafira (pre 2008 version).

I had one.

It's supposed to be a 7 seater but it's not. The two very back 'seats' come with zero leg room. And if you've got them up you've got bugger all boot space.

You'd be hard pressed to have the three in the back seat if you've got a couple of car seats. The poor sod in the middle would have no space at all!

I really didn't like it.

But the main problem is the blind spot. The frame for the windscreen is so badly designed that it creates a blind spot hat conceals an entire bloody car! So you have to be really careful pulling out of junctions.

your 12 year old can go in the front no issue

yes you can have 1 back seat up

you will fit the 3 of them in a row but the 12 year old will not find it very comfortable

I had a 56 plate one

calipers on breaks went twice
went through discs like they were going out of fashion
air conditioner condensation unit went because a stone went through it -they sit under the engine with nothing to protect them and are best part of £600 to replace
clutch went but you can't just replace the clutch you have to replace the flywheel -another £1000!

I did alot of miles in it -diesel 180k miles but in the last year it was a money pit

get a picasso

I have the Toyota Corolla Verso which is very like the Zafira. My boys fight over the very back seat although now ds1 is 15 he's getting a bit long-legged for it. No boot space when all seats are up.

WRT the complaints of there being no bootspace with all the seats up, if you want a proper 7 seater with bootspace, get a proper 7 seater. These 5+2s should really be seen as a 5 seater with the option to pop up an extra seat for a guest, they aren't really designed to constant 7 seat use.

On a day to day basis, my SMax has a cavernous boot and, with all 7 seats up, there's enough room in the boot for picnic and day-trip stuff. Which is really all you can ask of it.

My friend had a Zacira and hated it plus there's no boot, I have a galaxy and it's lovely and the back seats can fit adults in if you need to.

I love my Zafira, would agree with SoupDragon about it not being a proper 7-seater though. We use the back seats only when we have extra children to carry, adults and older children in the front two rows. I find it really easy to drive (have 2.2 auto petrol), spacious on the inside but not a massive car in itself. However, we are now looking to replace (which brought me to this topic) because at 7 years old, as Workshy comments, it is also becoming a bit of a money pit.