Holden Zafira 2001 Review

Every now and again along comes a car that surprises you, and sometimes that's a really nice thing! After all if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, chances are it's a duck! So it's always a good thing when the aquatic fowl turns out to be more of a swan than you expected.

This is the case with the Holden Zafira. From the outside it looks a lot like a whole swag of other family style people movers, same sort of general shape, size and on paper specs. Yet here is a car that's more than the sum of its parts.

Come on then, what is it?
This is Holdens answer to the Renault Scenic, Mazda Premacy and Daewoo Tacuma. The engine is a 2.2 litre DOHC sixteen valve four cylinder making 108kW of power @ 5,800 rpm and 203 Nm of torque @ 4000 rpm. There's the option of a five speed manual or four speed auto, and the chassis is based on the Astra, which means that handling has more in common with a car than a bus.

One of the big pluses of the Zafira is the 'Flex-7' fold out extra row of seats, which takes the passenger capacity to a very useful - umm - seven. There's 6.0 J x15 inch wheels, twin air bags, traction control and ABS, electronic braking force distribution (EBD) power steering and all the usual other stuff like air conditioning, CD, cruise control etc. There's no doubt when you run your eye over the specs you do get a fair bit for your dollar.

What's it drive like?
Now here's the good stuff. Despite the lack of stand out styling, the car drives like a good 'un. First off there's the engine, also found in the Vectra. The power delivery is lively and invigorating. Even fully laden there's plenty of grunt and the revs zip up the range with an urgency that completely belies the size of the vehicle and the design parameters.

With the auto version supplied for the test, perhaps the only niggle - and it is only a niggle - is that the transmission drops a cog at the merest hint of a hill or the slightest depression of the accelerator. This means that normal overtaking can become a noisier and less dignified operation than you'd expect. Even so that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the car.

The Zafira's driving position is as expected; multi adjustable and allows that high and commanding view point which suits the vehicle and will appeal to a lot. Seats are comfy and supportive and the general view of the equipment from the commander's errr, driver's seat is pretty satisfying with everything being where you'd expect it to be. It would have been nice to see the column mounted stereo controls found on other cars in the range fitted here also.

Giving the Zaf' a belter of an engine without matching it to decent handling would be a tragic waste, and I'm pleased to report that things are well looked after in that department. As mentioned the chassis is based on the Astra, and as a result looks like the car sits quite low to the ground.

Carrying the weight low as any boy racer will tell you, gives the car a nice planted feeling, and the Zaf' feels good and solid, with plenty of comfort and feedback from the Australian tweaked suspension.

Whoever Holden gave the job of weighting the steering to, had a good handle on the relationship between what you want, and what you need. Light and accurate without divorcing the driver from the sensation of turning the wheels, which some power steering systems do, the Zaf' is as happy do the parking lot pirouette or the bung it in and bang it on. In fact you can be forgiven for driving the thing in a manner that makes a mockery of the design purpose.

The Zaf's brakes are the right side of comforting and well capable of pulling the thing up in quick smart time. They provide a dependable feel at the pedal, which is a result of the electronic braking force distribution.

In terms of outside visibility, the Zafira wins bonus points, and it's clear that the big H has put a lot of thought into keeping things like the 'A' pillar as narrow as possible, in so doing maximising observation opportunities.

My other pet issue is noise, and under hard acceleration which it does a bit of, there's a fair bit of noise from the engine doing its thing. However once cruising at a steady speed the cabin is well isolated from outside noise and the only noise is the muted sound of the tyres on the bitumen.

It's practical though isn't it?
For sure, there's a very strong emphasis on being practical, and perhaps the best example of how that's achieved is the third row of seats. It couldn't be more simple. Slide the middle seats all the way forward, go round the back, open the door, grab the handles on the backs of the seats, pull backwards, clonk! and they're locked into place. Around forty seconds if you're standing in the rain and you've just agreed to take little Jimmy and all his mates home from the footy.

There's a fair bit of storage space elsewhere, and some useful little compartments including one strategically placed to catch the change that falls out of your pocket and ends up under the seat supplementing the kids pocket money.

As for fuel usage, well all that down changing and performance has a cost, and even though the car slips into neutral when stationary to save fuel, as well as preventing strain on the driveline, the best I could get was 8.1 km/l (12.3l/100km). This was achieved with a fair bit of freeway constant speed stuff, but Holden quote 10 km/l (10l/100km). Maybe that's achievable with a bit more time to get used to the thing, but not on this test.

Did we like it?
The answer to that is an unequivocal yes. It's a well-rounded and practical package that puts some of the driving experience back into a class that could be as dull as pyjamas. Try it and see if I'm wrong.