Opel Zafira 2011 Review - International

Opel Zafira

Opel calls this thing the master of versatility and it’s tough to argue with them. It will carry seven people in relative comfort, two adults and five kids in extreme comfort; it can carry four bicycles outside the cabin and it can even have its layout tweaked to become a luxurious four-seat limo.

Beneath all of that sits a chassis that can be adjusted on the run to be either comfortable or (slightly) more agile, a new wave of electric assistance systems and engines that range from the unusually small to the unusually strong.

The petrol engines, at launch, will all be 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinders. The new-born Opel Australia won’t be taking those. By the time the Zafira arrives here in 2013, head office will have jammed bigger petrol motors into it, most probably 1.8 or 2.0-litres in capacity.

That leaves the sole confirmed Zafira spec for Australia as the 121kW four-cylinder turbo-diesel, and it’s a superb motor.

Even in the European press, Opel doesn’t often get credit for its engines, but the character and strength of the 2.0-litre TDI feel like they were created just for this car. It’s strong, economical and flexible all at the same time.

It has the typical diesel strength at low rpm, with its peak torque of 350Nm arriving at 1750. That keeps the engine churning out the Newtons, and it’s still delivering 350Nm at 2500rpm. In another nice bonus, it has an over boost feature that lets it deliver 380Nm for short bursts, which is particularly useful for overtaking or squirting the big rig into small holes in traffic.

Driving through the front wheels, it’s also smooth, and is close to being on a par with the latest big four pot diesels coming out of the VW Group, which is high praise indeed. It uses variable turbocharging geometry to deliver both strength down low and smoothness up high, and that helps it to hustle to 100km/h in just under ten seconds.

While Australia’s extended wait for the right-hand-drive Zafira will allow it to start off with the six-speed automatic, that ‘box wasn’t available at the Euro launch of the people mover, so we won’t bother telling you much about the manual we used.

Instead, Opel claims the 121kW version of this engine (it also launches in Europe in 81kW and 96kW versions) uses 5.2L/100km and emits 137g/km of CO2 when it’s on the combined city/highway cycle, which isn’t bad for such a big unit.

And the Zafira has become a big unit indeed, and is a far cry from the surprisingly practical little number Australians might remember from the days when the nameplate shared bodywork with a Holden badge.

There’s now a 2760mm wheelbase and that - and an enormous amount of cleverness - translate into a very, very useful interior indeed.

Not only does it use the “premium pack” of Opel cabin materials from the Insignia program, but the seating arrangements are -- as ever for the Zafira -- a highlight.

Up front, there are two extremely comfy pews, a car-like driving position and a comfortable steering wheel that makes no sporting pretensions whatsoever. There are 30 (30!) cubby holes inside the car and some of them are so obscure you’ll spend six months locating them. The car’s chief designer hid two toy sharks in each of the launch cars and we only found one of them.

The more obvious bits-and-pieces holes are in front of the centrally-mounted gear shifter, in the big door pockets and the rubber-lined area behind the front door hand grips. But there are more, including a glove box so big that you’ve got to consider it a bit of a throwback.

The luxury comes mostly from the high-quality plastics Opel has used wherever you regularly touch things, plus some funky mood lighting, a reversing camera and a huge glass roof to make travel more fun for the rear seat occupants.

It’s in the middle row that things get kooky. There is no such thing as a middle-row bench here, because all three seats can adjust fore and aft by 210mm, so you can sneak them up to give the third-row people a bit more legroom or push them back to eke out a bit more legroom. And they can all be adjusted individually.

Not only that, but the backrest of the middle seat has been designed to fold up in three pieces to become an armrest for the rest of the row and then there’s the cherry on top. The two outside seats not only move back and forwards, but their seat rails also slide in 50mm. It means that, when you’re traveling four-up, the middle-row occupants can have far more shoulder and hip room, along with their armrest. It also brings out the child in adults, sliding back and forward on the crooked rail like a roller coaster...

All three of the middle seats can also fold flat to leave you with a cargo area the same height as the boot floor, too, and, obviously, the third row folds into the floor as well.

It’s not all perfect, though, because there’s a big box area in front of the middle row’s outer seats and, when you’re in full-back mode, it interferes with the footwell. While Opel insists the back row is good for adults, they might need to be short of leg to keep everybody happy, but they’re certainly fine for short trips.

But there’s more. In its European heartland, Opel found a significant proportion of its buyers carrying bikes on racks at the back of their Zafiras, so they fitted the last one with an optional rack that pulled out from the rear bumper. Now it has gone one better, with a pull out rack that lets you lock in four (four!) bikes without damaging the car and, what’s more, they also angle away from the car so you can even open the rear door while they’re hooked on.

Normally, the upshot of clever MPVs is courier-van handling, but that’s not the case with the Zafira. It’s no sports car, but makes no claim to be. Instead, it’s quiet, solid and rides very, very well.

Even at very high speed on the German autobahns we used as part of the drive, the diesel Zafira was extremely stable, even when it hit cross winds while punching along at 200km/h (eight short of its top speed). Even at that speed, undulations didn’t bother it, mid corner bumps didn’t upset it and it doggedly held the chosen line. It’s not a dull drive, by any means, and the car is happy to be thrown around low-speed twisty bits or heaved into quicker corners, too.

It was quiet, too, and strong in the mid range. All manner of electric assistance allows it to navigate around trouble, including lane departure warnings, blind spot sensors and an active high beam system.

It’s a promising car, the Zafira, but it’s now so big that it will appeal to a different style of MPV buyer to the original, Holden version that was aimed at young families.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site