Review
/5
- Pros:
- Highly practical
- Optional glass roof lets in loads of light
- Well built and cheap to run
- Cons:
- A common sight on UK roads
- Resale values are poor
- Could do with more storage for odds and ends
reviewed by Carbuyer
"The family friendly Vauxhall Zafira is a common sight on UK roads, and with good reason: It's practical, roomy, comfortable and good to drive."
"The family friendly Vauxhall Zafira is a common sight on UK roads, and with good reason: It's practical, roomy, comfortable and good to drive."
At a glance
- The greenest
- DESIGN NAV 1.7CDTi 16v (110PS) ecoFLEX 5dr
£25,250 - The cheapest
- EXCLUSIV 1.6i 16v VVT 5dr
£18,565 - The fastest
- DESIGN NAV 1.8i 16v VVT 5dr
£23,905 - Top of the range
- DESIGN NAV 1.7CDTi 16v (125ps) ecoFLEX 5dr
£25,500
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With its clever seating arrangement, top practicality and good build quality, the Zafira makes a great family car. It's competitively priced, too, and offers a wide choice of engines and trim levels. The ride is comfortable and the big Vauxhall soaks up bumps with ease. The Zafira is available with a huge panoramic glass roof, which also features overhead storage. This is a worthwhile addition, as it allows loads of light into the cabin and improves practicality. The sporty VXR version is a great choice for those who need a more practical motor, but don’t want to give up on driving thrills – it's very quick and a lot sportier than its rivals.
Drive
Diesel engines suit the Zafira best
The Zafira is an accomplished car to drive with agile handling. Thanks to Vauxhall Astra underpinnings it's happy both at speed or crawling around town. The driving position is not as good as the Ford C-MAX's however, leaving drivers somewhat disconnected from the action on open roads. The range topping 1.7-litre diesel engine provides loads of pulling power for overtaking maneuvers even when heavily laden. The 1.6-litre petrol engine feels underpowered compared to the torquey diesels and is best suited to owners who rarely cover long distances.
Comfort
There's still plenty of room for improvement
The Zafira's suspension copes very well with bumpy British roads and the cabin is well insualted from road noise. Longer journeys are relatively painless. The front seats are supportive and quite comfy but lack adjustment in lower spec models and some of the fabrics used are rather unimpressive. The middle folding bench seats also slide forwards and backwards either providing access to the smalll rear seats or to increase legroom for middle-row passengers,
Reliability
The cabin is hard wearing and well built
The Astra, on which the Zafira is based, had a good reputation for reliability, and the Zafira is no different. The cabin is hard wearing and well built, so is ideal for heavy family use. Safety equipment is a little light; all models get side and curtain airbags, but electronic stability control is an option on most models.
Practicality
Flagship models come with roof-mounted storage bins
Practicality is the Zafira's forte. Vauxhall carried the same 'Flex7' flexible seating system over from the previous car to this model. All of the seats fold independently of each other and collapse completely flat to create a van-like load bay. Flagship models come with roof-mounted storage bins and seat back trays, but it would be helpful if there was slightly more storage room in the boot – which offers a paltry 140 litres of stowage space with all of the seats in place.
Value for money
There’s not a lot of kit included as standard
Vauxhall offers significant discounts on its Zafira models, and entry-level models, such as the 1.6-litre petrol Expression are very competitively priced. However, there's not a lot of kit included as standard – whichever model you choose. Rivals like the Mazda5 are far more generously equipped.
Running costs
Parts and servicing shouldn't cost the earth
The 1.7 and 1.9 CDTi diesel models are cheap to run and return anywhere from 40-53mpg, depending on which model you go for. Parts and servicing shouldn't cost the earth – the Zafira is very popular, which means that parts are widely available and costs are low. There are lots of dealers, so it's always worth shopping around to find out how low you can get your servicing and maintenance costs.
*Our monthly finance prices are updated on a regular basis, but due to the dynamic nature of the market are not guaranteed accurate. You can always confirm the monthly finance price with FinanceAcar.
