Vauxhall Zafira (2005 - 2014) 1.8i Elite 5d (2008/08) Owner Review

What does this car say about you?

Says I have a family and drive something practical.

What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

I think they like it, both sets of our parents have Vauxhalls so no doubt they approve of the make!

Would you buy this car again and why?

I would but I would probably go for the 1.9 150bhp diesel in likely the same spec or at least the Design. Reason for this is it's a bit quicker but mostly I think it would be less stressed on the motorway particularly due to the 6th gear. Plus the 1.8 Zafira Elite seems only gets around 35mpg when I think the Diesel would get at least 10mpg more.

What are you likely to buy next?

No idea yet!

Type of dealer you bought from?

Independent

Did you buy this car new?

No

What price did you pay?

£10,000

When did you buy the car?

January 2010

Did you get a good deal and why?

Price was similar to lower specification Zafiras so yes.

Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

High specification, practicality.

What was the dealer like?

No major problems with the independent dealer, wouldn't budge much on price. Did take 6 weeks to get evidence of service.

What's it like to drive?

The Zafira is not bad to drive, it handles reasonably well for a people carrier but I find the gear change poor and it's difficult to smoothly make progress through the gears. Body roll is pretty minimal and you feel in good control of the car. Performence wise the 1.8 is quite nippy but found that at motorway speeds it seems a bit stressed and noisy

What's it like to park?

It's a reasonable size car but not as big as I first thought, we have had parking sensors fitted at the rear but even before then it wasn't too bad to park even in car parks offering stingy spaces.

Have you had any problems with the car?

Electrics fault, this was caused by a garage not connecting the battery properly.

What's most practical about your car?

Flex-7 Seating, decent load space. Space under rear seats when in 7 seat mode.

Favourite gadget, option or accessory?

Heated seats