Vauxhall Zafira a Multi Purpose Vehicle

December 30, 2016

Introduction and history

The Vauxhall Zafira offers practicality, flexibility and value in spades for a family on a budget. The Vauxhall Zafira is one of the most significant family cars of the last ten years. It is the vehicle that changed the way we bought compact MPV. Vauxhall Zafira is a great choice for the family buyer in need of practical versatility and a bit of fun. Its seven seats -folding technology was a forerunner for many of today’s flexible people carriers, putting it ahead to its peers in terms of use of space, while its compact size means its good drive, too.

Competitors in the market

The Vauxhall Zafira is a seven seat people carrier that competes with Citroen Grand C4 Picasso, Volkswagen Touran Ford S-Max, Ford Galaxy and Seat Alhambra. The new Renault Grand Science and Mazda 5 are also known as a good competitors and rivals of Vauxhall Zafira.

Engines

There are three engines to choose from 1.4 litre turbocharged petrol engine, 1.6 litre diesel engine and at the top of the range 2.0 litre diesel engine. The new 1.6 litre diesel engine is a big improvement over the old 1.7 and is smoother than the powerful 2.0 litre CTDi. A manual gearbox is standard, but you can have an automatic with the 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre engines. The only petrol in the current lineup is the 1.4 litre turbocharged four cylinder unit .it has the same peak power of 138bhp (4900-6000 rpm) as the now unavailable 1.8 but it has healthier torque. The 132 bhp 1.6 litre Ecoflex diesel has enough pull from low revs to haul around a big family without working the engine too hard. The 168bhp 2.0 litre diesel provides more shove through the mid –range but the emission and economy take a hit.

Performance and drive

Diesel engine versions are better suited to the Vauxhall Zafira’s character than the petrol version. The 1.6 litre is rightly called a whisper diesel engine by Vauxhall because it gives a very smooth, quite and lovely drive. The 1.4 manual does 0-62m/h in 9.9 seconds and goes on to a 124m/h top speed while for the automatic transmission the same data reads 10.2 seconds , on the other hand the Vauxhall Zafira ‘s diesel engine is the best getting 0-62 m/h within 9.1 seconds. The Vauxhall Zafira has rapidly become the benchmark mini MPV in its original iteration and it remains so today. Other manufacturer offer bigger and sportier carriers but the brand equity up by Vauxhall is still reaping big rewards. A CTDi diesel model would be a great hallmark of Vauxhall Zafira of recent future.

Overall

The high seating position of Zafira   provides a good room for both head and leg respectively in the front two rows, but whiles the rear –most seats have space for children. They are a bit cramped for average adults. Slim wind screen pillars and a deep rear screen mean all round vision is better than in any other vehicle of this range.