Zafira owners help please

astraea

Hi

I am buying a car in the next 2 weeks i need a 7 seater but dont want a big car. I think i have settled on a Zafira.

I would like to ask any Zafira owners if they could give me their honest opinions on the car, am i making the right choice?

Many thanks
vikki

Bowling_4_Gold

We own an '02 reg and have found it overall quite good. Easy to get all the kids in the back, and can comfortably seat 5 adults without the two seats in the back up. When the two seats in the back are up, the boot space is obviously reduced very much, but if you only need one up, you will still have half a boot. The 2 seats in the back only really are suitable for children, but you probably could just about get an adult in there... but not for long journeys.

The car is quite economical and ours has had no major mechaincal work needing doing in the time we have owned it. Overall, quite a good car if you've got kids/a dog.

invisiblecabbage

We had a W reg Zafira 1.8 elegance. Almost 200000 miles on the clock and no major work except the usual brake replacement, plugs, filters and tyres. So we bought another!:j

harveybobbles

Original Zafira was ok mechanically, but as it's based on the Astra's floorplan all the seats were brought forwards about 10 inches to make room for the extra two seats at the back. This meant that the driving position was rather odd and you sat in it like you're sat in a chair, rather than a seat.

The 2005 model offered a bit more comfort, but was let down by them god damm awful GM diesel engines.

The Grand Scenic is lovely to drive, but it's a Renault.
The Touran is ok to drive, but make sure it's had the ABS pump done...

do you need 7 seats full time or occasionally? As you can get Volvo V70 and Audi A6 Avants with the extra rear seats in the boot...

shop-to-drop

T Reg petrol Zafira 1.8 Auto.

I love it, it's not sexy or anything but practical and easy to drive. We were advised against a 1.6 and auto was also recommended.

Obviously mine is a mk one but I'm planning to buy a newer version soon. We needed the extra seats but didn't want a huge car that guzzled petrol. We don't have a garage to leave the rear seats in when we don't need them so the Zafira with the fold down seats was the answer. Kids have never complained about sitting in the back seats and one of them is 5ft 10in.

jellymid

We have a 1.6 2006 Zafira. It's been ok. Not the most powerful of cars - but enough to keep us out of trouble. We get about 38 mpg, our friends have a 1.8 and only get 31 mpg. Seats have been really useful. Boot is brilliant for camping. Have had a few problems, clutch replaced (known fault), horn/radio/heating controls...ongoing, but overall, it's ok. Our local Vauxhall dealer was a very good independent, but has been swallowed up by a chain - I think that could make a difference as to whether we buy another one. Overall we have been very happy with it.

Ebe_Scrooge

We've got a 2004 1.8. It does what it says on the tin :-) The best thing is the versatility, being able to fold the seats down when not needed. A friend of mine has a Kia Sedona - lovely big car, and all the seats are comfortable for adults. But the downside is that it's not a quick job to remove the rear seats, and they have to be stored in the garage when not used. With the Zafira they fold down in seconds. The rear seats really are only suitable for kids, but that's what we needed.

With all 7 seats upright there's very little luggage space - but I think that's true of most 7-seaters. We get round this by using a roof box for holidays etc. But it is great for shifting large loads, when all the seats are folded down it's like a van !

For our personal circumstances we find the folding seats ideal. Typical scenario - going to visit my parents for a week. For the drive down there we have it in 5-seat mode, giving a large boot space for all the luggage. When we get there, empty out the luggage, pop up the rear seats, then all 7 of us ( me, wife, 3 kids + 2 parents ) can go for days out and only need to take the one car. That's the disadvantage of something like the Kia I mentioned earlier - in that situation your rear seats are stuck at home in the garage :-)

Overall verdict - not the most exciting car to drive, but it fulfills the job it was bought for very well for us.

movingforward2010

My mum has had 3 Zaffys - Y reg 1.6 club - great car, no faults or complaints.
A 56 reg 1.6 club - grossly under powered , struggled to get up to speed or over taking, hills ect - but no problems with breakdowns at all, had to go ini the end

And finally a 57 reg 1.9 cdti (120) Design - lovely car inside- part leather seats, tinted rear windows, trip comp, comfortable -however a few issues with engine management and fuel filters which caused it to loose power on a few occasions. averaged 40mpg at best , she got this when it was 6 months old for only £12.5k with 5k on the clock, think list new was around £20k!!:eek:

Overall great cars for the money, but watch out for the diesels!!

oldagetraveller

Register on here http://www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/index.php and ask. There are some quite helpful and knowledgeable people there.
Also have a look through some of the Zafira postings to get an idea of some common and not so common problems - there are a few! Remember though it's only the faults which are usually reported probably far exceeded by those with no problems

vikingaero

One of the biggy questions I always ask is:

Are you planning to use the Zafira with child seats in the middle or rear?

If it's kids who can strap themselves in on boosters then fine. If you need to use a combination of boosters and/or seats then it can be fiddly with the sliding bench. Also the sliding bench isn't wide enough for 3 baby seats.

But our old Zafira has been pretty reliable. Just an engine warning light for a few days which disappeared and normal servicing and tyres.

moredeadthanalive

I have had a 53 reg 1.8 auto elegance Zaf from new. It is an excellent "value" (as in Tescos) people mover and ideal for skool age kids who need ferrying with their friends all the time. It was great to be able to increase seats at a moments notice. No mechanical probs at all and when I was driving super defensibly at up to 50mph, the computer miles left added to the miles driven was over 500! Being an auto and a Zaf it accelerates like a 3 legged tortoise and in town drinks petrol - 330 for a tank.

Ride is hard and bouncy - like I said - Value.

Oh yes, one time we had eight people and a wheelchair to go 3 miles to a train station. Did I really say that?