New Vauxhall Zafira lands
Six years after it changed the face of the UK's MPV car sales the new look Vauxhall Zafira has arrived in Britain.
The mark one Zafira was the first car to offer flat folding rear seats and room for six passengers, all in a vehicle the size of a compact hatchback.
As such it started a revolution in the MPV market, making way for cars like the Mazda 5, Renault Megane Scenic and Toyota Corolla Verso.
Virtually no changes have been made to the Vauxhall Zafira's Flex7 seating system, which won so many fans in the nineties.
Meanwhile for the rest of the interior focus has been on improving quality, with the upholstery being made over in soft-touch materials and the controls given a solid feel.
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The standard Zafira comes with a 118bhp diesel engine. However a recent Auto Express road test of the 1.9 litre 148bhp SRi diesel version found a rewarding drive with punchy acceleration and excellent 45.6mpg fuel consumption.
While the Vauxhall Zafira has kept its basic shape, the bodywork has had some small tweaks with chrome detailing added to the front and rear.
New sleeker lines on the bonnet and side off the car blend well with the deeper Vauxhall grill that is spreading across the range.
These small changes make the new Zafira appear a lot sleeker than its predecessor and many of its rivals.
However with compact MPVs accounting for so many UK car sales, and so many cheap rivals on the market, the new Vauxhall Zafira will have to do more than just look good to enjoy the same success as its predecessor.
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