Test drive Opel Zafira 2006 - 2008 Minivan

Zafira: seven

Seven places with a length of less than 4.5 m, wide possibilities for transformation of the salon and the price is almost like a class of class C The most obvious advantages of the Opel Zafira compact lure. Those who themselves are highlighted especially, seeing in them the key to the commercial success of the car. The test of the novelty on the impeccable roads of Switzerland may not fully allow all the features of Zafira, but to agree or disagree with the above virtues, there was enough time.
There is no unequivocal answer to the discussion question whether this Zafira is a new generation or just an updated version. The Opelians themselves either call Zafira-2008 a new one, then they use the word restyling, admitting that they wanted to make the car a more sports and exciting, but without a sharp departure from the harmonious image of the body, which was so appreciated in Europe.
So you can state: yes, almost everything has changed in Zafira, but these changes are not global; In addition, the most significant innovations will not be available in Russia.
External changes are really exclusively restyled. The appearance only refreshed a pair of strokes: they divided the radiator grille into two parts, ending it with chrome, and added sharpness of the body lines around fog heads.
And the salon, when I sat in it, did not hit something completely new. A strict single style with a moderately tough chairs, a vertical landing, not the most convenient location of the gearbox lever relative to the driver's armrest and impeccable assembly quality
Actually, the designers did not be too zealous: they slightly changed the finishing materials and made chrome pens on the central console. Everybody!
Another thing is the system of transformation of the seats Flex7! The Olevites are proud of it and, I must admit, fairly. The very opportunity to add the second and third row of seats is, of course, not unique, but the opportunity to get as a result of an absolutely even gender is a completely different matter! A huge space in 1820 l an unconditional argument for.
But what do insignificant changes in design mean and even a successful Flex7 compared to the main new engines? After all, they are now at Zafira 10 for every taste. The most interesting unit is a new 1.6-liter 115-horsepower engine, it seems to be the most interesting for the Russian consumer. His predecessor offered only 105 liters. with. And he was clearly weak. The same is more powerful, more economical and, according to the developers, more receives.
Disappointment: there were no versions with a 94-horsepower 1.6 CNG ECOTEC engine on the test, which operates on natural gas. The green motor, of course, is not an option for hot Russian guys (it will not even be delivered to Russia, although for a completely different reason), but to evaluate the practical value of a car that can accelerate only to miserable 165 km/h and spending on the first hundred 17 s It would be curious ...
The new diesel engines of 1.7 liters presented on the test (110 and 125 hp) will also not be delivered to our country. But their economy could well become an argument for many fathers of families! In pairs with a six -speed manual transmission, they create a completely worthy alliance. True, in the conditions of mountain Switzerland and in the urban stream, frequent gear shifts are quickly tired. But this is already the costs of technology: but in the plus a good acceleration and a full wallet. I transplant to a 2.2-liter machine with an already known 150-horsepower engine. This is the most powerful of the non-ruble Zafira units and after half an hour drive along the autobahn I already want to transfer to a 240-horsepower OPC
No, the 150-horsepower version is not bad, but somehow not aggressive enough. The sluggish rudder reactions are embarrassed, the lack of information content of which affects even with rebuilding, not to mention the movement in the mountains, where one has to turn every 10 s. Or maybe there are not enough sensations when you are pressed into a chair without which racing excitement is unthinkable?
So for those who do not perceive cars without racing excitement even as an option, Opel offers an OPC version with a 240-horsepower engine. This engine also did not undergo changes, but with them the mini-wen turns into racing authority with excellent 7.8 C to 100 km/h.
But the last option for perfect originals. The main trump card Zafira is obvious in its budget versions, which make a very real dream of a classic European picnic driving. With friends or work colleagues. To which the head of the family may well go in the week at the wheel of the same Zafira.
Read the full version in the March issue of the wheel magazine

Text: Philip Berezin
Photo: Roman Ostanin

 

 

A source: Wheel magazine [February 2008]