Vauxhall Zafira Club 1.6i > Reviews > Small on the outside, large on the inside.

Author's product rating:   

Safety	Good
Comfort	Good
Road Handling	Good
Security	Good
Looks	Good

Advantages:	Seven seats .
Disadvantages:	Lack of luggage space when all seats in use .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

We have aquired a Vauxhall Zafira club 1.6 on the Disability Mobility scheme, this scheme allows you to hire a car for three years in return for your Disability mobility payments. We decided to choose the Zafira because our two children are growing fast and we thought the extra space would be useful.
As I was used to driving a Vauxhall Astra Club, I initially found the Zafira quite sluggish and felt almost that I was driving a van. The seating position is very upright and the steering wheel seems to sit at a different angle to other cars I have driven.
I found the seating useful, as we could fit the two children in the back and put Granny and Grandad in the middle. Although I do find that there is very little luggage space when all the seats are in use. There is a small space behind the back seats and space under the middle seats.However when the back seats are folded down you are left with a large boot, which has the ability to be made larger if the middle seats are moved forward. All this is accomplished quite easily, the middle seats simply slide along and the back seats fold down into the base of the car.
Another good feature of this car is the air conditioning, this is absolutely essential in the summer as the large windscreen acts as a greenhouse, and even with all the windows open you WILL fry. A down side to this is that fuel consumption will go up when the air conditioning is on.
I find fuel consumption is quite low in this car, probably on par with the Astra (although I'm not a fuel consumption buff) I just know that it generally needs filling up at the same time.
The most appealing feature of the Zafira is when you get it onto the motorway. As you are sitting quite high and you have great visability it almost feels like you are flying. I think this car probably performs best at speed (that is 60 - 70 mph). It is very easy to drive, and the seating is comfortable, even on a long journey. Urban driving is a bit more sluggish, although parking is quite easy and the Zafira looks bigger than it actually is.
For me, the Zafira is a very practical car. It is ideal for my family at the moment. I don't think I could go back to a smaller car.