Vauxhall Zafira Review
Published: 15th March 2006
Vauxhall Zafira
We loved the optional panoramic roof which comprises of four individual glass panels (protected with electrically powered sunshades) above the four main seats plus it adds a central overhead storage area in the roof. Not too dissimilar to the over seat storage you have in an aeroplane or coach. The main benefit for the family user is that it can store an awful lot of your family’s clutter out of sight. You could easily store nappies, a spare change of clothes, etc in the five separate storage compartments. It is a pity it isn’t standard and at £850 it is an expensive option but I would certainly consider it as I cannot stand my car being in chaos.
Safety and Security 
The Vauxhall Zafira has been awarded the maximum 5 stars for adult occupant protection - 4/5 stars for child occupancy and 2/4 stars for Pedestrian protection.
We don’t like the fact that ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) is a £400 option, especially on a family car. ESP is designed to protect the car and passengers from skids through the clever application of the brakes and throttle, without any input from the driver.
The Club class Zafira that we drove had six airbags (2 x front, 2 x side and 2 x curtain), although not all Zafira’s have curtain bags, i.e. the Express Model. Plus the curtain bag doesn’t protect the third row occupants which is rather naughty. We also didn’t like the fact that the Club class Zafira we tested had wind down rear windows, as there is no way of stopping children opening the windows.
Comfort and Refinement
Of course one of the major selling points of the Vauxhall Zafira is its capacity to seat seven. The front and 2nd row seats have plenty of head room but the 3rd row seats are really only for occasional use by children. I think children aged ten or over would soon complain if they had to go on a long journey.
The 3rd row seats fold completely flat into the floor giving a useful 645 litres of luggage space to the glass line. Fold the 2nd row forward and this increases to 1070 litres or 1820 litres if you wish to fill the car up to the roof line. If you want to go on holiday with all of the seats fully occupied then you are only left with 140 litres of luggage space behind the 3rd row seats. So either you will need to pack extremely light or look to buying a roof top box.
Vauxhall call their seating system ‘FLEX7’ and this seems to be an apt title.
Our test car was fitted with the optional Bi-Xenon Adaptive Forward Lighting pack (£750) - this pack features Bi-Xenon headlights which move the headlight beam in same direction as the steering wheel, effectively lighting where you are steering. It worked well, although it was a little spooky to begin with. The system also lifts the dipped beam at speeds above 65 mph to extend the range of the beam. This is a highly recommended option if you spend a lot time of behind the wheel at night and we found it of great benefit on poorly lit country roads.
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