Vauxhall Zafira Road Test

Vauxhall Zafira

The Elite specification Zafira comes with an array of goodies such full leather trim, electronic climate control, cruise control, CD30 stereo with MP3 socket, alloy wheels, a multifunction trip computer and a sight and light pack, which incorporates automatic lighting control, rain-sensitive windscreen wipers and an electro-chromatic self-dipping interior mirror.

The options fitted to our test car included Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL) (£750), CD 70 stereo radio/CD with MP3 format/auxiliary in socket & Satellite Navigation with colour monitor (£1250), and Keyless entry and start (£300) and Rear seat Twin Audio system with single headset (£100).

We are particularly fond of the optional keyless entry and start system (£300), which is very good, you simply grab the door handle to unlock the car and touch the handle to lock the doors. The key fob can remain in your pocket or handbag. To start and stop the engine you simply press a button - this is one option we would want.

Our car was fitted with Vauxhall’s CD70 Navi System (£1250) with includes Satellite Navigation with a TFT colour monitor. There is a line-in socket so that you can plug in an mp3 player such as an iPod. We were not overly impressed by the navigation rendering, it is not full colour, a bit primitive for £1250. Plus you cannot enter a post code when setting your destination.

We found the climate control a little complicated to use as it relies on the TFT monitor to control some of the functions and settings.

We were impressed by the Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL), an option at £750 - they comprise of Bi-Xenon headlights that can swivel into the direction of travel, giving you a better illuminated view around corners and through bends at night. At first they can make you feel a little sick, well they did us, but you soon get used to them and they are certainly beneficial if you do a lot of night driving, especially in the country.

The interior is a mixture of plastic and aluminium type trim and on the whole the interior is very family friendly and hardwearing, if not a little hard to the touch.

Overall we were left impressed with the Vauxhall Zafira 150PS 1.9-litre CDTi diesel Elite. It is possible to seat 7, albeit without everyone’s holiday luggage, it handled well and the engine was quite spirited, if not a little noisy. Overall it’s a well conceived package that is very easy to live with and comes highly recommended.

For a more in-depth review please see Vauxhall Zafira Review

Vauxhall Zafira