I am looking into getting a new Vauxhall Zafira 1.9 diesel (120bhp) automatic.
What are your views?
I know it is heavy on fuel compared to manual version but just fancy an automatic and this is within my price range.
Thanks in advance for any replies
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I ruled it out of my list of diesel autos for next year simply because of its poor fuel consumption... I don't really understand why its so bad... is it a "normal" auto with not many gears as compared with the others' DSG and the like?
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It is a proper automatic gearbox fitted and not a DSG.
Been for a drive in a zafira 120bhp automatic. It was nice but not as responsive as i hoped. Kept an eye on the fuel consumption around town and dual carriageway, it was in the high 20s low 30s.
As it has been said the car is a gear lower than you would have in a manual box while accelerating but when you ease off the accelerator it goes up a gear.
I feel it may be best to assume i would get the same fuel consumption figures as a manual petrol car.
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I'm almost certain i've driven Zaf's with the 1.9 150 hp Diesel coupled to the proper auto box.
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I'll qualify that post by the way, it's been my experience that 'properly driven' more powerful versions of a vehicle can have better economy than the lower or smaller engined models because the engine's not struggling and pulling all the time.
Helps if the higher power version has higher top gearing too, and that i haven't a clue about re the Zaf's.
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Economy is also helped by torque converter lock in as many gears as possible.
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Drove one the other week, couple of hundred miles in it - manual though. I liked the gadgets - seats that disappear, loads of space etc. etc. Thought it was a bit road-noisy internally. Other than that, it was a car.
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drove a new 2.2 petrol sport auto 2 years ago and it was easy to confuse the box to the state it packed in up the yorkshire dales,now fair enough it was a long hill but it should have coperd and it didnt
so make sure you give the diesel a dammed good test drive before you commit
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We've got two of the 2.2 autos. One has done nearly 70k now and no autobox issues. They can get a little confused between 1st and 2nd at low speeds if you throw it at a steep hill when they're fully loaded, but other than that, can't fault it.
Both return about 30mpg, which is probably only 5-10mpg off the 1.9 diesel auto. Given the well known problems with the 1.9 CDTI (expensive problems too), I'd have the 2.2 petrol any day in preference. Cheap as chips to buy too, as people worry about the fuel economy etc.
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There's a new (bigger) model due very soon, so if you are talking about a brand new Zafira, I would be looking for a very good discount. I believe the new model will be addressing the biggest weakness of the Zafira, namely the inflexible rear seats, and will have individual fold-into-the-floor ones like most modern MPVs.
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but they're keeping the old Zafira alongside the new one, like Citroen did with the Picasso. The new one will be Galaxy-sized with a price to match. tinyurl.com/3trexs5
Last edited by: Victorbox on Thu 21 Apr 11 at 21:03
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Got a petrol auto FRV - does everything a Zaf does except carry 7 people.
With 6 up it has a full-sized boot, and it can carry 3 people with the fully flat floor.
Low 30s mpg with mixed driving.
Much much much better to drive than a cooking Zaf.
I'd guess it will be much more reliable too but time will tell.
They dont make them any more but there are a few 59-plates in dealers for sale.
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Yeah but the Zaf is only half as ugly as an FRV, which is one ugly SOB
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FRV's fine.
Compared to a Multipla ;-)
Zaf is a pile of poo on most reliability ratings.
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>> Zaf is a pile of poo on most reliability ratings.
Only in yours by the looks of it - my Zafira B has done almost 100,000 trouble free miles with just one minor part replacement and normal servicing. The (too wide) FRV is so good they don't sell it anymore?
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Having looked at and sat sat in an FRV the first thing that struck me was that it would be a hassle parking it in many places due to the width, particularly with 'normal' rather than sliding doors. I don't see how the 3 a side seating works either, with adults then there isn't any elbow room, with kids the squabbling would be worse than normal with 3 squashed into 1 row.
OK SWMBO's Zafira A needed a fair bit spending on it last year; new alternator, new MAF, new spark plugs and coil frame - but then it's 10 years old and has done 140K round town miles.
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FRV is 3 inches wider than a Zafira and 7 inches shorter - parking is a non-issue.
Zafiras don't have sliding doors either.
Zafira in 5-seat format has a much bigger boot (645 vs 439 litres).
If you can and will use 6 seats I maintain the FRV is easier and more convenient (centre seats can both slide back nearly a foot to accommodate 6 adults with little hassle) than a Zafira. In the FRV I can sit behind myself without my knees touching the driver's seat (6ft 5in). If you are a corpulent bloater and/or American then it's maybe not the best...
If you regularly need 7 seats, unless you dont need any boot space, you're better going for a Sharan/Galaxy sized machine.
What Zafiras have over pretty much any other MPV is fantastically low prices - not unusual to see low-end models under 11 grand on drivethedeal.com et al.
Low end Zafiras are rather weak drivers' cars though.
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>>The (too wide) FRV is so good they don't sell it anymore?
When the average age of a company's customers is around 107 there's little demand for a kid-carrier ;-)
The Stream and Shuttle were good cars for there time too, but they weren't exactly mainstream either.
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>> We've got two of the 2.2 autos. One has done nearly 70k now and no
>> autobox issues. *****************They can get a little confused between 1st and 2nd at low speeds***********************
>> if you throw it at a steep hill when they're fully loaded, but other than
>> that, can't fault it.
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>>
>> i rest my case
as the holiday maker was heard to say
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Well, I've always said it would have been a better car with 5 or 6 gears (no idea why they didn't pair it with the 5 speed auto as they did in the Vectra-C?) , but you can't have everything! :)
99% of the time, the gearbox is perfect for the car and hasn't failed us yet...
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Vauxhall Zafira B - New Zafira 1.9 Auto - do you recommend it? - hobby
