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First drive: Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2.0 CDTi Elite. Image by Vauxhall.

First drive: Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2.0 CDTi Elite
Big MPVs are on the wane, but the revised Vauxhall Zafira Tourer remains a key player.

   



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Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2.0 CDTi Elite

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New face, new connectivity tech, same old Flex7 interior brilliance and refined driving manners - the update to the Vauxhall Zafira Tourer MPV may be a modest one, but it remains one of the leading lights in the people-moving game.

Test Car Specifications

Model tested: Vauxhall Zafira Tourer Elite 2.0 CDTi
Pricing: range starts from £18,615; Elite 2.0 CDTi from £27,820
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel
Transmission: front-wheel drive, six-speed manual
Body style: five-door, seven-seat MPV
CO2 emissions: 137g/km (VED Band E, £130 annually)
Combined economy: 54.3mpg
Top speed: 129mph
0-62mph: 9.1 seconds
Power: 170hp at 3,750rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750- to 2,500rpm

What's this?

Vauxhall's D-segment Zafira Tourer MPV, updated for 2016 and beyond. Well, actually, D-segment is Vauxhall's claim; some would say this was more of a 5+2 rival for the likes of the Renault Grand Scenic and Volkswagen Touran, although the Vauxhall can take on such vehicles as the Ford S-Max, SEAT Alhambra and Volkswagen Sharan due to its physical size. If you do accept the D-segment status, then the Zafira Tourer is the market leader in the UK, with a current 44 per cent share of sales - that's a huge majority in automotive terms. Therefore, it's clearly a very popular and cherished family car, so the changes enacted here need to preserve much of its winning formula.

Like the Mokka X crossover, Vauxhall has taken the opportunity of the midlife facelift to get rid of the buttons on the Zafira's centre stack, a neater touchscreen arrangement taking its place, while there is also the range-wide addition of the OnStar personal assistant service as standard. But otherwise, it's as you were, with the same trio of engines - a solitary petrol unit in the form of a 1.4-litre turbo with 140hp and then two diesels, the 136hp 1.6-litre engine and this more powerful 170hp 2.0 CDTi. The two bookend motors can be had with either six-speed manual or automatic transmissions, while the 1.6 CDTi is a manual only, with drive going to the front wheels on all variants.

All the clever interior packaging of the Zafira Tourer - with its Flex7 seating arrangements, masses of cubby holes/storage and that swish panoramic windscreen on higher-spec models - remain, which leaves us with the revised exterior styling as the main talking point of the Zafira Tourer update. The old 'boomerang' light clusters have gone, replaced by a sleeker, more corporate face that closely resembles the Astra's. It's a perfectly understandable and appealing alteration.

The thing is, while it is undoubtedly still a fine-looking machine (as MPVs, or vans with windows, go), it's a bit like when BMW sanitised the Bangle-era 7 Series in 2005, Skoda got rid of the Yeti's round fog lamps in 2014 and Fiat did its best to get a degree of the striking hideousness out of the original Multipla's mug - yes, you end up with a less offensive vehicle that's undoubtedly more acceptable to the masses... but is it also a little bit more anodyne and less noticeable than it once was? We want the boomerangs back.

How does it drive?

With masses of refinement and comfort, at the expense of any particular driving excitement. However, save for the S-Max - and possibly the BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer - how many MPVs can you name that are genuinely fun to steer? No, you're not allowed that mad one-off Renault Espace with the F1 engine, either.

Thus, what the Zafira Tourer does out on the road is get the job done with the minimum of fuss and aggravation. The ride is exceptional, although, as the 18-inch-wheel-shod Elite model occasionally bangs into potholes and the like, we reckon the better-selling SRi Nav variant on 17s lower down the pecking order would improve things even further. Nevertheless, such comfort is only aided and abetted by a lack of wind noise and tyre roar to make travelling in the Vauxhall a stress-free affair. Just what exasperated parents want, then.

Shame the 2.0 CDTi lump is a bit gruff. Unlike its smaller 1.6-litre sibling, there appears to be less acoustic isolation for the 170hp powerplant and you can hear it far too often under moderate throttle openings, while it offers up mild vibrations all the time, evident through the steering wheel and the seat squab. It's not by any means bad and we absolutely love its 400Nm midrange thump - plus, with only 136- or 140hp to choose from elsewhere, you're really going to want this big diesel for shifting such a mass of metal around - but up against the Volkswagen Group's 2.0 TDI or the equivalent Ford motor, you will soon notice the GM engine's relative coarseness.

That aside, the rest of the Zafira Tourer driving experience is well-judged, with acceptable steering, good brakes, a reasonably poised chassis and a generally impressive resistance to body roll in the corners. As large MPVs go, it's in no way dynamically extraordinary, but then that's probably a very good thing.

Verdict

Little has changed with the Vauxhall Zafira Tourer during this update, save for a front end that's marginally less distinctive than it was before. However, it remains a great and attractive MPV with a thoughtful interior and some useful new technology additions. If you have a large brood of children, you only ever travel on boring roads and you really can't stand seven-seat SUVs, then the revised Zafira Tourer is one of the best people carriers you're going to find - and it comes at a reasonable price, too.

3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 Exterior Design

4 4 4 4 4 Interior Ambience

4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 Passenger Space

4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 Luggage Space

4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 Safety

4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 Comfort

3 3 3 3 3 Driving Dynamics

4 4 4 4 4 Powertrain


Matt Robinson - 9 Sep 2016



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2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.

2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer. Image by Vauxhall.








 

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