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| Performance | 7.5/10  |
|---|---|
| Practicality | 10/10 |
| Reliability | 8.5/10 |
| Value for Money | 5.5/10 |
| Overall rating | 8/10 |
By RothOwl
on 12th Aug 2007
| Year Manufactured | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Length of ownership | 2 Years |
| Doors | 5 |
| Performance | 8/10 |
| Practicality | 10/10 |
| Reliability | 8/10 |
| Value for money | 6/10 |
| Overall value | 8/10 |
 RothOwl's recommendation | |
Clever design giving flexibility and versatility.
A tall car- I like to drive 'sitting up' instead of 'lying down'.
Very roomy without being a huge car.
Comfortable and spacious.
Most, if not all, of the numerous faults of early Zafiras seen to have been rectified (unless I'm just lucky).
A comfortable ride. Long journeys seem shorter.
Key is poor. It is easily broken and expensive to replace.
2.0 Diesel engine capable BUT is more noisy and less economical than many rivals.
Parts and servicing too expensive for my liking - not unlike some other brands I expect.
Warranty not generous enough.
Not enough 'as standard' equipment. You are expected to pay extra for things included as standard in lesser cars.
This is my 2nd Zafira. I like them but nearly didn't buy the second one after endless problems with the first (a T-reg 1.8 petrol) but the design is a winner.
The car is just 3 years old, done 46000, and (touch wood) has been problem free.
Oil consumption almost nil.
I always achieve around 45mpg - less in town, more on a run. The wife is not as careful so only gets around 38mpg.
The flexibility of 5 or 6 or 7 seats is very useful.
Back seat passengers have a huge amount of knee room. The sliding bench rear seat can be moved forward 10-15cm with no loss of comfort, but giving a lot of room in the boot.
Things to watch-
1. Air-con. When used as per handbook recommendations it does not hold its charge. I've had 2 or 3 costly fixes but in the end stopped repairing it and now just open the window.
2. Key. sitting down with the key in your back pocket is enough to break the tiny spots of solder that hold the key-fob battery in place so that the remote central locking wont work. Expensive to replace.
3. Rear discs seem to wear quickly.
4. Driver's armrest that includes a flip lid storage space rattles constantly and is only silenced with an elastic band to keep the lid firmly closed- what fool thought they were a good idea?
5. At high speed the steering wheel shakes annoyingly. I've had it looked at by four different garages/tyre shops etc but each one has not been able to fix it.
My final word. The Zafira is not the best, but has a lot going for it, I would recommend them but stay well away the early Zafiras- way too many problems with them.
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