It’s hard to believe that the Meriva is derived from the Opel Corsa floorpan, because the little wagon seems so big inside. In fact, the Meriva is not much smaller than its bigger brother, the Zafira.
The test car was the upmarket Comfort version, which meant that it came with alloy wheels, side airbags, electric windows and mirrors, satellite controls for the sound system on the steering wheel and a Twin Audio system that allows the kids to listen to a CD through earphones in the back, while Mom and Dad soak up the boring stuff on their favourite radio channel. That’s all over and above the other features like aircon, power-steering, ABS brakes with EBD, dual airbags and a front-loading radio/CD player that are also fitted to the base model Club.
Seating and luggage arrangements are very flexible – the car converts in a jiffy from a five seater right down to a driver-only vehicle with over 2 000 litres of storage space. The Comfort model also offers a “Travel Assistant”, a rear armrest that slides 70mm backwards or forwards and contains two cupholders and a five litre storage box. In case that’s still not enough , there’s a three compartment 60 litre stowage area tucked away under the luggage-compartment’s floor panel.
The Spanish-built Meriva performs well, thanks to its gutsy 1,6 litre Ecotec engine. With 74 kW on tap at 6 000 rpm and 150 Nm of torque available from 3 600 rpm the Opel doesn’t need to be flogged to make it perform – at 120 km/hr the engine’s spinning at a relaxed 3 500 rpm, with peak torque just 100 rpm away on the tachometer. It’s a very flexible unit, and delivers a claimed 182 km/hr top speed, with acceleration to 100 km/hr taking around 13,5 seconds. Handling is car like, and road holding confidence-inspiring.
The Opel Meriva Comfort – a finalist in this year’s Car of the Year competition – is a bargain at R168 500. It’s well thought out, well put together and well worth thinking about.