THE OPEL ZAFIRA used to be a common sight on Irish roads. Some 2,392 of them were sold in 2007 alone. And with good reason too. It had the great Flex7 seating system where the seats all fold flat to the floor with ease and it allowed buyers to choose a seven-seater without having to buy a particularly bulky car.
By the end of 2009, sales had dropped a catastrophic 93 per cent to just 164 units. Opel will be hoping that a portion of these 2007 buyers will be returning in 2012 when an all-new Zafira arrives and it will make its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September.
The new Zafira adopts many of the new family styling cues from the Opel family that include the trapezoidal grille and a crease in the centre of the bonnet. There are also twin boomerang graphics at the front and a massive glass area to provide plenty of all-round visibility.
The new model, as is de rigueur these days, has grown. It sits on a longer wheelbase (+57mm) and has a wider front and rear track. There is also 65l more bootspace than the model it will replace, and with all the rear seats folded flat there is a massive 1,860l of room.
The third row of seats can be folded flat and the second row is now made up of individual seats rather than a bench.
There will be the option of a lounge seating system and with this the back of the middle seat folds down and turns into an armrest.
There will be a host of new safety equipment including adaptive cruise control (ACC) and a collision-mitigating braking system (CMB) and these will work with new items such as the Opel Eye front camera and traffic-sign recognition. There will also be the Opel FlexRide chassis system available as an option.
The engine range for the Zafira will consist of three outputs of the 2.0-litre CDTI with 110hp, 130hp or 165hp.
Of lesser importance to the Irish market will be two turbocharged petrol engines with 120- or 140hp.
Stop-start technology will keep emissions low in the new model, details of which we have yet to see.
A spokesperson for Opel Ireland said that they expect the car to go on sale here in Spring 2012.
For more details and video of the new Opel Zafira, visit The Irish TimesMotors Blog (irishtimes.com/blogs/motors)