2003 Opel Meriva 1.6

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Author: John Oxley

Delta Motor Corporation is punting the Meriva quite hard, and sometimes this becomes such an irritant that it can have a counter-productive result. But forget about that. Although it's not as versatile as the ads would make you believe, the Opel Meriva offers a high degree of utility.

Based on mainly Opel Corsa underpinnings - although it's not much shorter than the Astra-based Zafira - the Meriva is a smaller car than its main rival, the Renault Scenic. But not by much. This translates into a tauter and more responsive feel around town and in the suburbs and a sensation that more parking places are there for the asking.

The Meriva is, of course, a latest-generation car, whereas the current Scenic is about to be replaced with an updated version based on the superb Megane II chassis, so perhaps we're not really comparing apples with apples.

The Meriva also represents a turning point for Opel, the first of new-generation cars designed to offer greater flexibility - the buzzword is "crossover" - better styling, and a more upmarket image.

Thus we see a car that has obvious design cues from the current Corsa, but with more aggressive headlights. More like a Corsa big brother than a little Zafira.

The outside is pretty, but it's the interior that really impresses, thanks, on the 1.6 Comfort tested here, to the bright and cheery cloth upholstery (red and grey go together really well) and the modern dash design.

However, what makes the Meriva more special than some other small MPVs is its rear seating system, dubbed "Flexspace" by Opel.

This enables the car to be a load carrier, a people carrier, or a small limo, all in one.

Here's how it works.

In the regular five-seat configuration the front-wheel drive minivan has three rear seats, but for extra comfort the two outer seats can be moved to their rearmost position.

The Meriva then becomes an exceptionally spacious four-seater, with legroom and width at shoulder height comparable to that found in many midsize cars. In this configuration the centre seat is simply folded away. There's still plenty of load space, too.

Additional highlights include a 60 litre, three-compartment storage box under the load-area floor panels and the multifunctional Travel Assistant that can be attached to the back of the centre seat after it has been folded down.

This feature is standard on the Comfort model, and features an armrest that can be moved forwards or backwards by 70 mm, two cup holders, and an insulated interior storage box that provides more than five litres of additional space.

If additional storage space is needed the two individual outer seats can separately be slid forward, folded down or lowered completely to the floor.

With all five seats in use, the Meriva's load area - depending on the position of the rear seats - still holds between 350 to 560 litres, far more than a conventional compact hatch back.

And if more space is required, the Meriva can be rapidly transformed into transporter with a capacity of 1 410 litres and a cargo-area length of 1.70 metres.

With the front passenger's seat folded forward, an amazing load length of 2.4 metres and more than 2 000 litres storage space is available.

The Meriva is also designed to appeal to the teens in your family, for it has a separate "Twin Audio" system in the back, complete with its own volume controls, that allows them to listen to a CD on earphones while the others listen to the radio on the car's speakers.

Other features include fold-down trays with can holders behind the front seats, hooks on the backs of the two outer rear seats for shopping backs, a load net to stop stuff sliding about in the back, and a hidden under-floor stowage area.

There's also a drawer under the driver's seat.

Up front there's plenty of headroom and legroom, and a brand-new dashboard that is clear-cut and sharp, with a metallic-look centre console.

The instruments are directly in front of the driver, and there's a chrome-rimmed black-faced dual gauge that contains revcounter and speedo, flanked by water temperature and fuel gauges.

The steering wheel is soft-rimmed, with remote controls for the audio system, but unfortunately it's the only thing that is soft about the dash - the rest is made of hard plastic rather than the safety-first soft-touch materials we have become used to.

There's a drop-down glovebox, but it doesn't lock - in fact, there's nowhere in the car one can lock stuff away.

The centre console houses the ventilation controls - aircon is standard - as well as a built-in radio and front-loader CD player, and there's a pair of drinks recesses.

One sits quite high in the Meriva, as with all the MPVs, and this means generally good all round vision and an excellent driving position - although the A-pillars can block the driver's view, especially when cornering.

The driver's seat is easy to adjust so most people should be able to get comfortable, and there's a height-adjustable steering column.

Equipment levels are high, and the Meriva 1.6 Comfort comes standard with alloy wheels, air conditioning, electrically-operated windows and mirrors (the latter also heated), separate ventilation outlets in the back, no fewer than three power points, an information display which tells time, date and temperature, plus ISOFIX child seat points in the back and last but not least, dual airbags.

The Meriva feels sturdy and well put together, and we encountered no rattles or squeaks.

On the road handling is crisp and taut, although there's some body roll when pushing hard. The suspension features the Corsa's McPherson struts at the front, the Zafira's torsion beam rear, and the Vectra's speed-sensitive electric power steering.

On the downside the seats don't have a lot of lateral hold, especially in hard cornering.

Ride quality is firm without being hard, and there's plenty of wheel travel. Braking is excellent with disc brakes all round, the fronts ventilated. There's also ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution.

The engine is the well-proven 1.6-litre Ecotec unit as found in other Opel models, a 16-valve DOHC unit that pushes out 74 kW at 6 000 r/min and a modest 150 Nm of torque at 3 600 r/min.

The result is a car that performs well at sea level, especially when commuting empty, but starts to feel the load with more than two people aboard. Generally the car is fairly quiet, although there is some wind rustle from the front pillars.

Fuel economy is good, and tank capacity a very useful 60 litres.

Opel moves into a new era with the Meriva. On the whole it's a successful move, and we have also seen the new direction exemplified in the next generation Astra.

The Meriva shows excellent build quality, good design flexibility, and competitive pricing.