Zafira / Mazda5 / verso opinions pls

chubachub

Looking for opinion's on the three cars mentioned above. 05 / 06 models to cater for 7 yr old, 3.5 yr old and 21month old. Familiar with opel's but have heard the Zafira can use up to a litre of oil every 1000K. Would this have a long term "negative" effect on the engine? It seems to tick all the boxes for us otherwise. The middle seat in 2nd row of the Mazda 5 is "small" as the two outer ones are "bucket- like". Corolla verso should be reliable but very tight with all 7 seats up. We would be trading in an Opel so obviously we'd get a better deal trading for another opel. All opinions welcome & thanks....

kaylden

In my opinion i would go with a diesel Zafira it does hit all the right boxes with the mazda a close second seats and ignition problems from what ive looked into and with the Zafira its much more economical.

ZV Yoda

We were in the same boat last year. Our kids are 5, 3 & 7 mths. Looked at the 3 you mentioned:

Mazda5 - sliding doors are great, but middle seat not practical, so you'd need to use the back one - this means only half a boot (plus danger of things flying around). Also, if using baby/booster seats, you'll fnd it awkward to fold the middle seats down to get to the back ones. 1.8 petrol engine not to eveybody's liking. Also, not much in the way of cubby holes/centre console. All in all, interior felt very old fashioned.

Zafira - nice to drive, felt solid. Go for higher spec - poverty model very basic (e.g. no electric rear windows - kids could wind them down by temselves). Biggest draw back is that you can't move the middle seats individually - it's a row of 3 seats. Was heavy to move & a pain in the ar*s to adjust (quote from my wife!)

Verso - I didn't take to it - the boot was tiny with back seats in use. Also, quite a dour interior.

We also looked at the Mitsubishi Grandis - it's the next class up with 7 full seats. A lot more expensive, but very well spec'd if you can find one. I really liked this, but wife felt it was very cumbersome.

SMax - as with Grandis. great car, but expensive.

We settled on a Grand Scenic. Most versatile of the mini MPVs, lots of gadgets & cubby holes in the Dynamique model. Very flexible seat arrangement. Not the best build quality, but that wasn't our main concern.

Best thing you can do is go out & try them all - bring the kids, car seats, buggies & throughly test it for practicality.

Hope this helps

JHMEG

Verso is quite a bit smaller than the Zafira.

I found the 1.6 Zafira heavy on petrol and would recommend a bigger engine.

Dunno about the Mazda.

GERMAN ROCKS

kaylden wrote: »

In my opinion i would go with a diesel Zafira it does hit all the right boxes with the mazda a close second seats and ignition problems from what ive looked into and with the Zafira its much more economical.

+1

Guy:Incognito

We bought an 05 Grand Scenic last week and the missus loves it (being honest I realy like it too ) The only car I disscounted right off the bat was the Zafira, I had one last year on the Opel 3 day test drive thing and there wasnt anything I liked about it. From the styling (I really dont like the current Opel thing of eveything insie havign angles and being square) to the underpowered engine (1.6 petrol). The seats are just way too fiddly and awkward compared ith others ( our young lad gets in and out of the rear most seats by letting down the seat in front, big hassle with bench seats a la the Zafira)

ZV Yoda

On the Grand Scenic, we went for the 1.6 petrol (not the most economical & you won't be done for speeding very often).

In hindsight, we should have gotten the diesel, but there weren't too many around when we were buying.

bbam

Hi
We opted for the Zafira, nice and roomy and a nice drive if you remember its an MPV.. Herself drives it 90% of the time, 1.6 petrol. We dont have fuel consumption problems, probably cos she drives it nice and even... I find it a bit underpowered.. If I was driving all the time I'd opt fort the 1.9TD version which drives great..
Cheers..

Lex Luthor

I can't comment on the Mazda, but we have a diesel Verso for about a year.

I rented a Zafira in France last year and did find the boot with the 2 rear seats down a bit bigger than teh verso but I couldn't live with the cockpit of the Opel, but if you are used to the Opel, then go with it,

you will definitley get 3 across the back in the Verso

We have the 2liter diesel Sol which is very well equipped like this one, which has dropped 1k in the last few weeks.

chubachub

Thanks all for taking the time to reply. We'll just have to go and test drive with 3 kids in tow. It probably does come down to a personal choice. They each have their positive's and negatives. Just a quick one for those of you that have a Zafira, any problems with oil consumption?

zing

The wife has the Mazda and while it's great for 2 kids and occasionally more (e.g. kids friends the odd time) it's become a pita now that we've 3 kids. It's biggest advantage is it's back doors but as previously mentioned you can't put much into the boot with someone sitting back there for fear of things moving about. Also the 1.8 feels very underpowered.

Only a year old and seriously considering replacing it. Might just go for a half decent sized estate and forget about the whole mpv thing.

smoc

i'd rather drive a lada than an opel. at least a lada doesnt break down when it gets wet underneat the car. my aunt had 3 opels and all broke down within 2 weeks of brand new because they got too wet underneat the car. This was in 2005 mind so unless they've improved in the last 3 years i'd stay away. their like tin cans to drive anyway.

GERMAN ROCKS

smoc wrote: »

i'd rather drive a lada than an opel. at least a lada doesnt break down when it gets wet underneat the car. my aunt had 3 opels and all broke down within 2 weeks of brand new because they got too wet underneat the car. This was in 2005 mind so unless they've improved in the last 3 years i'd stay away. their like tin cans to drive anyway.

the greatest load of trash i ever heard.