An Opel Zafira MPV, seen in Beijing in 2016. The good Opel was dusty and a little dirty but otherwise in a fine shape, painted in a boring gray with sporty five-spoke wheels. The Zafira was a compact MPV that was hugely popular in Europe.
The Opel Zafira was made from 1999 until 2019, over three generations. The Zafira we have here is a second generation example (Zafira B), which was made from 2005 to 2011.
The high end versions, like this one, had an somewhat odd raised roof in the middle, whereas the base versions had a flat roof (compare).
The 1.8 model was powered by a 1.8 liter four-cylinder petrol engine with an output of 140 hp and 175 Nm. The motor was mated to a five-speed manual, as in this car, or a five-speed automatic. Top speed of the manual model was 197 km/h and 0-100 was gone in a relaxed 11.7 seconds.
The interior was in a good condition with a cheap-ass seat cover covering the seats. The color scheme is as boring as on the outside, combining gray with dark gray with light gray with silver gray. There is a basic infotainment system and a fancy radio-CD player.
The raised middle section of the roof is very visible here. In China, Opel only offered the 7-seat version. In Europe, Opel also sold a 5-seat version. Note the ‘ Mama in Car’ sticker on the back.
Price in China for the 1.8 manual was 258.000 yuan and that was rather steep for the time and for the amount of car you got, so these Zafira’s are kind of rare.