by David Finlay (26 April 2010)
One strange but important fact about the new Vauxhall Meriva compact MPV is that it is not a replacement for the previous car of the same name. The old Meriva was based on the Corsa, but this one is altogether bigger. For those who like to know about this sort of thing, it's also not a more spacious version of any other specific Vauxhall, though quite a lot of its underpinnings are shared with the still larger Zafira.
Another important fact about the Meriva is that it has a very unusual arrangement of doors. The ones in the rear are hinged at the back (which, as Vauxhall correctly points out, is very useful for parents making sure that their little chickabiddies are well secured), and like those in the front they open to the unusually wide angle of 84 degrees. Unlike some rear doors of this type, the ones on the Meriva are secured against a central B pillar, so they can be opened independently, though there is an automatic locking system to ensure that the sprogs can't attempt an escape while the car is moving.
The rear seats can be moved forwards or backwards through a range of 240mm, or about nine inches, and in the rearmost part of their travel they also slide in towards the centre of the car to provide more elbow room. This is clever stuff, but a tall rear passenger sitting behind a tall driver will need every bit of that travel, and even then their shins are very close to (if not actually touching) an exceptionally solid structure in the front seat. I would not like to be in the back of a Meriva if it were involved in a front-end shunt, and I think this is something Vauxhall should give some thought to in the near future.
Further back still there's 400 litres of luggage room, if you remove the false floor to access a further space beneath it, and the capacity extends to 1500 litres if you fold down the rear seat and pack the Meriva up to roof level. One very nice touch is that if you want need extra luggage volume but can't fold the rear seat, the parcel shelf can be stored in its own little slot without having to be removed from the vehicle.
There will eventually be a choice of seven engines. From launch Vauxhall is providing a 1.4-litre petrol unit in three forms, with maximum power outputs of 99bhp, 118bhp and 138bhp (the last two with the help of turbocharging) and 74bhp 1.3 and 99bhp 1.7 CDTi turbo diesels. A more powerful but lower-CO2 1.3 CDTi will be along later, along with a 128bhp 1.7 CDTi.
So far, Vauxhall has been able to supply only the 118bhp and 138bhp petrol turbos to the media. Having driven both, I think I'd avoid the 138bhp unit in future, since it overpowers the rest of the car, making it a bit of a handful if you're pressing on along country roads and giving stronger straightline performance than the Meriva seems to need. The 118bhp version had a much better balance and seemed ideal.
There are four trim levels, called Expression (which comes only with the least powerful petrol engine), S, Exclusiv and SE. Exclusiv models get air-conditioning, cruise control, curtain airbags and the interior FlexRail system, which is basically a long centre console with extra storage spaces. It's clever and looks quite stylish, but anyone sitting in the (small) centre rear seat must either rest their feet on top of it or have their legs splayed on either side. The range-topping SE gets 16" alloy wheels, front foglights, rear electric windows, privacy glass, a rear sunscreen and a fixed panoramic sunroof.
The cheapest Meriva is the 99bhp petrol Expression at £12,995. All other versions cost more than £15,000, and the currently range-topping 99bhp 1.7 CDTi SE comes in at £21,255.