Why a Zafira diesel on January 4? Because it's exactly a year, to the day, since production of this ingenious mid-range MPV got under way at Bochum in Germany, in a factory built originally for the new Astra but designed from the start to accommodate an A-Z production run.The Zafira is built on the Astra floorpan, and bumper to bumper it's only an inch longer than an Astra estate, but it's a brilliant bit of packaging, with three rows of seats arranged in two-three-two formation, and good luggage space when all the seats are in place. But who - except occasionally - needs a seven-seater? Hardly anybody, and it's what happens when you don't want all those seats up that is so ingenious.You can have the basic Zafira Comfort as a two-zero-two seater, or a two-three-one, and the more expensive Elegance model will let you go one-zero-one if you fold the front passenger seat-back down and slide in something like a nearly ten-foot length of carpet. Just take a line through that Griff Rhys Jones TV commercial, or refer to the FLEX7 pages in the brochure which describe a seating layout Vauxhall was wise enough to patent.Bear in mind, though, that the Zafira is pretty much Astra-width. Two people sit more comfortably in the middle row than three.The great thing about FLEX7 is not so much that all the seat movements are simple, well-balanced and leave your fingernails in place. It's the way in which you can fold the two rear seats right down into the floor, leaving a flat surface. And the design team has come up with a very neat way of getting the rear carpeting out of the way when the seats are up.A promotional picture for one Zafira rival shows a blonde lady smiling through what in real life would be clenched teeth, as she heaves a redundant seat out of the car. The Zafira's superior seating system means you can keep them all in the car, but out of the way.It was launched with 1.6 and 1.8-litre petrol engines, but there's something about an MPV, on the occasions when it really is heavy-loaded, that whispers diesel. Now, there's no point in fitting a car like this with an engine that's too powerful for it, and Vauxhall had a just-right specification handy.The 80bhp direct injection turbo diesel runs quietly. In fact, the Zafira is very good at damping down both mechanical and road noise. Of course, this is no firecraker off the line, but it will scramble to 60mph in 16 seconds, it has sturdy enough mid-range torque, and will hold an easy motorway cruising gait.As well as that, the modestly powerful Di engine (there's also a 98bhp DTi for the Astra, although the one in the Zafira would do me fine) wafts along nice and economically. I once did 600 mostly motorway miles in a Vectra with this engine before buckling under and refuelling, only to find that it had a gallon and three-quarters left. Anything that gives a car with this passenger capacity the possibility of flirting with 50mpg can't be bad.Some people have reckoned the Zafira can be chucked around like a hatchback. They're hallucinating, of course. The extra height and the extra body roll that comes with any real hauling around on winding roads just don't allow it.But it's an agile car for a mid-range MPV. The electro-hydraulic power steering works well. You get a fine view. And the basic Comfort model comes with air-conditioning as standard, as well as the luggage security blind some MPVs can't accommodate at all.Second opinion: Mini-MPVs are so inherently sensible that it would take considerable invention to create a really bad one. Vauxhall has clearly gone into this project with some enthusiasm, and the result is a particularly good car which, I agree, handles very nicely considering its shape and height. If Vauxhall does introduce the more powerful diesel engine at some point, it will be fine with me. And isn't it ironic that the Zafira is so much better-looking than the Astra on which it is based? David Finlay. Engine 1995cc, 4 cylinders Power 80bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel 42.8mpg Acceleration 0-60mph: 16.0 seconds Top speed 99mph Price £16,570 Release date 15/05/2010
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