Next year Opel will be launching a new-style motoring concept, the Meriva.Andrew Hamilton, one of the first journalists to see the marque, looksforward to its arrival on Irish roads
It's a new model with a new name and it doesn't replace anything. Step forward the Opel Meriva, and if Opel's expectations are right, it will be replicating the appeal - and success - of a bigger MPV sibling, the Zafira.
Meriva should be thoroughly familiar in the Opel nomenclature by this time next year. It will be going on Irish sale in April 2003. Production is at the Zaragoza Spanish plant, where over 200,000 Merivas will be built in a full year.
The real significance is that this very practical newcomer is likely to bring much-needed new business to Opel - over 60 per cent of sales are projected to be conquest sales with first-time Opel buyers.
We had a first-time driving experience in the Meriva a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't in Europe but California, and the test car was a Brazilian-built 1.8-litre petrol model with a Chevrolet badge.
In Europe and Ireland there will be more emphasis on the 1.4 litre petrol version and a 1.7 litre diesel. The Brazilian connection is more than incidental: it was designed there by Hideo Kodama who is Japanese and who gave us alluring niche models like the Tigra. The Tigra, of course, was based on the Corsa, and indeed there's a lot of Corsa in the Meriva, although in style, shape and appeareance they are totally different.
The awful acronym for cars like Meriva is UAV, for Urban Activity Vehicle. Opel, thankfully, isn't giving it that designation but Ford is, with its new Fusion, based on the Fiesta.
Both Fusion and Meriva will be direct competitors and both are an amalgam of hatchback and estate configurations with MPV practicality.
The journalists who drove the new Opel felt it was a far better proposition. For a start, it has a more commanding presence. Ford's effort is blander, although the company thinks Fusion has a hint of 4x4 muscularity about it. Where the Meriva really scores is in its interior packaging and the numerous seating and loading permutations that are offered.
In essence, the two rear seats can be slid towards each other and then back towards the rear wheel arches, creating a huge amount of leg, knee and elbow room.
Opel calls the system FlexSpace. At the heart of it, is a lever at the back of the armrest which allows it to fold right down: at the same time the centre cushion drops below the outer seat cushions. In its four-seater format, a six-foot-plus passenger can sit comfortably behind a driver of the same height. If only two seats are needed, the rear seats can move right forward, again lowering the cushion as they move.
A totally flat floor is then created along with massive load space. Even with the rear seats in place, boot-space is generous.
ALL this flexibility comes with a vehicle that does a competent job in driving. Our Brazilian-built 1.8 Meriva offered excellent MPV-like visibility with the driver sitting about 40 mm higher than in the current Corsa. European Meriva's will have a different trim and springs and dampers, and the power steering will be adjusted to reflect a European driving feel.
The new jargon in car manufacturing these days is "vehicle architecture" with "mix and match" capabilities. The new Meriva was developed along these lines with a Corsa drivetrain, the front suspension of the Astra, the rear suspension of the Astra station wagon, and the Vectra's steering column. It's a global approach too: Meriva was a team effort between Brazilian and German engineering teams.
Its development mirrors General Motors Epilson architecture for bigger cars, involving Opel, Saab and GM North America. A diverse portfolio of product uses one basic centre floorpan and with a number of front and rear modules and different component sets: Epilson touches seven brands, 13 bodystyles, six to eight plants worldwide and up to 1.4 million vehicles yearly. The new Vectra is the first manifestation of Epilson on the Irish market.
But back to Meriva. It's a clever effort by Opel and it seems to win a lot of new friends for Opel. Here's a mini-MPV that's hugely practical and very stylish, just right as an affordable family chariot. We look forward to its debut next April.