More than just clever tricks and comfortable seats, the Opel Meriva is one of the best options around, writes Paddy Comyn
THE STORY of the new Opel Meriva isn’t just about the doors. The rear doors, which open the opposite way to what we are used to, are the Meriva’s unique selling point, and they are the first thing you refer people to when you show off the car. They are a salesman’s dream, although if you have been reading these pages recently you might wonder if even they would rouse this often catatonic breed.
Opel, of course, hasn’t invented this style of door. Lots of cars had these in the early days of motoring, but when it was found that they started to sag when they got older, and that you could be flung out of the car much more easily in a crash, they lost their appeal both socially and legally. In fact, when Rolls-Royce decided to bring them back into vogue its legal teams had to fight for them to be reinstated.
So what is the big deal about having doors that face this way? For a start, they open wide, right out to 84 degrees, so it’s really easy to get in and out and especially handy if you are putting in a child seat or putting a child into a car seat. Also, as the open door helps to shield children from the road, it is easier to shepherd older ones in and out of the Meriva.
The department of industrial design at Coventry University has the figures to tell us how much easier. It looked at the effects of lifting a 5kg object (such as a baby) in and out of the rear seats; compared to the previous model, the FlexDoors help reduce back-muscle loads by up to 58 per cent and leaning and twisting angles by up to 48 per cent.
The rear seats have some party tricks too. You can slide them forwards and backwards to give more rear legroom or more luggage space, and you can choose between having four seats or five. The rear seats can also fold flat, so luggage space can be anything from 397 litres to 1,496 litres. And folding the rear seats flat is a one-hand, one-touch operation.
Right, so that’s the clever stuff. Sticking novel doors on an average car wouldn’t really cut it, though: just think of the Peugeot 1007 if you need reminding of that. The last Opel Meriva was a reasonable car that sold well in mainland Europe to an older buyer, but this new Meriva is a genuinely good car.
First of all it looks good. It is like a slightly funkier version of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class; part supermini, part family hatchback, part MPV and with all the Opel styling cues that have singled out the Astra and Insignia for praise.
The build quality is also remarkable. Admittedly, the test car was as well kitted out as the house of a Premier League footballer’s mistress, with €5,452 worth of optional extras, some of which you could see, such as the 18” alloys and leather upholstery, and some of which you couldn’t, such as the hill-start assist and parking sensors. But the quality of the fit and finish is first rate in our eyes. There was a slight issue with the parking sensors, which once stayed on for no apparent reason as we drove up an empty road, and the electronic parking brake can be a little fiddly.
This is a car that lots of thought has gone into. From making the seats uber-comfortable and supportive to giving it lots of glass, so you can see out of it properly. Our car was fitted with a superb 1.4-litre 120bhp turbo petrol engine that will probably be ignored by buyers – a shame.
Naturally, the diesel engines will be the most popular, even though they aren’t the cheapest to buy. A 100bhp naturally aspirated 1.4-litre petrol engine is cheaper than the first diesel one, a 1.3-litre with 75bhp. For now the 1.4-litre turbo petrol is the most talented engine, and if you get the 120bhp version (there is also a 140bhp variant) it is still in tax band C. It is quiet, lively and reasonably good on fuel. We’d choose this over the slightly anaemic 1.3-litre diesel. Newer engines arrive in January: a 95bhp ecoFLEX 1.3-litre diesel and a 130bhp 1.7-litre diesel.
At the car’s European launch we had questioned whether Opel was hiding something about the car’s dynamics, so linear was the test route, but, after a week on Irish roads, we can happily report no such issues. The car is slightly taller than an Astra but feels grippy and planted; there is no real evidence of body roll; and the steering gives a lot of feedback.
The Meriva range starts at €19,995 for the 1.4-litre S model; there are also SC and SE grades. S spec in the Meriva isn’t going to be a nice place to be, without things like air conditioning and with 15” steel wheels – alloys come only with the SE spec. Air conditioning comes at SC grade, along with cruise control and the FlexRail centre console, which features aluminium rails and a sliding tray/cup holder. Unless you really need to buy right now, the best option would be the 1.3-litre 95bhp ecoFLEX SE model due in January; it’s the best all-rounder in the range.
We really liked the Meriva. It is likely to be the perfect choice for a lot of buyers. A young family would love this car because it is good value, great looks and the sort of versatility essential when you have small kids. Older buyers will love it, too, because it is easy to get in and out of and is a thankfully easy car to live with.
The Meriva is one of best models introduced this year. If you want something that is going to serve lots of purposes, this is one of the most ingeniously practical cars we have seen in years.
Factfile
Opel Meriva 1.4i Turbo SE
CC:1364cc 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine
BHP:110
Max speed:188 km/h
0-100km/h:11.5 secs
Fuel consumption:6.1 l/100km (46.3 mpg)
Price:€23,695
THE RIVALS
Citroen C4 Picasso
CC:1560
BHP:110
Speed:180km/h
0-100km/h:12.5 secs
CO2:145g/km
Motor tax:€302
Price: €25,900
Kia Soul 1.6 GSE Diesel
CC:1582
BHP:128
Speed:182km/h
0-100km/h:11.3 secs
CO2:137g/km
Motor tax:€156
Price:€22,305
Mercedes-Benz B160 SE
CC:1498
BHP:95
Speed:174km/h
0-100km/h:13.2 secs
CO2:149g/km
Motor tax:€302
Price:€29,780
Renault Scenic 1.5 Dynamique
CC:1461
BHP:86
Speed:165km/h
0-100km/h:16.4 secs
CO2:130g/km
Motor tax:€156
Price:€25,690