Just towed this past weekend with a Meriva1.7 CDTi Enjoy. No problem but then again we only have a small caravan. Our towbar with twin electrics only cost £210 to fit by a fully qualified mobile specialist.(last week). Only problem is the towbar etc.causes the number plate to be obscured slightly.(illegal!!!)Going to have to raise the number plate a little, can only do it an inch because of the recess.Has anybody else had this problem?It is a Witter towbar..
Hi, we have just got a Meriva - mainly as I wanted a higher seat for my back etc,towbar was £165 for single leccy or £30 more for double - re towbar do you have a bumper protecter thingy as mine was going to have one but we decided to remove it as it blocked the number plate - was ok once it was off, mine isn't witter though?? Mine is 1600 petrol but 8v not the 16v so I find it a bit sluggish cf the vectra diesel est I used to have, but great for the combicamp as its only light and low.
We left off the bumper protection plate for the same reason.Do you know what make your towbar is? Perhaps we can do a deal with who fitted ours and we might be able to change the towbar.
well i work for welsh of newport and the wife has an 05 zafira 1600
towed our bailey discovery fine(up hill no probs as long as you change down).
the tow bar was £110 with twin electrics and is a genuine vauxhall one(got from work and fitted myself)
the new zafira (which was out last weekend of july) IS slightly longer but only to compensate for the new 19cdti and 2.2 cdti engines but beware the boot is 2.5 inches smaller than the ond one and it can only tow 50kg more as a gross train weight (old one was 1100kg new one is 1150kg)
hope this helps and happy camping
------------- Shels
Easy Camp Tornado 3, Vango Banshee 300 Pro, Airgo Air Genus 400
Hi i tow a bailey monarch series 5 with a zafira 2.2 auto 55 plate, cant fault it for towing the twin overhead cam 16 valve engine is sure better than my old 2 litre Omega.
Just towed this past weekend with a Meriva1.7 CDTi Enjoy. No problem but then again we only have a small caravan. Our towbar with twin electrics only cost £210 to fit by a fully qualified mobile specialist.(last week). Only problem is the towbar etc.causes the number plate to be obscured slightly.(illegal!!!)Going to have to raise the number plate a little, can only do it an inch because of the recess.Has anybody else had this problem?It is a Witter towbar..
This was the problem I had when first looking at getting a towbar, hence went for the removable one which is great as we can put it away in the boot when not towing. If the numberplate is obscurred at all then it is illegal, I sent a letter to one supplier asking why they were selling an illegal fitting and they replyed saying that they had not actually seen the vehicle but had made the towbar using the specs supplied by vauxhall which did not say that the number plate was on the bottom valance. I have seen some Meriva's with tobars fitted and an additional number plate fastened on to the boot.
We had the Witter removable bar fitted as at the time that was the only one that was legal for us to fit in compliance with our vehicle lease!
I have had some engine problems with the 1.6 life this year and it turns out that this was due to a design fault in the exhaust system which should be rectified by either a recall or at first service, ours is a 53 plate, not sure if this applied to other petrol models.
depends on weight do your sums and you'll be ok i pulled with an astra 1.7 turbo diesel with a 1000kg van (gross weight) it was ok for the next van 1300kg - but only ok. 91% ratio is not brill and pulling away on hills needed a kick. never caught out though even during 8 week tours to spain/france.
you'd be better with the bigger engine 1.9 which you don't get on the meriva almost got the 1.9 150bhp zafira last year but did not like the handbrake - lack of spare - rear bench seating
nb weight ratio and manufacturer limits are paramount though check and check again!!!! good luck
We have a 1.9 Design 150bhp Cdti Zafira now.I'm like you ldpdmp, the handbrake is awkward. I have now got a funny thumb, trigger thumb they call it and I blame it on the handbrake.
Bear in mind that if the manufacturer says a limit of 1300kg (for example) it means you'd be invalidating your insurance if you two a van with a gross weight (or whatever it's called now) greater than 1300kg.
That's how I understand it anyhow - regardless of what it may be able to tow you're limited to what the manufacturer says you can tow.
Hi Doris
I can't comment on the meriva but we have a Zafira 2.0dti which pulls our 4 berth 1275kg van ok but not ideal.
It handles well and doesn't really need many change downs, we have a very steep hill not too many miles away from us unfortunetly i don't know the gradient but I have to climb in 3rd gear at 45mph,However mostly i tend to be in 4th gear climbing hills that I'd class as average inclines.
The only downside to this is it seems to be very thirsty, I'm averaging 38-40 mpg without the van but 24-25 with the van. We'll be upgrading to the 1.9sri which has a lot more torque 236lb and 150bhp with a max braked tow weight of 1500kgs,,putting it simply a very powerful engine indeed and lots of room in the boot.
I might also add that i towed my mother in laws 2 berth van of 1073kgs mtplm and didn't feel it on the back It towed it like a dream and the fuel return was much better. I averaged 30-31 mpg which i thought was fairly reasonable.
All the best
We bought one of the first Merivas a 53 reg, had nothing but problems with it and because it was so new the dealer did not have a clue how to resolve. Brand new car had a major oil leak and a whole host of problems. We had moved from having a succession of BMW's and the build quality was awful compared.
My company have given me a couple of hire car 59 Zafiras recently to travel for business and they both had brake problems. Have not had alot of luck with Vauxhalls I'm afraid.
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Topic: Vauxhall Meriva v Vauxhall Zafira
