The Opel Zafira Tourer wouldn’t appear to be a chic or an epic choice for a strobe-light-and-string-bikini kind of spring break. This, however, was a different kind of road trip. A spunky grandmother rode shotgun and a supercharged six-year-old boy held court on a booster seat in the back. For purposes of context, we must point out it wasn’t our first European road trip. This particular family has a thirst for transatlantic adventures. In the ’90s we once got lost in Slovakia in a Ford Focus, without any local currency. Another time we stuffed six people into an electric-blue Renault delivery van on the first day commercial vehicles could cross into the former East Germany. This go-round, we wanted a distinctly Western European experience, so we spent evenings in local Air Bn’bs and days driving an Opel.
-Opel has been a fixture of the German auto scene since the debut of the 1909 Doctorwagen. The brand rides the somewhat precarious line between German and GM, dating back to its 1929 union. It’s been a relationship that has been fraught with awkward ups and downs, such as GM’s bankrolling of Opel’s World War II Nazi arsenal. (Opel was the largest car maker in Europe in 1939, boosted by its in-house production of German military trucks and airplanes.) In more recent years, the alliance weathered more turmoil when an ailing GM nearly unloaded Opel during the peak of its bankruptcy woes.
-But Opel survives in the General Motors family and remains the sensible brand of choice for many Europeans. In recent months, Opel has invested an image overhaul. Fashion denizen Karl Lagerfeld shot the Corsa and his couture-savvy cat Choupette for the 2015 Opel calendar, which was displayed in a Berlin exhibition “Corsa Karl and Choupette.”
-The Zafira Tourer is the Euro version of the family minivan, and comes closest in stature to our Mazda5. It occupies an important position in Opel’s product lineup, as European families now behave more like American ones. They drive to work. They carts around kids to soccer practice. They go on intercontinental road trips, too. The Zafira first launched in 1999 and is sold in the UK as a Vauxhall Zafira. It’s rooted in the Opel Astra range, which also includes the (soon-to-be-Buick) Cascada.
-In three days, we traveled more than 1500 kilometers (900-plus miles) in three countries in the Zafira Tourer. Now in its third generation, the Zafira Tourer is available in both diesel or gas configurations. We drove the gasoline version, which is powered by a direct-injected, 1.6-liter turbo four. The engine produced a wee 147 kw of max vermogen (that’s 197 horsepower) and a more solid 280 Newton-meters (206 lb-ft) of torque. Happily, because we were in Europe, we scored a six-speed manual that helped brighten performance to the mild-plus level, to the point where we might actually reach the top speed of 131 mph.
-Our trip began in a parking garage adjacent to Amsterdam-Schiphol airport, where we found the mini-minivan wedged into a tiny parking space. We headed to Normandy, France on an Autoroute that had a speed limit of 130 kph (81 mph). The French drivers followed the European axiom of moving to the right lane on highways, and when we needed to pass slow trucks, our smooth-shifting Zafira had enough zing on the low end of power spectrum to trot ahead. The pastoral countryside roads were packed with station wagons of every conceivable make. On narrow one-way streets, the turning radius of the Zafira easily made any wrong turn right. When the boulangerie called, we followed the French folks’ lead and parked facing traffic, on the sidewalk.
-The distinctions of road-tripping through Europe, however, are not as pronounced as they once were. The Golden Arches and scent of not-so-French fries loom at highway exits, and German cars in 2015 even have a couple cup holders, thank you very much. Our Zafira had two.
-But, there were quirks that reminded us were not on Route 66—a road that many Europeans fantasize about, by the way. In France, gas-station espresso is delicious, and there is no credit-card, pay-at-the-pump option. International borders whiz by, barely noticeable. The superior asphalt in northern Europe means that Spring does not usher in pothole season, so the Zafira’s suspension was largely untaxed. We can report that the Opel’s cabin was quiet and road noise was minimal. We were also impressed that we could stash three suitcases in the rear quarters with room to spare.
-This most Euro minivan was, however, lacking in some of our American creature comforts. The interior materials could do with an upgrade, and the Zafira’s plastic surfaces felt particularly flimsy. The optional Cosmo package tacked on a panoramic roof and heated seats, but we could find no USB ports. Our equipment list did include a rear-view camera, an alarm, lane-departure warning, and a rear spoiler, options that pushed up the price from 37,000 Euros to 43,551. That’s something on the order of a $48,000 minivan. Europeans have always paid more for cars and for fuel—one reason they love small cars and diesel engines.
-On the trip back to Amsterdam, we stopped in the medieval center of Ghent, where we found a church with its own auto-pay parking garage, a few yards from the local castle, built in 1180. Ghent’s narrow, cobblestone streets caused our navigation system to panic—or perhaps it was dizzy from all the beers the local Belgians consume at lunchtime—but soon we were back on track in pursuit of chocolate and stinky Dutch cheese.
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“The Opel Zafira is Europe’s most boring car,” said our Dutch cousin, who greeted us when we returned to Amsterdam. This father of two, who races café motorcycles every Wednesday, also added, “but I may buy this one. Everyone here drives an Opel.” For us, a bit of delightful, foreign blandness was the point. This was no Chevy Chase European vacation—we wanted to fit in with the locals. Or at least try to.
-from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1PEuq1S
via Agya
