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Opel Zafira B is the car you first think about when you have your second child on the road and you think you need a much bigger car than you actually do. Opel Zafira B, the car you can carry your kids and your tools and spare parts with. At the same time.

 Opel Zafira B, the sequel to Opel Zafira A. The kind of car you buy because there’s a lot of it. Not necessarily good as it is big. It’s cheap and relatively good. Seems made for the kind of person who buys off the bottom shelf all the time. It’s got thousands of loyalty cards and it’s always on sale.

Yeah, I’m mocking Opel Zafira B because it’s one of the most iconic cars in the segment. It’s much bigger than a Scenic and you don’t even get cyanide in your eyes when you see it. It’s cheaper than a VW Touran, the main competitor. It’s built with parts in common with the Vectra C, a car that doesn’t break down too often. If you go to the Vectra C article, you’ll find that they don’t eat up parts, oil, filters, or diesel. They spin forever.

Yes, it’s not as popular as the first generation and yes, it’s not the most reliable, but a Zafira B remains a benchmark car in its segment. It may not be the most reliable, but neither is the Touran the last word in the sea of reliability. Although, praising the Zafira for being more reliable than a totally unreliable car.

Opel Zafira B Engines

Petrol

• 1.6 MPI of 105 and 115 horsepower – Yes, you get a reliable engine, but at what price? A decent engine for the Astra H, but on a 7-seater Zafira full of people, potatoes, tools, and donkeys, this 1.6 MPI is like weighing 50 kgs and carrying 100kg on your back. Both engines require coil packs but at least the 115 horsepower one is Euro 5.


• 1.8 MPI of 140 horsepower – An excellent engine on the Zafira and beyond. Occasionally needs coil packs and ECU units, but overall the 1.6 and 1.8 petrols are the most reliable in the EcoTec family.


• 2.0 Turbo of 200 and 240 horsepower – Legend has it that this engine is great for sampling what the kids had for breakfast. The idea is that if you drive it like you have 240 horsepower, the first corner you take at speed the little ones will send everything they’ve eaten out the window from their stomachs. Surprisingly reliable instead.


• 2.2 MPI of 150 horsepower  – A more old-fashioned engine than asking a girl to be your girlfriend, I say avoid this engine. Of course, if you have a bizarre fetish for replacing timing chains then this engine is to you what Sofia Boutella is to me.

Diesel

• 1.7 CDTi of 110 and 125 horsepower – Coming in 2009 to kick the 1.9 CDTi in the testicles, this diesel borrowed from Isuzu is also the Betty White of the automotive world. Now instead it’s upgraded to Euro 5 and that doesn’t mean it’s any better. On the contrary, it now has a particle filter which decreases reliability and it also has a different ECU, which again decreases reliability. But instead, it remains a hard-working engine, even if in the 110 horsepower version there is also like weighing 50 kgs and carrying 100kg on your back. 


• 1.9 CDTi of 120 and 150 horsepower – Be careful with those 2005s because they are Euro 3. Otherwise, the 120-horsepower one is quite reliable and only has issues with the water pump, alternator, and timing rollers. If you go for the 150 version you will also have issues with the swirl valves breaking and getting into the intake manifold. Swirl valves – friends with BMW know why. Oh yes, if you put in diesel of more questionable quality than this article, you’ll have EGR and injector issues.

Opel Zafira B General Issues

• We have here an Opel so a GM product. Issues with electronics and wire insulation so check every bulb and every knob from headlights to taillights. Check especially the radio unit because it has a habit of starting itself. Not that it’s a bother to have a party in front of the block, but you run out of battery.


• The Zafira is similar to the Astra, so you also get the rear doors designed so well that they chew through the wiring and stop responding to the button closing. Basically, if you press the lock button, and the front doors actually close, but the rear doors stay open. Although you have a Zafira, I don’t know how many people will think to break into your car.


• The spare tire sits under the trunk, under the car, and is easier to steal than 500 million pounds during a coronavirus quarantine.


• For those 2 Zafira B owners with automatic transmissions, the radiator can leak coolant, usually directly onto the automatic gearbox. You also have to spend money on automatic transmission oil changes, I say get a manual transmission. What the man does with his hand is called manual work.

Opel Zafira B Verdict

It’s easy to see why it outsold the Kim Kardashian tapes. It comes standard with 7 seats, has decent engines (excluding the base engine), is cheap to buy, and is abuse resistant. Plus it’s a car that adheres to the balkan mentality. Cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, bigger than my aspirations for this project, and decent as a car. I still don’t understand why people when they have their first child immediately think of a Zafira. You don’t need as much space as the Zafira has for just one child.

What engines do you recommend? For petrol I recommend the excellent 140 horsepower 1.8 and for diesel, I recommend the excellent 120 horsepower 1.9 CDTi. It’s the most civilized on the list.