Vauxhall Meriva Review

The Vauxhall Meriva was introduced in 2002 and has been a popular MPV choice ever since. We got our hands on a Meriva last week and thought we’d give it a whirl and review it. Despite being around since 2002 there have only been two generations of the Vauxhall Meriva, the Meriva A which ran from 2002-2010 and then the Meriva B which is the current generation that started in 2010.

The first thing you notice about the Meriva is the doors, for it is the only car in the MPV class to have rear-hinged rear doors which have been dubbed ‘FlexDoors’ by Opel. These make getting in and out of the back a lot easier…. Or at least that’s what we’ve been told! To be honest we weren’t convinced, if anything everything just seems a little awkward! The back doors were harder to close once you’d sat down. Plus the amount of confusion I experienced as a rear passenger when trying to open the door was mind blowing.

The interior was nice, the seats were comfortable and the entertainment unit seemed of a good standard. Driver visibility is also a strong plus for the Vauxhall Meriva. Now bearing in mind it is an MPV we weren’t expecting a great deal when it came to performance, however we were driving the 1.4, 118bhp variant which actually proved to pack quite a punch, on the flip side, as soon as you break 60mph it does start getting pretty noisy, nothing unbearable, but its definitely there.

Vauxhall Meriva Review Summary

Overall the Vauxhall Meriva was by no means a bad car to drive. You forgot it was an MPV at times (a good thing)! Whilst the steering felt a little inconsistent depending on if you were going slow or fast, it always felt responsive and willing. All things considered, if you want an MPV, we give it a 3/5.

If you want to check out the cars similar to the Meriva, it’s rivals include the Renault Grand Modus, the Nissan Note, the Citroen C3 Picasso, the Ford C-Max, Vauxhall Astra and the Citroen C4 Picasso. We hope you enjoyed our Vauxhall Meriva Review! Check back soon for more reviews on affordable vehicles.