VAUXHALL MERIVA People Carrier 2010 on

This is an excelent car all round to be honest. I bought this car for £15'000 (Brand new). I previously had a Nissan Note 1.6 SVE which I had to sell because of rattles and loose peaces. Altenator and battery failure. Warning light failure and broken wheel bearings that was an awful car. I decided having owned a Vauxhall before my Ford C-Max(Read my review for that and the Nissan) and the Vauxhall I woned previously was a good car. So i went to the dealer which £15'000 to spend and found this car for £16'500 luckily due to exclent discounts of got money of the already low priced Meriva. I have to say this is the best car I've ever owned. The turbochared 1.7 goes like a rocket and is generally good on MPG I can get over 57MPG! Its also very practical. Its little bit bigger than the Note but a lot of that space is for passengers and engine. The boots very good. Its also very smooth and excelent for motorway trips to my holiday cottage in Scotland. Its also good on country lanes as the suspension is smooth. The cars got excelent handling very responsive, feels like its on rails. Overall its cheap to run obviously dispit insurance luckily becuase I've never claimed on my insurance and never had a crash its starting to get a little cheaper to run! Its very reliable too much more so than my 2 previous cars. The flex doors a\re actually quite good because I can just open the front one to get in and open the rear to quickly chuck stuff in. In conclusion, this is an excelent car overall and I highly recomend it to anyone! Its truly a 5STAR car!

Have only just bought this car,after trying several similar size cars.I find it very comfortable,being over 6ft tall I have no trouble getting a good driving position.As some previous reviews have stated the electric hand brake takes a bit of getting used to.I use it mainly for town driving to work,and fuel consumption is very good.Only had one problem so far.The fuel flap would not open.Car was taken to local

Vauxhall dealer.They managed to open the fuel flap,but it requires a new flap motor.Work is being done under warranty.Note that the Life Time Warranty only applies to first owners,because I'm the second owner I get a 36 month warranty.As regards to having no spare wheel only a repair kit and compressor,I bought a full size wheel and

tyre for under £100,and it fits in the wheel well in the boot.All in all very pleased so far with this car.

Having acquired the above to replace my aging 54 plate 1.9di scenic my original concerns are all answered.

150 mile run, with wife and 2 children and 50 to gallon.(otherwise 40 isn).

Nice drive although am encouraged to go through gears quicker than I am used to as indicator to suggest gear change seems a little early.

Not as much room when seats flat as the scenic but close(I use it as a van regularly).

Previous owner was family and trouble free since new(2 years as of Sept 1st).

Plenty fast enough and certainly holds road better than the scenic(that seems a bit soft now).

Not really for 5 people though(the scenic was) as middle seat is too small and hard. I leave it down and use it as a 4 seater.

Very good car though and big improvement on last version.

Big discounts make this a sound buy. 1/2 list year old from dealer about norm.

Seems well built again comparing to my scenic but I think thats a fair comparisson.

What a great, practical, econimical car. Very versatile, great driving position, ergonomic switches and controls.

The new door arrangement is brilliant if you need to get children in and out easily when its busy, it means you can use the area between the doors as a safety zone and you dont have to go around the door, so if the kids are a bit quick at unstrapping then they remain near to you.

Plenty of room in the back for adult passengers, good leg room. Very comfortable all round. I've always been critical of vauxhalls in the past for lack of adjustment for driving, this car you can adjust every which way. The electric handbrake takes a bit of getting used to, great for hill starts, you just pull away and it disengages.

Plenty of storage space with compartments everywhere.

The 1.4 engine is slightly underpowered when 5 adults and bags are loaded you need to change down a bit more on hills. However it cruises well and will break the speed limit without effort. Very happy with the economy.

My wife loves it and I have to ask permission to drive it!

I have two complaints about this car, the electric handbrake, my word it takes some getting used to. Quite often, when on a downward facing slope and trying to reverse the car would shoot forward. i have got used to it now and would recommend engaging the clutch until it starts to bite and then gently use the accelerator and the other is the lack of a trip computer.

Apart from this quirk the car is wonderful. We have done several long drives, 100 miles plus, and have been very impressed.

I would have preferred a spare wheel but maybe I am just getting old and set in my ways.

We are a retired couple who like exploring the beautiful UK staying in self catering cottages and this car suits us admirably.

I bought the car because it was suppose to have a good fuel consumtion (62+) .

Over the last five full tank refils I have achieved 42mpg on four refills and 45mpg on the last refill, using Shell very expensive diesil.

This is my 7th diesil car, and the worst one by far. .(I had a 1.6 Astra some ten years and even that achive 60mpg).

I use it about 1/3 town driving ,2/3 on main roads. I even have the tyres pumped up to the makers spec: for lower fuel consumption!

Otherwise a nice car to drive, but I would not buy another !!

Drives well.very practical for any body with mobility problems.good family car.used daily getting to work and ferrying grand children about.

The car runs smoothly and I had no problems apart from realising I had gone down to a smaller engine which needed a lot more gear changing. Most hills and bumps mean you need a lower gear.

I use my car as and when I need it as I'm retired. My family live 250 miles away and it ruuns well on the motorway. It's also good on local roads round home.

I find the driving position and seats comfortable. Passengers in the back like the ease with which they can get in.

The boot is disappointing - it doesn't take the luggage for 3 people for a week - we had to use part of the back seat. It would not be possible for 4 people's luggage.

The biggest frustration is dealing with the handbook - which covers every variant of the Meriva - it seems that everything I want to find isn't on my car. I also find the dealer and Vauxhall themselves will not answer questions. Every time I've contacted them I have not received the courtesy of an answer.

I love driving this car, smooth and easy to handle, the back doors are great to get my little one in and out. It seems very economical on fuel which is great! The panoramic roof is lovely and makes the car feel really spacious well even more that it is, very comfy seats and the extra boot space where the tyre usually is, is just brilliant as i found out on a recent trip away, I would say to anyone this car is definatly worth having! Overall a really good car!

Just purchased a new Meriva 1.4 SE without the turbo. We had one of the older Merivas in the past and always lamented getting rid of it as it was such a versatile car. Well what a difference, the new Meriva is every bit as versatile but is now so much more luxurious, albeit the SE is top of the range, and so much bigger.

Firstly the rear opening doors (don't let Vauxhall hear you call them suicide doors). How I wish we had them when our daughter was being put in her car seat when she was smaller, they would have been a godsend. She is much older now but she loves getting in and out of the back and as for older family members, both sets of grandparents have said how much easier it is getting in and out of the back and if you can keep them happy on a day out then that can only be a good thing.

Inside the car is so much more luxurious than before, the half leather seats are very comfortable and the drivers position is easily adjusted to suit as myself and my wife can testify, i'm 6 foot 1 and my wife is 5 foot 4 and we both can get a good driving position setup.

The full length glass roof is wonderful and makes the car very airy and light, although I think the screen might have to be used in high summer, but then I have just realised I live in Scotland and we don't really get high summer.

The materials used inside are very good for the most part although you could say a couple of the plastics used in certain areas are perhaps a bit flimsy but that would be nit picking.

The view out of the car is good as well, plenty of windscreen and the side windows are also good, the rear window is big as well with a decent sized wiper, which seems to be unusual these days.

The only area I would critisise inside the car would be the centre rails that run down the middle of the car. The arm rest is great but I think the rails are a bit gimicy and take away some foot space for the centre rear passenger.

So far it has been great with the fuel, in fact it has almost been on a par with the 1.2 Corsa that we had before, averaging about 42 miles to the gallon.

I would definately recommend this car to anyone but particularly if you have young family members which is, after all who it is aimed at.