New Opel Zafira Life – What a R750,000 luxury MPV has to offer

Opel recently launched the new Zafira Life in South Africa to much fanfare from local motorists.

The Zafira Life now roams the MPV category, with its R749,900 starting price making it one of the more affordable luxury family-carriers on the market.

We find out what the “entry-level” Opel Zafira Life Edition has to offer at this price, below.

Eight-seater

The Zafira Life Edition is the lifestyle-focused specification in the range, boasting an eight-seater cabin with charcoal cloth upholstery – as opposed to the seven-seater layout and leather trim in the pricier, business-aligned Elegance model.

The Edition also comes with manual sliding doors, foldable tray tables, manual air conditioning for the second and third row, dual-zone climate control for the front seats, three reading lights, 10 cup holders, and 11 storage compartments to satisfy the demands of larger families.

This Opel is not short of comforts or technology, either, treating drivers to automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, a leather multifunction steering wheel, cruise control, driver drowsiness monitoring, a reverse camera, and blind-spot monitoring.

Hill-start assist, hill-climb assist, and four airbags are fitted, too, while buyers who want a little more assistance can install all-round parking sensors at an additional cost.

Infotainment in the MPV is then taken care of by a 7-inch central display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, playing through a six-speaker system.

In five-seater mode, the Zafira Life offers up to 1,060 litres of cargo space – and an optional luggage compartment cover is also available

It’s worth mentioning that only the front windows of this Opel can be opened electrically, while the rest are fixed.

Turbo-diesel

The entire Zafira Life line-up is equipped with a 2.0-litre, turbo-diesel engine paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, which directs 110kW and 370Nm to the front wheels.

A relatively low 6.3l/100km combined fuel consumption brings maximum claimed driving range up to 1,111km, making the Edition an ideal car for long road trips.

For those big families who need to tow a trailer when going on holiday, this MPV also supports a maximum towing capacity of 600kg.

At a length of 5,306mm, width of 2,010mm, and height of 1,948mm, this Opel is not a small vehicle by any standard. It’s both longer and wider than the Hyundai Staria and VW Kombi, which are quite sizeable to begin with.

Standing on 17-inch alloys, ground clearance for the Zafira Life Edition comes in around 190mm.

Price

The Opel Zafira Life 2.0TD Edition has a South African starting price of R749,900.

Along with this, buyers get a 3-year/120,000km warranty, a 5-year/100,000km service plan, and 3-year/120,000km roadside assistance.