Vauxhall Meriva S 1.4 16v (100ps) 5dr Car Review - March 2012

The 1.4-litre petrol engine develops 99 bhp at 6000 rpm and 96 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. The top speed of 110 mph is great for a small people carrier but acceleration is slow with 62 mph arriving in a pedestrian 13.9 seconds.

Steering is comfortable and easy and the suspension does a great job of protecting the car’s occupants from discomfort although roads of particularly poor quality can still be a little uncomfortable.

The noise of the wind and road is largely kept out and whilst the small engine generates some noise as it works hard to deliver the decent performance levels this is no worse than in rival models and causes little disturbance.

The Meriva is a good looking car and borrows styling hints from the Insignia and Zafira.
The interior is well designed but there is a lack of standard kit.

Equipment which does come as standard includes power steering, central locking, stability control, electric door mirrors, electric front windows and a built-in stereo with CD player and MP3 connectivity.

Air conditioning can be added for an extra £510 whilst cruise control is available as a joint option with Bluetooth connectivity for £405. A built-in sat nav will cost buyers an additional £855 and rear parking sensors are £395. This means bringing the car up to speed could cost a significant amount of money and some buyers may find the fact that climate control and alloy wheels are not an option a disappointment.

The layout of the dashboard is relatively well organised and controls feel firm and sturdy. This gives a sense of reliability and makes the controls easy to operate when driving. The boot capacity is a decent 397 litres when the seats are all in place but can be expanded to 1,496 litres by folding down the seats.

Safety levels are fairly high and the car comes with driver, passenger and front side airbags all as standard. An immobiliser is also fitted to deter thieves but there is no option for an alarm which puts the model at a slight disadvantage.

Mechanical reliability is considered strong within this model and the high quality finish on the exterior and interior means that this car’s price tag is not evident from the appearance.

At £16,205, the price of the car does not seem to reflect the range of features and in-car technology on offer. Running costs are also higher than some models and this means that buyers may not be getting value for money with this vehicle.

Insurance premiums fall under insurance group 8 which is relatively cheap but still not the cheapest on the market. Fuel efficiency and road tax is what let the car down most with the 46.3 mpg consumption and 144g/km carbon emissions (which put the car under road tax band F) unable to keep up with more eco-friendly Vauxhalls such as the ecoFLEX models.