The Opel Zafira is a car manufactured and marketed across three generations between 1999 and 2019 by Opel. Based on the Opel Astra platform, it is developed to occupy the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) segment.
The Zafira was also marketed under the Vauxhall marque in the United Kingdom until June 2018, the Holden marque in Australia until June 2005, and under a number of other market-specific brands and names.
The name "Zafira" derives from the Arabic word meaning to succeed. Since 2011, it received an additional moniker as the Zafira Tourer.
Zafira A (1999)
The first generation Zafira was internally designated as the Zafira A. Co-developed with Porsche, it debuted in concept form at the 1997 Frankfurt Auto Show and entered series production in January 1999, with sales beginning in April of that year.
The Zafira shared the T platform with the 1998 Astra G, sharing much commonality with that car. The Zafira seated seven passengers in three rows. Using a system marketed as Flex 7, the split back seat could fold into the floor to increase cargo space, without requiring removal.
Offered with a series of petrol engines and initially a single diesel offering, the "X" engines were replaced by the newer "Z" engine generation in 2000. These featured variable intake manifolds and were able to meet Euro 3 emissions standards. The 2.0-litre turbodiesels were complemented by a 2.2-litre option in January 2002.
The Zafira A body was used in GM/Opel's concept hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle the GM HydroGen3.
A facelift was launched in February 2003 at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Zafira ranked third in the European Car of the Year for 2000, behind only the Fiat Multipla and Toyota Yaris. In TüV's ranking of the quality of three year old cars, the Zafira was by far the best Opel; only slightly behind the winning Ford Focus.
Zafira A production ended on 25 May 2005, in Bochum. It was replaced by Zafira B in Europe, but was still sold in most other markets until 2012 (albeit that its cousin the Chevrolet Astra was discontinued in 2011), except for Australia and New Zealand, where the model was cancelled altogether.
Markets
The Zafira was marketed in the Philippines from 2001 to 2005, as the last Europe-based Opel marketed in the Philippines after they stopped selling the Opel Astra in 2003. Although sold as the Chevrolet Zafira, it was sold alongside other Opel vehicles until it the Opel name was pulled out of the Philippine-market by its distributor, GM Philippines.
The Zafira was produced and sold in the Thailand from 2000 to 2005. it was sold alongside other Opel vehicles until it the Opel name was pulled out of the Thai-market by its distributor, GM Thailand. Thailand’s domestic family wagon segment with 3,946 units sold.
The Zafira A was sold in Malaysia as the Chevrolet Nabira.
Zafira OPC
Introduced at Geneva in February 2001, the turbocharged Zafira OPC went on sale in October 2001. With , this was the fastest minivan on sale in Europe. Only available with a five speed manual transmission, 0–100 km/h (62 mph) can be reached in 8.2 seconds and the top speed is .
Subaru Traviq
The Zafira was sold in Japan from August 2001 through to November 2004 as the Subaru Traviq alongside the standard Opel vehicle. In exchange, Subaru supplied the Subaru Forester as the Chevrolet Forester in India since 2003.
According to Subaru, the Traviq name was a combination of the words "travel" and "quick". Imported from Thailand, the Traviq was originally only available with the bigger 2.2 litre engine, although a 1.8 L, lower priced alternative was added in July 2003. The engines used were not Subaru supplied boxer engines, but were conventional in line units that were uncharacteristic to market recognised Subaru products, and all-wheel drive was also not available.
The sale of the Zafira as a Subaru created a conflict with previously established Yanase Co., Ltd. retail dealerships, in that Yanase was already selling Opel products, like the Zafira. When production of the Traviq ended, Yanase continued to import Opel products into Japan until 2006. It was replaced later in 2008 by the Subaru Exiga – developed from the Subaru Legacy platform.
Zafira B (2005)
The second generation Zafira, internally designated Zafira B, debuted in Europe on 12 February 2005, with sales starting on 9 June 2005. It shared the platform and mechanical parts with the Opel Astra H. In February 2007, the Zafira B was launched in Singapore. By March 2007, the model had only been introduced in Europe and Singapore.
