THERE’S not really such a thing as the ideal car for everybody.
However, if you just want the most practical car for the least money, the answer that comes up the most is the Vauxhall Zafira.
It’s a great car in almost all ways. To drive, to sit in, the accommodation is huge, versatile and well planned and the range of engines is top drawer.
The best thing though, is the price.
To put this in perspective, Citroen has recently upgraded the funky C3 Picasso junior MPV. It’s got new engines, and a mild facelift, some interior tech and is likely to feature Citroens innovative new three cylinder petrol engine at some point.
But it’s still £13,000 to £20,000 for a pretty small, five seat junior MPV.
This is true for all its rivals, Skoda Yeti, and Vauxhall Meriva included.
A secondhand Zafira just makes so much more sense.
Indeed, if you have a family and need to move stuff about, even if you are thinking of something more conventional such as a Mondeo or Insignia, always consider a Zafira.
Here are three of the best at various price points.
Nearly new
The current car is much more upmarket than the last. It looks extremely smart and has a top-drawer interior. Seven full sized seats are available as are Vauxhalls latest range of engines. Used prices are soft though, possibly a result of high levels of supply.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A 2012 car with a 2.0 diesel engine and less than 5,000 miles on the clock is for sale at £15,100. That’s about what a new 1.2 petrol Skoda Yeti will cost.
Five years old
The previous generation Zafira is a car we really like. It’s brilliantly built, the quality of assembly easily matching any premium rival and the usefulness of the seating arrangement is second to none. And they are really cheap, especially with a petrol engine.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A five year old car with a 1.8 petrol engine and 32,000 miles on the clock is for sale at £4,995.
Ten years old
If your budget is tight you can still get a very nice Zafira for very little money.
Build quality was so good to start with that they have stood up well. A petrol car with an automatic gearbox is one of the great school run cars. Cheap too…
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A ten year old car automatic Zafira with a 1.8 petrol engine and 65,000 miles on the clock can be had for £2,450.
Motors.co.uk value verdict:
