MPV Mania

MPV's, they're all the rage. Cars are getting bigger and getting a fancy name to show they are now the MPV incarnation of what was just a normal family car – Golf Plus, Picasso and C-Max to name just a few. There are also the "5-7" seaters in the range just below what I call "Full-On" 7 seaters.

This is the category the Zafira finds itself along with the likes of the Grand Scenic, Touran, etc. The Full-On 7-seaters are more (there's no nice way of saying this) vanlike in appearance and give you 7 permanent seats so you don't have to be ambidextrous to free the two extra seats in the back. The Zafira was the groundbreaking 5-7 seater with its ingenious final row seating system, Flex7. Seats up, you can carry 7-seats down, you can carry 5 as well as the luggage for at least 7!

An instant success for mums who had to take their own as well as other kids to the various after school activities. Theoretically fewer cars were needed to ferry the chosen ones around, although judging by the number of cars outside schools nowadays, you'd wonder. In its new guise, it's gone all chrome and macho-looking, to broaden male appeal, especially in SRI form. A first for me and the new must-have was the built-in DVD player. Are they putting these in to make our longer stays in traffic jams more bearable I wonder? It amazes me how quick kids take to new technology – mine mastered the DVD remote control in days. These kids are really putting it up to the men for control in the RC department – a title men have always traditionally held!

The 807 from Peugeot is much, much bigger and feels it. The overriding essence for me was airiness. Aesthetically, it's very modern and tries its best to hide its van-like genes. Being Frenchmade guaranteed supreme comfort and became a fave of the kids – despite no DVD. With a sliding side door, getting in an out was a cinch, especially in the parking bays of our burgeoning shopping centres. Parking was simplified with parking sensors all round. You need them in the 807 as gauging distances with the invisible front and rear is nearly impossible. There's also an enormous rear tailgate that a whole football team could change under in the event of rain!

Both had diesel engines and the low-down torque is the jewel that diesel engines provide. The 807 had a 2.2l whilst the Zafira was 1.9l, both with obligatory turbos. Both engines matched the vehicle they had to propel forward with ease. There is a price gap between the 807 and the Zafira of €6.5k. That's not really surprising as they are in different classes but Euro for Euro the 807 will meet your needs 100% of the time as the seats are permanent, whilst the Zafira comes into its own only when you need them.

Review the Peugeot 807 2.2 HDi - STDT »

Review the Vauxhall Zafira 1.9CDTi SRi »

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