Vauxhall Meriva

Rich.

A2OC Donor
What do you guys think of the vauxhall meriva. I know you all like your a2's but has anyone driven a meriva? Can you compare them to the a2? It has a good looking front and back to the car. Is reasonably priced for a second hand and lower mileage than most a2's I can find.

These are my car choices right now no. 1 still audi

Audi a2
Citroen c2
Vauxhall meriva
Merc a-class
 
My Mother in law has one, and I was thinking about one as well, until I recently bought a SEAT ALTEA.

Have you not considered this vehicle as an option. ??

She has a petrol version, so cannot comment on the diesel version. The petrol model is not very torquey, have to use the gears to really make progress. Acceleration is not the best, sluggish would be the best description compared to my old Diesel 75 TDI.

I found it very light in all areas compared to the A2, which very solid.

The Meriva is bigger than the A2, larger boot, fifth seat, flex seating. Latest version is nicer that the previous version. I would personally go for the Design model in Diesel, I think this also available with twin sunroofs.

The old saying, pays your money, takes your choice (i think)

Hope this helps.
 
Merivas look OK, saw a dark grey one this morning and I liked it, I thought it was an A2 for a second, but can you live with being reminded of that inane advert every time you see it? On the face of it I'm sure its much better value for money than an A2 but I've never driven one, however I bet they ride better!
 
I went into vauxhall this morning and booked a test drive in one this weekend coming. I dont plan on buying it just see how it drives and if I like it.
 
Meriva

We had one for a while but changed it for an A2

it was a 1.6 petrol did 28 MPG, was slow, and very lightweight build compared to A2.

ours was a 53 reg.

hope this helps
 
gm meriva

i would also go for a diesel in this model but like another member, would consider altea whihc is not that different eg length and height but is a lttle wider. You can pick 2nd hand ones up also very cheap.why not compare both in the same day?
 
To tacky inside I think, old corsa style. Only thing i'm thinking about is it is a newer car, repair work, maintenance will more than likely be a lot cheaper than the a2 especially when I have no cash just thousands of pounds of student debt :p

A2 I guess it is still ;)
 
ULP said:
Darren C is your man - his wife has the Meriva 1.8 Design on an '04. As for his opinion on the car, you could probably buy it off him at the moment which tells you all you need to know.

Hi Richard,

As Chris says I can freely comment on the Meriva from an owner’s perspective.

The first thing that you should know is that prior to my own recent A2 ownership, I have been a Vauxhall owner all of my life, but rest assured that I will be impartial in my response.

With the prospect of a new baby, my wife and I decided to replace her three door Corsa with something more family orientated back in 2005. The car, as Chris states, is an 04 plate ‘Design’ model with the 115 bhp, 1.8 16v engine. The car has no air-con, but benefits from cruise control and alloy wheels. During our 16 months ownership, some notable comments are:

Some Pros:)

• The car offers a high driving position and fairly good all round visibility.
• The interior quality, whilst being no Audi, is sound with the switch gear well positioned and user friendly.
• The flexibility of the rear seat system offers transit like capacity when folded down, ideal for transporting large / bulky items.
• The car is capable of carrying 5 people, unlike the A2 unless the ‘bench’ seat option is fitted.
• Luggage capacity deals with most scenarios, large baby push chairs and the like.
• Overall build quality is acceptably good for a ‘middle of the road’ manufacturer.
• The car has relatively good looks for an MPV.

Some Cons:(

• The 1.8 engine is lack lustre to say the least. Performance is poor, (unless revved really hard), and the fuel economy is bordering on criminal.
• £195 a year road tax for the pleasure of driving the 1.8 engineered car. (Sorry, I take back the ‘pleasure’ part of this statement).
• In total comparison to the A2, a boring and unimaginative driving experience.

Conclusion

The A2 can in no way be compared to the Meriva,; they are from totally different stock – ‘chalk & cheese’. (The A2 would wipe the floor with the Meriva, if a simple comparison were possible). If you need to carry 5 people on a regular basis and can’t find an A2 with ‘bench’ seat option, you need to transport large items, (the Meriva is a bigger car than the A2), and are looking to buy a newer car for the same money as an older A2, then I would not rule out a Meriva at all. This said, the biggest mistake that we made was opting for the 1.8 petrol model, but I would strongly recommend the diesel alternative combined with the ‘Design’ model spec as a viable choice.
If none of the above applies to you, then it has to be an A2 every time in terms of overall style, innovation, driving pleasure, build quality and all round ingenuity.
We are looking to replace our gas guzzling monster with an ‘A’ class Mercedes 1.4 very soon. If you can afford the running costs of the 1.8 and you feel this suits your needs better, please ‘PM’ me for full details, (offers around £5,500 before this weekend).

Hope this is of some help to you. Whatever you choose, good luck in your search.

Cheers,

Darren
 
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I'm off the idea of the meriva now. Thanks darren for writing up your view on the car. I thought i'd bring it up on here to listen to a few views of people. Back on the tail of the a2 :)
 
Adrenaline said:
A Class is ****...well the old one is...id rather have a merivia

I will reserve judgement on the ‘A’ class until this weekend when we take one for a test drive. My wife, although keen to own a nice car, is not too bothered about the driving experience or performance as such, she is more concerned with running costs etc… I know that a Mercedes service will cost more than a Vauxhall, but with a vast improvement in fuel economy, cheaper road tax and insurance and overall better resale value in 3 or 4 years time; I am not totally convinced that describing the ‘A’ class as **** is totally accurate, in fact I consider it may be a tad harsh. I do not see it as black and white as that and I would be disappointed if a 53 plate one was that poor; though I think it will be fair to say that it is no A2.
 
I've never owned an old shape A-Class but did test drive one for a day a few years back, I quite liked it as far as looks, ride quality and practicality were concerned, and to echo Darren it has good residual values which so few people think about when buying a car, I didn't buy one because the diesel's performance was lacklustre and the handling and driveability was muted because of the over sensitive ESP after the moose test incident.
 
Adrenaline said:
A Class is ****...well the old one is...id rather have a merivia

I have to agree. The original A class was awful in terms of looks, build quality and driveability.
 
Darren C said:
I will reserve judgement on the ‘A’ class until this weekend when we take one for a test drive. My wife, although keen to own a nice car, is not too bothered about the driving experience or performance as such, she is more concerned with running costs etc… I know that a Mercedes service will cost more than a Vauxhall, but with a vast improvement in fuel economy, cheaper road tax and insurance and overall better resale value in 3 or 4 years time; I am not totally convinced that describing the ‘A’ class as **** is totally accurate, in fact I consider it may be a tad harsh. I do not see it as black and white as that and I would be disappointed if a 53 plate one was that poor; though I think it will be fair to say that it is no A2.


i know its not but it just looks soo rent-a-car..even the merivia looks better
 
If I had a choice then the A class would win hands down. It holds its value better and will not show its age. As for the A2 I dont think I would ever buy another one mainly down to the one I had having so many problems. I now have a VW Polo dune and its a driving pleasure. Its good driving a car that you have trust in. Driving the A2 was a bit like a lottery you never knew what was going to go wrong next and something always did. I am sure there are some great reliable A2's out there its just that I never had one. This must be put down to Audi not giving the A2 the support it needed by ironing out the faults such as anti roll bar, water pump, easily buckled wheels, gear box faults ect.the list goes on. These are the sort of problems that should never happen. I have owned many cars and the A2 goes to the top of the list for things going wrong. Bought an Audi car for its quality and reliability I was so sadly wrong.
 
How nice to see someone on here who isn't scared to have a go at the A2, but be careful as if you do it too much PEOPLE START SHOUTING AT YOU. Those Polo Dunes do look cool but I can remember them getting a real pasting from the press when they came out - have you got a diesel or a petrol one and whats it like?
 
I looked at the 'A' Class before I go my A2. I was impressed with it but fell in love with the looks of the A2. So the Audi won! But the 'A' class did seem bigger inside. My friend has an 'S' reg A160 with over 100,000 miles on the clock and it looks and runs like its only done 1,000 miles.
 
lyndonbuck said:
How nice to see someone on here who isn't scared to have a go at the A2, but be careful as if you do it too much PEOPLE START SHOUTING AT YOU. Those Polo Dunes do look cool but I can remember them getting a real pasting from the press when they came out - have you got a diesel or a petrol one and whats it like?
I have the petrol version and it drives like a dream. many reviews say that they roll around alot, and there is wind noise from the roof rails but its not true. If you like a car then ho cares what the reviews or press have to say. Its different and you dont see many around so its kind of unique which appeals to me. At the end of the day its a Polo drives like a Polo but you sit higher up which gives great all round vision. You dont see many second hand ones around and when one is up for sale it doesnt stay there long. Think the desiel version would be better for fuel mpg but I dont like desiels. As for having a go at the A2 thats not my style I just say how I found it in my opinion. At the end of the day there are good ones and bad ones just like every make of car out there. I just happended to get hold of a bad one. Reading the problems posted on the forum there are other bad ones around but if you are prepared to put up with the A2 and its faults then good luck to you, I wasnt
 
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