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