The original Zafira revolutionised the people carrier market with it's clever seating, spacious interior and plenty of family-friendly features. Vauxhall has carried these strengths on to the second generation model but added sharper styling and improved build quality and refinement too. There are plenty of neat features such as storage boxes in the roof, keyless entry and an optional panoramic glass roof but compared to newer rivals the Zafira is looking limited in its flexibility and the once class-leading Flex7 now seems clumsy and awkward. It's also not great to drive, however it is spacious and there's a huge range of engines and trims on offer.

There's a very good choice of engines in the Zafira line-up with four petrols and two diesels. The 1.9CDTi is the only diesel but comes in two power outputs of 120bhp and 150bhp and it's a great engine whichever version you go for. In everyday driving there's little to choose between the two versions and both economy and emissions are similar, however the extra power in the 150bhp model is noticeable when overtaking. The petrol range begins with a 1.6-litre with 105bhp which feels sluggish, especially with a full load of passengers on board so it's little surprise that the 1.8-litre is the more popular engine and with 140bhp it has enough get up and go for most. The sporty 200bhp 2.0T unit manages the 0-60mph sprint in just 9.0 seconds and is a hugely enjoyable engine to use.