Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 5,060
- Location
- The remittance desk
Been to Birmingham for a few days with work and I was asked to hire a car - company policy apparently - to take me and anyone else who wanted a lift. he choice was astounding - 1.4 or 1.6. No choice of car, just the engine!
Anyway, on Monday, the guy turns up and sees the look of disappointment when he hands over the keys to a Vauxhall. I was expecting an Astra at this point and was even more upset to find an '08 plate Meriva Design sat their mocking me. It was in a reasonable colour (dark blue) but even so....damn!
First Impressions
It's hardly a looker, in fact it's fairly ugly to be honest. It looks strange with the really tall design and then the small wheels. The back windows are blacked out and a look in the boot finds that there really isn't one. Never mind, we're only going over night and there is only 3 of us. I put a ticket on it and head back to work.
Living with it
I was nervous about this, being as I drive a 728 I didn't have a good felling but around town the 87bhp 1.6 engine is enough to nip in and out of junctions and I found the brakes to be excellent for stopping it though the 'feel' and feedback are lacking. Steering is light as you would expect but the gearbox - DEAR GOD - what an abortion that is. Changing gear was like throwing levers in a Victorian signal box. A long throw and very notchy, not good enough after 100k, let alone 11k on the clock. The clutch is pretty much on or off but acceptable.
At motorway speeds it feels much better than I had expected though when I got past 80 on my private road, it didn't feel as assured and stable. Handling is as you would expect, fairly poor but it isn't designed to be exciting in the twisties. It was roomy enough inside for all 3 of us and we had space for our luggage though if it had been more than a couple of nights, we would have struggled. BIG gripe for me was the blind spots - Vauxhall made a big effort to incorporate as many of these as was physically possible and made the whole process of overtaking a big bag of fun. The front pillars are way to large and you're too close to them.
Interior & Spec
This is going to sound strange but it was almost too well spec'd. It was the neck end of 12 grand new and that is a lot for a stretch Corsa. There is just too much gear for it to be any good because once you start throwing lots of gear in, you have to sacrifice quality and this is the Meriva's worst character by miles. The 'design' model I had came with: Electric Windows, Electric Mirrors, Front Fogs, Alloys, darkened rear windows, Air Con, CD player, dual headphone sockets in the rear, lots of air bags, front arm rest, Cruise Control, 'clever' rear seats and a sun roof front and rear.
Good spec for a boggo-wifey-shopper-kart it may be but there is a massive sacrifice of quality. The plastics are terrible and poorly fitted which would really annoy me if I'd laid out £12k of my hard-earned. The seats were made from rock and pain and not only sent my arse to sleep but my man-bits too. The lads both complained about how bad the seats really were. I had to turn the radio off the sound was that poor from the speakers and I went though the radio and CD and they were equally rubbish, tinny and horrible. I don't expect a serious sound system, I just want acceptable and for the extra few pounds on slightly better speakers wasn't ever going to stop it being affordable. Which brings me to my earlier point - why oh why laden it down with lots of stuff that really isn't useful? It doesn't need one sunroof, let alone 2 and why put cruise control on something that is really only suitable for the school run? It is a waste of time - the money should have been spent on a reasonable gearbox, better plastics, better seats and a nice set of speakers.
Overall
If you find yourself about to buy a Meriva, stop. Take a trip to Staples and buy a shredder and insert all of your money and in two weeks you'll feel better. I see no reason to buy one - you have to be a total dribbler to think there is any excuse. The 87bhp 1.6 8v engine was barely acceptable 10 years ago, knocking out 36mpg on the run to Brum, a great deal of which was spent at 50mph on SPECS camera sections of motorway or at 70ish in normal traffic - that is simply pathetic. The level of tat is outstanding and it's too expensive for what you get. I know people like these mini-mpv's but they are totally pointless compared to a decent family hatch.
Anyway, on Monday, the guy turns up and sees the look of disappointment when he hands over the keys to a Vauxhall. I was expecting an Astra at this point and was even more upset to find an '08 plate Meriva Design sat their mocking me. It was in a reasonable colour (dark blue) but even so....damn!
First Impressions
It's hardly a looker, in fact it's fairly ugly to be honest. It looks strange with the really tall design and then the small wheels. The back windows are blacked out and a look in the boot finds that there really isn't one. Never mind, we're only going over night and there is only 3 of us. I put a ticket on it and head back to work.
Living with it
I was nervous about this, being as I drive a 728 I didn't have a good felling but around town the 87bhp 1.6 engine is enough to nip in and out of junctions and I found the brakes to be excellent for stopping it though the 'feel' and feedback are lacking. Steering is light as you would expect but the gearbox - DEAR GOD - what an abortion that is. Changing gear was like throwing levers in a Victorian signal box. A long throw and very notchy, not good enough after 100k, let alone 11k on the clock. The clutch is pretty much on or off but acceptable.
At motorway speeds it feels much better than I had expected though when I got past 80 on my private road, it didn't feel as assured and stable. Handling is as you would expect, fairly poor but it isn't designed to be exciting in the twisties. It was roomy enough inside for all 3 of us and we had space for our luggage though if it had been more than a couple of nights, we would have struggled. BIG gripe for me was the blind spots - Vauxhall made a big effort to incorporate as many of these as was physically possible and made the whole process of overtaking a big bag of fun. The front pillars are way to large and you're too close to them.
Interior & Spec
This is going to sound strange but it was almost too well spec'd. It was the neck end of 12 grand new and that is a lot for a stretch Corsa. There is just too much gear for it to be any good because once you start throwing lots of gear in, you have to sacrifice quality and this is the Meriva's worst character by miles. The 'design' model I had came with: Electric Windows, Electric Mirrors, Front Fogs, Alloys, darkened rear windows, Air Con, CD player, dual headphone sockets in the rear, lots of air bags, front arm rest, Cruise Control, 'clever' rear seats and a sun roof front and rear.
Good spec for a boggo-wifey-shopper-kart it may be but there is a massive sacrifice of quality. The plastics are terrible and poorly fitted which would really annoy me if I'd laid out £12k of my hard-earned. The seats were made from rock and pain and not only sent my arse to sleep but my man-bits too. The lads both complained about how bad the seats really were. I had to turn the radio off the sound was that poor from the speakers and I went though the radio and CD and they were equally rubbish, tinny and horrible. I don't expect a serious sound system, I just want acceptable and for the extra few pounds on slightly better speakers wasn't ever going to stop it being affordable. Which brings me to my earlier point - why oh why laden it down with lots of stuff that really isn't useful? It doesn't need one sunroof, let alone 2 and why put cruise control on something that is really only suitable for the school run? It is a waste of time - the money should have been spent on a reasonable gearbox, better plastics, better seats and a nice set of speakers.
Overall
If you find yourself about to buy a Meriva, stop. Take a trip to Staples and buy a shredder and insert all of your money and in two weeks you'll feel better. I see no reason to buy one - you have to be a total dribbler to think there is any excuse. The 87bhp 1.6 8v engine was barely acceptable 10 years ago, knocking out 36mpg on the run to Brum, a great deal of which was spent at 50mph on SPECS camera sections of motorway or at 70ish in normal traffic - that is simply pathetic. The level of tat is outstanding and it's too expensive for what you get. I know people like these mini-mpv's but they are totally pointless compared to a decent family hatch.
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