Opel confirms Zafira Tourer for Oz

OPEL is taking the bold step of introducing a people-mover to Australia with the Zafira Tourer, entering a segment that is down 23.9 per cent so far this year and accounts for just 0.7 per cent of the total market.

Zafiras are set to hit showrooms mid-year but Opel is keeping pricing and specification details close to its chest for now, although 1.6-litre turbo-petrol and 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine choices have been announced.

The Zafira name is familiar to Australians as Holden offered the first-generation people-mover here between 2001 and 2005, racking up almost 6000 sales in that time.

Opel Australia will introduce the third-generation Zafira, the Tourer nameplate differentiating it from the second-generation car that continues to be sold in some markets as a budget alternative.

Three separate seats in the centre row enable a “lounge seating” configuration activated by folding the centre seat flat and rotating it to provide outboard passengers with arm-rests, while their seats can also slide 50mm inwards to liberate extra shoulder space.

The centre row has 280mm of fore and aft adjustment to deliver a compromise of legroom for centre and rear row passengers, or luggage space (up to 710 litres) when the third row is folded flush with the floor.

Centre-row seats also fold flat, turning the Zafira Tourer into a van with 1860 litres of space.

Further storage comes from 30 internal compartments, some of which are attached to the FlexRail centre console, which includes a large box under the centre armrest and aluminium rails to which cup-holders can be attached and slid into position.

The tiny Australian people-mover segment is about to get more competitive with value-packed new contenders, as Fiat is about to launch the Freemont and the stylish all-new Kia Rondo arrives late next month.

Next cab off the Opel rank will be Mokka city SUV by the end of this year, followed by the Cascada convertible in early 2014.

No decision has yet been made over whether to import the quirky Adam premium-light hatch.