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10.9.2002
Opel/Vauxhall Meriva – Zafira's little brother, offers something fresh

The Meriva, Zafira's little brother, is a prime example of "Fresh Thinking" at Opel. Debuting at the Paris Motor Show later this month, the Meriva offers versatility with a spacious interior and attractive design.

The all-new Meriva: Thanks to the "FlexSpace" interior concept, the new five-seat Meriva sets new standards for interior versatility. Its main features include::

-	Innovative and versatile -Zafira's success story continues in a more compact form
-	Spacious and comfortable -Five-seat minivan with midsize class comfort front and rear
-	Entertaining and practical - the audio control system for second-row seat occupants
-	Exemplary economy - low running costs keep the budget intact

The Meriva is designed to repeat the success of the Zafira and offers optimum convertibility between passenger and cargo capacity without the need to remove seats. The Meriva's revolutionary seating system provides three seats in the rear. Converted to two rear seats, the Meriva is a spacious four-seater. In a few simple steps, more load space is created by either pushing the two rear seats forward individually, or folding them away completely. The middle seat is simply tucked away in this configuration.

The foundation for the Meriva's flexibility is a wheelbase which, at 2630 millimeters, is almost as long as the Zafira's (2694 mm). The difference in overall vehicle length is more significant: At 4042 mm, the Meriva is 27.5 centimeters shorter than its big brother.

"With the Meriva, we've come an important step closer to our goal of increasing the share of innovative automobile concepts in our model range to 40 percent," said Opel Chairman and Managing Director, Carl-Peter Forster. "Like the Zafira, the Meriva will define a new market segment and in so doing demonstrate the freshness and creative strength of our brand."

The Meriva concept was developed by Opel's International Technical Development Center (ITDC) in Rüsselsheim and GM do Brazil's Design and Engineering Center in Sao Paulo. Production is scheduled to begin at Opel's plant in Zaragoza, Spain, in early 2003.

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