31.10.2003
Opel Meriva wins prize from leasing specialists

ING Car Lease Belgium elects Opel Meriva as "Lease Car of the Year 2003" in the "Economy" segment.

The Opel Meriva was declared the "Lease Car of the Year 2003" in the "Economy" segment by ING Car Lease Belgium. A jury, consisting of three customers, two journalists and four specialists from ING Car Lease, chose the Opel Meriva above the other nominees, Ford Fiesta and Nissan Micra, in its category.

The jury based their assessment on a number of criteria: comfort, safety, reliability, repair and maintenance costs.

In addition, the residual value also played an important part, as a leasing contract has an average term of 36 months.

For extensive testing two test vehicles were made available, equipped with respectively a 1.6 16V gasoline engine and a 1.7 CDTI common rail turbo diesel, both with a capacity of 100 hp. The intrinsic qualities of the Meriva secured Opel's minivan a top position.

ING Car Lease has organized the selection of the "Lease Car of the Year" since 1991 and in the past also awarded this title to the Opel Vectra (1991) and the Opel Zafira (2000).