Manufacturer Opel (General Motors) Body style 5-door estate | Production 2003–2017 Successor Opel Crossland X | |
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Class Mini MPV (2003–2010)
Compact MPV (2010–2017) Layout Front-engine, front-wheel-drive | ||
The Opel Meriva is a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) engineered and produced by the German manufacturer Opel, from May 2003 to the beginning of 2017. Its first generation was classified as a mini MPV, whereas the second generation is a compact MPV.
Contents
In the United Kingdom, it is marketed as the Vauxhall Meriva, while in South America, the first generation was marketed as the Chevrolet Meriva.
Meriva A (2003–2012)
The first generation, named the Meriva A, is based on the third-generation Opel Corsa C. It went on sale in May 2003.
Like its bigger sibling, the Zafira, the Meriva has a flexible interior, named FlexSpace. Although it only has five seats in two rows, the second row can be moved forward and backwards, or pushed into the floor, making a straight platform for increased boot space. The second row can accommodate two or three passengers. In the two-passenger mode, the seats are separated from the doors and from each other much like the front seats. In three-passenger mode the back seat looks like a regular one-piece seat. The front seat can be pushed fully backwards while the rear passengers can still get more than a decent amount of leg room.
The Meriva was sold in South America (except in Chile) from 2003 through 2012 as the Chevrolet Meriva, where it was replaced in 2012 by the Chevrolet Spin. The initial version had been co-developed by Opel and General Motors do Brasil. It was built in São Caetano do Sul, Brazil. Both the Chevrolet Spin and the GMC Granite succeeded the Chevrolet Meriva.
Initial launch
From launch, there were 3 petrol engines and 1 diesel engine. In 2005, the 1.6 8v petrol engine was replaced with a more powerful and efficient 1.4 engine. The 2.5 Turbo was available with a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard, and the other engines had a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard. The 1.6 (16v) and 1.8 petrols were available with a 5-speed 'Easytronic' gearbox as an option.
Petrol
Both 1.4 and 1.8 are available as flexfuel in Brazil.
Diesel
Facelift
Petrol
Diesel
Facelift
When the Meriva was facelifted in February 2006, the front and rear ends were revised, and three new/revised engines came along as well as an extra trim level, the OPC/VXR.
Meriva B (2010–2017)
The second generation, named the Meriva B, is slightly larger in size than the previous generation and is classified as a compact MPV.
The Meriva B appeared in 2009. The new model is 4,288mm in length, up from the 4,052mm of the previous version which was based on the Corsa. The new model uses revised suspension layout from the former version but with a floorpan associated with the seven-seater Zafira Tourer.
The interior is similar to that of the 2009-2015 Astra and Insignia.
The new Meriva’s seat comfort has also advanced, with the adoption of front seat technology from the Insignia and Astra. The seat adjustment range is 240 mm (9.4 in) in length and 65 mm (2.6 in) in height.
The Meriva B debuted at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March, and went into production in July 2010. The Meriva is the first (and only) estate car in the compact MPV class to have rear-hinged rear doors, which Opel markets as "FlexDoors". A panoramic sunroof is also available as standard on the top spec versions.
Engines
From launch, the Meriva was available with 5 engines (3 petrol, 2 diesel). The 1.7 diesel is only available with a 6-speed automatic gearbox and the 1.4 turbo (140 PS) and 1.7 (130 hp) are only available with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Since September 2010, 2 more engines have been available, both diesel - the 1.3 (95 hp) and the 1.7 (130 hp). All petrol engines are Ecotec.
From 2011, Stop/Start was added to certain engines [Engines with (S/S) are bold in CO2 column], a cleaner, more powerful 1.7 CDTI auto was added, and the petrol engines became slightly more efficient. A 6-speed automatic gearbox will soon be available for the 1.4T (120) petrol engine.
In January 2014. Opel introduced newly developed engine with restyled Meriva: 1.6 CDTI engine with 95 PS, 110 PS, and 136 PS.
Facelift
A facelifted version was presented as a world premiere at the Brussels International Motor Show in January 2014.