Vauxhall Meriva (10 on) - Review

Review by Parkers on
Last Updated: 03 March 2011
The first Meriva was a budget value small family car but was found wanting in many areas, not least quality and refinement. This model is a huge leap forward in both those fields but retains the family-friendly practicality and versatility of the previous model. It’s considerably larger than before, but the big talking point is the rear-hinged side doors that are a genuinely useful feature and make getting into the back seats or fitting a child seat much easier than with conventional doors. On the move the Meriva is easy to drive, helped by light steering and excellent visibility, so it’s ideal in towns and cities. The interior is impressive too, with an easy-to-use layout and good quality materials borrowed from the Astra and Insignia.
4.5 out of 5

Other Vauxhall reviews

4 out of 5

Running costs

Thanks to competitive list prices, the Meriva is good value for money plus it will have far better residual values than the previous version. Equipment levels are pretty good plus this Vauxhall will be cheap to run thanks to efficient engines. A low emissions model is in the pipeline, while Vauxhall servicing is usually very competitive. However, the dealers don’t have a great reputation for customer care or when it comes to solving problems.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,306 - £1,395 *

Diesel

£943 - £1,457 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

Servicing: Two years/20,000 miles.

Warranty

Warranty: Three years/60,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£20.00 - £195.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

4 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
    109
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
    168
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

All the engines in the line-up are efficient and the change from large petrol engines to smaller turbocharged units means huge improvements in economy. CO2 emissions are low across the board and the most powerful 1.4 Turbo 140 emits just 156g/km – less than the 1.7 CDTi. The greenest engine is the 1.3 CDTi which emits 129g/km of CO2 and averages 58mpg.

Find the exact engine and CO2