Vauxhall Zafira VXR | Spotted
SUVs now reign supreme among fast family cars. Here's when Vauxhall tried to crash the party with a 240hp MPV
You needn’t be a rocket scientist to figure out why performance SUVs are as popular as they are. Instead of having one car that can do the school run and another to thrash around in on the weekend, why not combine the two into one massive, 2.5-tonne bus that can catapult a family of five to 60mph in a smidgen over three seconds? Of course, that’s something the performance estate has been doing for decades (and continues to do so with the BMW M3 and M5 Touring, Mercedes-AMG C63 and a handful of others), but they don’t have the lofty driving position, perceived safety and, let’s face it, business park cache as an Audi RS Q8 or Porsche Cayenne Turbo.
But there was a point, lest we forget, where the MPV tried to get a seat at the family-friendly performance car table. Mercedes had a right go of it in 2006 with the R63, which was powered by the same 510hp 6.2-litre V8 as the W211 E63. The fact that the R63 was only around for one model year and production consisted of just 322 examples - of which 12 were right-hand drive UK-spec cars - shows just how niche the performance MPV was. That, and that the only other carmakers to have a stab at it were Ford with the Focus ST-engined S-Max 2.5T and the Vauxhall Zafira VXR you see here.
While the S-Max 2.5T looked like any other variant of Ford’s swoopy MPV, Vauxhall threw everything it had at the Zafira VXR to help it stand out from the dreary base model. The original GSi, which arguably kicked off the sporty MPV niche in 2001, featured a racy bodykit, body-colour trim, massive alloys and the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-pot from the Astra GSi with 200hp on tap. And because it was essentially a second-gen Astra underneath, a car that Lotus oversaw the chassis development on, it wasn’t half bad in the corners, and nor was it a slouch with a 0-60mph time of seven seconds dead - all in a car capable of carrying up to seven people.
It was popular, too. If HowManyLeft is anything to go by, Vauxhall shifted over 2,700 of them in Britain alone, and with other hot Vauxes flying off forecourts a successor was a no-brainer. In 2005, the Zafira VXR arrived based on the second generation of Vauxhall’s mid-sized MPV. It followed the formula of the original closely with sharper styling and near identical underpinnings to the then-new gen-three Astra. That meant a decent 40hp jump over the old GSi, beefy 321mm front brakes and trick electronically-controlled dampers that automatically adjust to (supposedly) reduce understeer. It was said to be impressively controlled in the corners, though that did come at the cost of ride comfort, which you could probably tell just by looking at it.
Like all VXRs of this vintage, most of Vauxhall’s budget was spent on making the thing go like the clappers, leaving only a few quid left in the kitty for jazzing up the interior. Much of the cabin was left untouched from the standard car, albeit with a smattering of VXR badges here and there, though you did get a set of body-hugging Recaro seats up front. The seat design is mimicked for the second row, only without the massive bolsters and Recaro branding.
So extreme was the Zafira VXR that it was believed to be the fastest MPV on the planet at the time of release, although that isn't much in dispute if you think about it. The R63 and S-Max 2.5T were both a year off, which left the Zafira in a class of one. That means it’s got a cult following (of sorts) though not one to send its prices soaring. This very tidy, 72,000-mile example is all yours for £6,995 and is backed up by a full service history and a fresh MOT. Better still, tuning company TurboZentrum announced last year that it’s found a way of extracting 400hp from the Zaf, which could, if you squint a bit and totally ignore the prevailing popularity of SUVs, cement this as the coolest thing in the school car park.
SPECIFICATION | VAUXHALL ZAFIRA VXR
Engine: 1,998 four-cylinder, turbocharged
Transmission: six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 240@5,600rpm
Torque (lb ft): 236@2,400rpm
MPG: 29
CO2: 230g/km
Year registered: 2007
Recorded mileage: 72,000
Price new: £25,290
Yours for: £6,995
Main issue isn't even handling but the interior as it's the best and worst thing about it.
On one hand Zafira can really fit 7 people, maybe not 7 adults but all 7 seats are usable and movable rear couch is a really useful and clever contraption. 2 Extra seats in the boot fold flat nicely when not needed and boot is good with 5 seats and still usable with all 7 seats up.
On the other the dash is hideous and rubbish, materials are poor and it looks like it has been designed in under 5 minutes. In general interior materials are... not the best. This is going to be slightly brightened up with these bucket seats, but I wonder if that makes a difference to seating position as in regular Zafira you feel like you're seated on a stool and driving a bus.
Here they come!
In which case I've always thought the format of MPVs makes more sense than SUVs; you get more space (and, crucially, the extra seats) without having to add all the weight of the tractor bits and without jacking the CoG another 2 feet off the ground.
Merc R63 remains king of the class of course. Those aren't slow in a straight line even by today's standards
although I expect a well driven Polo GTI (isn't it sad that's now the go-to new hot supermini) would blitz one over a B road.
Made our Nissan Serena look like the automotive turd it was
Have to say, as a dad of 3 boys I wished my Galaxy came in some sort of STd format like the Focus did... Not everyone can get away with an SUV or estate for their lifestyle/size of monstrous offspring.
t boring. t boring. 
t boring. It's a real pity the concept of fast and/or luxury MPVs didn't catch; a Bentley-badged California with a V8 (a W12 seems too much to imagine...) would be a magnificent thing
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