I had a Vauxhall Zafira and towed with it for 3 years but ours was the 1.8 petrol engine. We towed a caravan that was 780 kgs. unladen and 1000 kgs. fully loaded but it struggled a bit on the motorway inclines. After changing to a Ford Focus estate 2.0 ltr. diesel I found that there was no comparison between the two vehicles and the Focus performed extremely well and outweighed the performance of the Zafira by far. All the Vauxhall owners that I have spoken to have all said the same that they don't make very good towers and these include 2.0 ltr. diesel Vectra's as well. The Ford Mondeo is much of a superior towcar in comparison and every one that has owned one has had no complaints as far as I know. I personally wouldn't consider another Vauxhall for towing in the future as there are much better vehicles on the market to choose from.
towed with the astra estate 1.7 cdti with a 1000kg van no problems at all with a 1300kg van still no problems astra limit was 1400kg for towing tootled along quite happily and we did 4000 miles each year in france during the summer i was always aware that I was up to 92% car ; van ratio so when I changed the astra I did not get another when changing the new astra estate waqs not out so I looked at the zafira I would have gone for the sri 120bhp but I was not impressed with the back seats and the lack of spare wheel
you fail to say what weight of van you are going to tow - so the above may be of use or not as the case may be hapy hunting and towing
Most Zafira owners I've known are not entirely happy with it as a towcar. Which is a shame because on paper it looks good. I looked at one recently, but after speaking to my sister who has one I decided against.
I currently tow with an old 1.8 Zafira, but am looking for a 2.0ltr diesel (Skoda Scout) I would imagine the diesel Zafira is a better tow than the petrol for sure, but i guess it depends on the van you want to tow.
I towed with our zafira 1.9cdti 150, plenty of power but I still didnt like the tow.
My van was 1400kg laden so a bit heavy really, but it never inspired any confidence on the motorway. A roads were no problem, but at times it did scare me on the motorway.
A bit of a sidewind and I was slowing to 40mph to keep the car stable. I still have the zafira as a family car as its great for that, I just never tow with anymore.
Quote: Originally posted by mel26 on 14/3/2011
i have a vauxhall zafira club 1.8 which my partner tows our caravan with have had no probs towing with it
Hi, could you tell me the weight of your caravan? As we have the same car and we are looking at buying a small tourer. Thanks.