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Just towed this past weekend with a Meriva1.7 CDTi Enjoy. No problem but then again we only have a small caravan. Our towbar with twin electrics only cost £210 to fit by a fully qualified mobile specialist.(last week). Only problem is the towbar etc.causes the number plate to be obscured slightly.(illegal!!!)Going to have to raise the number plate a little, can only do it an inch because of the recess.Has anybody else had this problem?It is a Witter towbar..

well i work for welsh of newport and the wife has an 05 zafira 1600

towed our bailey discovery fine(up hill no probs as long as you change down).

the tow bar was £110 with twin electrics and is a genuine vauxhall one(got from work and fitted myself)

the new zafira (which was out last weekend of july) IS slightly longer but only to compensate for the new 19cdti and 2.2 cdti engines but beware the boot is 2.5 inches smaller than the ond one and it can only tow 50kg more as a gross train weight (old one was 1100kg new one is 1150kg)

hope this helps and happy camping

Hi i tow a bailey monarch series 5  with a zafira 2.2 auto 55 plate, cant fault it for towing the twin overhead cam 16 valve engine is sure better than my old 2 litre Omega.

good luck

Quote: Originally posted by path20 on 13/9/2005

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Just towed this past weekend with a Meriva1.7 CDTi Enjoy. No problem but then again we only have a small caravan. Our towbar with twin electrics only cost £210 to fit by a fully qualified mobile specialist.(last week). Only problem is the towbar etc.causes the number plate to be obscured slightly.(illegal!!!)Going to have to raise the number plate a little, can only do it an inch because of the recess.Has anybody else had this problem?It is a Witter towbar..

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This was the problem I had when first looking at getting a towbar, hence went for the removable one which is great as we can put it away in the boot when not towing. If the numberplate is obscurred at all then it is illegal, I sent a letter to one supplier asking why they were selling an illegal fitting and they replyed saying that they had not actually seen the vehicle but had made the towbar using the specs supplied by vauxhall which did not say that the number plate was on the bottom valance.
I have seen some Meriva's with tobars fitted and an additional number plate fastened on to the boot.

We had the Witter removable bar fitted as at the time that was the only one that was legal for us to fit in compliance with our vehicle lease!

I have had some engine problems with the 1.6 life this year and it turns out that this was due to a design fault in the exhaust system which should be rectified by either a recall or at first service, ours is a 53 plate, not sure if this applied to other petrol models.

Havent a clue about the vehicles, but love the adverts.....

"sat nav....keeps them out of trouble..." & "oooooohhhh they're tired..." 

just creases me up

Jenny

Hi

I have a vauxhall zafira 2.0 litre diesel elegance.

I tow a rapido exportmatic folding caravan with it and I find it much more easier for towing than my peugot 306.

I am very pleased with the zafira

regards

John

depends on weight  do your sums and you'll be ok   i pulled with an astra 1.7 turbo diesel with a 1000kg van (gross weight)   it was ok for the next van 1300kg -  but only ok.   91% ratio is not brill  and pulling away on hills needed a kick.   never caught out though even during 8 week tours to spain/france.  

you'd be better with the bigger engine  1.9  which you don't get on the meriva   almost got the 1.9  150bhp  zafira last year but did not like the handbrake - lack of spare - rear bench seating  

nb  weight ratio and manufacturer limits are paramount though  check and check again!!!!  good luck

Bear in mind that if the manufacturer says a limit of 1300kg (for example) it means you'd be invalidating your insurance  if you two a van with a gross weight (or whatever it's called now) greater than 1300kg.

That's how I understand it anyhow - regardless of what it may be able to tow you're limited to what the manufacturer says you can tow.

We bought one of the first Merivas a 53 reg, had nothing but problems with it and because it was so new the dealer did not have a clue how to resolve. Brand new car had a major oil leak and a whole host of problems. We had moved from having a succession of BMW's and the build quality was awful compared.

My company have given me a couple of hire car 59 Zafiras recently to travel for business and they both had brake problems. Have not had alot of luck with Vauxhalls I'm afraid.

Micky

The tow bar and electrics for our Meriva at £210 was fitted over four years ago.The price has gone up now.