Vauxhall Meriva reviews

Does what it was designed to do. Nothing special as most cars.

The vehicle all round has provided reliable economic and very good service.

love my meriva car plenty of room for us all plus dog. good on petrol , reliable, would definitely have another one. look better with the tinted windows.

nothing to add

The Mk 1 meriva is a good blend of the qualities that would suit a small family, or anyone that needs flexibilitty with practicality. Personally, would avoid the Easytronic transmsision, as any faults can be difficult to get diagnosed, and relatively expensive to resolve?

I hate it's poor acceleration. I feel I've really got to floor it when coming out of a side road onto a main road and can't rely on it to overtake unless I'm already driving at speed. I love it's spaciousness, comfort and cornering ability.

My wife and I are satisfied with this car which we bought new and it is ideal for pensioners. However, we find the lack of a hand-break which is replaced by just a button most unhelpful. This together with automatic release when engaging a gear does make starting on a steep incline very awkward and sometimes most embarrassing.

I hate the fact that the doors lock automatically. It's been a great car very reliable and comfortable. It lacks some power especially when accelerating. I think the engine size is 1200 It's a standard Meriva

Shoddy build, poor design - and those are the biggest positives I can manage.

I am not a petrolhead. I just want a reliable car that takes me where I want to go and is a pleasure to drive, I did not buy the car in the ad because it had been sold but Thame Service Station found me a better one within a day. Brilliant for all my needs

Have wanted a Meriva for quite a few years so was well pleased when I saw this one for sale. Not sure yet on how the cars running costs & reliability is as only had the car 5 days. So far so good but have noticed a slight tapping when driving in the front driver side. Am enjoying the size & comfort and the engine is lovely & quiet when running.

Well we purchased this new in 2005 and to be fair was reliable if quite dull for four years. Biggest issue...ECU failure has been terrible. Had it replaced once - had to fork out £1000 - and the car still fails to start at times. THis car drinks too much oil. Not good enough General Motors. ECU failure is a common failure in many Vauxhall cars so why do GM not recall them. Dreadful behaviour. Never buy a GM car again. Our Volvo V 70 D5 is way better than this car in every way.

I bought my Meriva in January 2015 with just 680 miles on the clock and have done 5000 miles in 5 months. In that time the only annoying thing is the EPB (electronic parking brake) which took a while to get used to but overall I don't have problems with it now though it does catch me out occasionally on inclines. The 1400 petrol engine is under powered and it does not like hills. But on motorways when in cruise control it seems to cope well with hills which is good as I drive on the M4 & M5 for about 90% of the mileage. I'm 67 and this car suits my needs. I like the parking sensors and the good high view and I can still park it in my garage. I wish that the pockets in the doors weren't so awkwardly small. One decent pocket per door rather than 2 small awkward ones would be better.

Every day I hate my Vauxhall Meriva more, I'm afraid. I bought it new in January 2015 and it was my first experience of an electronic parking brake. On the test drive the salesman showed me how to move off by getting it in gear and just driving. We happened to stick to flat roads - no inclines - and all was well. The morning after I'd bought it I was going uphill towards a roundabout in a queue of traffic. And as there was a long wait at one point, I applied the EPB and put the car into neutral. When I was able to move forwards uphill, I put the car into first gear, got to the biting point with clutch and accelerator, the EPB light went off and the car rolled backwards. I was stuck for the next ten minutes, because whatever I tried the car just kept rolling backwards towards the car behind me in the queue. I assumed it was my fault... but in the weeks since I would estimate that a random 10-20% of the time on hill starts (even on quite slight inclines) it will roll in the opposite direction to the gear selected. After reading the manual closely and trying different starting routines I still have the same problem. You just never know when it will occur. Our drive at home has a slight incline and I park facing downhill so I select reverse gear when I park before switching off the engine as the manual suggests. When I come to start the car and reverse out of the drive it will roll forwards a random 10-20% of starts. Once it's rolled it will usually roll in the wrong direction several times before finally deciding to go the direction you want. I've taken it back to the dealership but all they say is there's no fault when they test it. I am beginning to suspect this is just the way of EPBs. I am rapidly losing confidence in driving this car and thinking I'll have to take the loss on exchanging it for anything that doesn't have an EPB.

An honest little car with good space inside. taking a while to get used to a small petrol engine after a large turbo diesal.

Only had the car 2 days. Very pleased at the moment. Love being higher up the vision is great, petrol seems good 2. Will know more when I have had it longer

We were a little disappointed as we searched for a new car on the AA site thinking that full recommendation and checks by the AA had been completed. However, we bought the car in good faith only to find that the one of the tyres was the wrong size to all the others, and spare had a wrong valve on it. I visited Kwik Fit as I thought the tracking was out and they advised me of this. On the way home I got a flat tyre, luckily someone stopped and helped me out. When I got home I contacted Peterborough Car Supermarket and explained they came out and got me another tyre, but I still dont have a spare as yet, I am hopeful to get this Monday. I dont have a problem directly but I think your site shouldnt give the impression that you (the AA) have checked or sourced the vehicle.

this replaced my astra diesel estate. whilst having a higher seating position (easier to get in and out)the mervira is not a true estate. It cannot take heavy loads ie horse feeds etc as the boot is small and boot base is not metal and cannot support weight. One major problem with this car is poor driver vision at roundabouts and junctions due to the position of the windscreen pillar.

I BOUGHT THIS CAR 2 YEARS AGO AND FIND IT VERY PRACTICAL AND COMFORTABLE FOR MY USE. THE CARS PERFORMS TO MY PERSONAL NEEDS AND IS REASONABLY ECONOMICAL TO RUN . I FIND THE SPACE AVAILABLE SUITED TO OUR NEEDS AND IS USEFULL ON HOLIDAYS.

I changed my car recently because my youngest daughter had twins and the pram would not fit in the boot of my Vauxhall Agila. The Meriva I purchased has a much bigger boot space and the configuration of the rear doors makes it easier to fit the baby car seats in and also to access the space when putting the babies in the car or taking them out. The downside of changing is a higher cost road fund licence and less fuel economy. I am spending around 20% more on fuel than I was previously. On the plus side the car is very comfortable, performs well ( it is the Turbo model) and we can get our weekly shop in the boot of the car, rather than having to put some bags in the interior. The versatility of the rear space means that one can carry quite big loads easily. The on-board computer, curiously, does not offer as many options as my Agila 1.2S - no option to monitor mpg or what effect one's driving is having on fuel economy, just a simple trip meter. However, overall, we are very happy with our new vehicle as it helps us to help our daughter (who doesn't own a car) manage the transport of our grandsons. i have to say that the level of service we get from our local Drive Vauxhall dealer is first class.