Opel Zafira Tourer Official Details
With the launch of the Zafira Tourer, Opel is introducing a powerful contender to the mini MPV segment.
The new Tourer uses the Flex concept to its max and beside the usual stuff like FlexRide, also offers a new Flex7 seating system. It can seat seven people, but the highlight of it is the unique and clever arrangement. The seats tilt forward and backward and slide about, and also fold away for trading passenger space for cargo space. They rightfully call it a lounge on wheels.
The car also has a funky and cool design for a minivan and a relaxing, high quality interior with up to date features. The Zafira comes with a range of electronic driving aids for better ride quality, handling and of course safety. The current Opel Zafira will remain on offer next to the new, more refined Zafira Tourer, allowing traditional customers to benefit from a functional, flexible compact monocab at a very affordable price.
Complete technical details on the Opel Zafira Tourer in the press release below:
The Opel Zafira Tourer will make its world premiere at the 64th International Motor Show in Frankfurt am Main, September 15 – 25, 2011. Offering a perfect blend of functionality and wellness, the Zafira Tourer brings Insignia premium quality values and innovative technologies as well as Opel’s design philosophy – “sculptural artistry meets German precision” – to the monocab segment.
The “Tourer” in the name marks a quantum leap forward: With an extensively re-designed Flex7 seating system, the third generation of Opel’s compact monocab establishes new standards in cabin flexibility and quality. But the metamorphosis goes beyond this enhanced ability to transform its cabin layout: The overall experience is upgraded. Relaxed driving comes with premium qualities thanks to a refined design, airy cabin atmosphere, an upgraded chassis and innovative technologies that increase comfort and safety.
The benchmark for flexibility offers rear passengers a new, first-class feeling
When it was launched 1999, the first generation Opel Zafira was not only the first seven-seater in its class. It also set new standards with fully integrated on-board flexibility. This means there is no need to remove and store heavy seats. Since 1999, Opel has sold more than 2.2 million units of two Zafira generations in Europe. Along with the Meriva, the European class leader in small monocabs, the Zafira has established Opel as the benchmark in flexibility and in the monocab segment.
Premium flexibility is the business card of the new Zafira Tourer. Opel engineers have substantially upgraded the clever Flex7 seating concept. While the entire third row can still be folded down flush with the floor of the luggage compartment, the second row has been completely re-designed: No longer a bench, it now consists of three separate, individual seats that can be folded flat and moved independently of each other. Each can slide longitudinally by 210 mm.
In addition, passengers in the second row can benefit from the unique, optional Lounge Seating system, providing generous limousine-like seating space and comfort. Thanks to a clever folding mechanism, the back of the middle seat in the second row folds down and rotates to offer comfortable armrests for the passengers in the outer seats. The longitudinal movement of the outer seats in this case is extended to 280 mm – 70 mm more than in the standard version, and 80 mm more than in the current Zafira. Moreover, the outer seats slide by 50 mm towards the center of the cabin, a true novelty in the segment.
The combination of both longitudinal and lateral movements ensures first-class comfort and the unique feeling of travelling in a “lounge on wheels”, with maximum individual space and ergonomics, as passengers can change position at their convenience while travelling. This emphasis on personal comfort makes the Zafira Tourer much more than just a family vehicle. Opel designers turned the flexible interior into a wellness oasis, a place to relax and enjoy the spacious atmosphere – be it on a business trip or a long journey with friends.
Unique features further enhance Zafira Tourer’s flexibility
Thanks to its generous cabin space and flexible seating system, the Zafira Tourer offers 710 liters load volume in a five-seat configuration (65 liters more than the current Zafira), and up to 1,860 liters (+ 40 liters) when all rear seats are folded down.
It also provides ample storage space including the revolutionary multi-functional FlexConsole, an enhancement of the innovative FlexRail system introduced last year in the Meriva. This standard-setting innovation is just another example of premium flexibility in the Zafira Tourer. The armrest featuring a storage box and the cup holder trail both slide on the aluminum rails to the desired position, enabling flexible use of the generous storage space between the front seats – exactly where it is most accessible and useful.
The second generation of Opel’s exclusive integrated FlexFix bicycle carrier system also premieres in the new Zafira Tourer. To date around 60,000 Opel customers have opted for this highly acclaimed carrier that is integrated in the rear bumper and is simply pulled out like a drawer. Building on the experience of the first generation, the system has been re-engineered and features a new fastening device that makes it even more functional and easier to use.
Zafira Tourer stands out with athletic look
“The Zafira is Opel’s flexibility icon, and we wanted to bring more emotion and premium qualities into its third generation,” says Mark Adams, Vice President, Opel/Vauxhall Design. “The Opel Zafira Tourer makes a statement with its sleek, sporty look and premium feel.”
The distinctive front with its bold twin “boomerang” graphics sweeping from the top of the headlights to the bottom of the fog lamps, its characteristic Opel center crease and proud trapezoidal grille create a dynamic, progressive look, unusual for a monocab. In line with all other models in the range, the headlights feature the Opel-typical “wing shaped” daytime running light graphic.
The streamlined, aerodynamic bodywork design of the Zafira Tourer lends it a silhouette that is reminiscent of a high-speed train. The belt line sweeps upwards in a hockey stick-like gesture and visually propels the vehicle forward, while the Opel characteristic “blade” sculpts and adds motion to the body side.
The wing-shaped graphic from the headlights is repeated in the tail lamps, which can be enhanced with LED technology. The horizontal chrome bar carrying the Opel logo stretches far into the split light elements, giving the Zafira Tourer a broad, sporty look in the rear and adding a premium touch.
As for the interior, driver’s visibility has been dramatically improved thanks to a completely re-designed front layout with slim A-pillars, large side windows and a repositioned side rear view mirror – now mounted on the door panel.
The high-class quality cabin is dominated by dynamic, sculptural shapes and a feeling of spacious comfort. The bright, airy lounge atmosphere in the Zafira Tourer can be enhanced by the optionally available panorama windscreen – an innovation that Opel introduced in 2005 in the Astra GTC. It flows into a generous glass sunroof that visually extends all the way to the back of the vehicle.
Adaptive FlexRide chassis control enhances driving comfort and safety
For a relaxed driving experience, the Zafira Tourer mechatronic chassis has been designed to provide an outstanding level of comfort and safety. Compared to the previous generation, the wheelbase and tracks have increased substantially to the benefit of ride comfort and dynamic stability: The wheel base is now 2,760 mm (+ 57 mm), while the tracks are 1,584 mm in front (+ 96 mm) and 1,588 in the rear (+ 78 mm).
The Zafira Tourer features the front axle of the Insignia, with an isolated sub-frame and a McPherson strut. The layout of the rear axle is unique in the monocab segment. Like in the Astra, it combines a compound crank with a Watt’s link. This construction has multiple benefits: While it provides outstanding stability/control, comfort and noise insulation, it is lighter and more compact than a multi-link axle that for instance would not leave enough space to fit the integrated FlexFix bicycle carrier offered in the Zafira Tourer.
Still a rarity in the monocab segment, the intelligent, fully-adaptive FlexRide chassis control system in the Zafira Tourer enhances driving comfort and safety on demand. It automatically adapts to road conditions, cornering speed, vehicle movements and individual driving style to provide maximum stability, and offers a choice between three settings: the balanced Standard mode, the comfort-oriented “Tour” mode and the more active “Sport” mode.
Greater driving safety thanks to intelligent assistant systems
A host of innovative Driver Assistant systems enhance driving comfort and overall safety in the new Zafira Tourer.
* A new feature in the Opel range, the radar-based Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Collision Mitigating Braking (CMB) constantly monitors the distance to the vehicles ahead. If the set safety distance is not observed, the system automatically reduces vehicle speed or, in extreme cases, triggers emergency braking to prevent a collision.
The Opel Eye front camera system of the second generation also premieres in the Zafira Tourer. While it still features the familiar Lane Departure Warning (LDW), its Traffic Sign Recognition functionality (TSR) is improved and widely extended. The camera also supports new functions such as:
* A Following Distance Indication (FDI) that visually informs the driver about the distance to the vehicle ahead. * A Forward Collision Alert (FCA) that warns the driver via visual and acoustic signals about an imminent collision with the vehicle ahead.
* An Intelligent Light Ranging system (ILR) that adds a new function to the Bi- Xenon Advanced Forward Lighting system (AFL+): It adjusts the headlamp low beam pattern to the distance from the vehicle ahead and continuously adapts it to optimize roadway illumination without blinding.
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