The last time I saw this car, he was naked and gutted in front of me. The seats have been removed, the panel dismounted and son hanging. The carpets were being removed. All this in an effort to find the sourc e of an outbreak that struck it.
This was a fun ride to take the car to the mechanic. Having been smoked with poison gas in an effort to get rid of parasites, the smell (and probably some of the chemicals) still hanging in the air. In addition, the extermination effort had agitated the pesky insects. As I drove, I could see out of the vents and creepy feel on my feet.
The car was taken by cockroaches. Big, brown, ugly, cockroaches, dirty city. More worrying was not only were seen big, small also abounded. chemical attack of the destroyer had been insufficient. The next step would be to strip the car and physically remove the root of the outbreak. Nest of beasts
It had been there for over four years now and the car was back in town. Taking a break from work in São Paulo, the family took to the road in their CD Chevrolet Zafira, 03, on the way to our hometown to visit family and friends. As women moved to speak and the children made friends again and started playing, I made my escape. I asked them what was needed and offered to go to the supermarket. They made their list and I asked for the keys to the Zafira, joking about this tower there are these many years. I warned that it would be a long supermarket raid. And just like that, I spent the day with the Zafira and I renew it.
The Zafira is a minivan based on the same Astra platform (Golf and Focus rival size). Developed by GM Germany, also known as Opel, it seats seven. This is a favorite of families across the car was offered. There is a longish car at 4.3 meters (169.3 inches), wide (1.75 m, 68.9 inches) and height (1.69 m, 66.5 inches). The 2.7 m long (106) wheelbase means it offers plenty of legroom for the first and second row passengers, and because of its shape square minivan, head and shoulders is excellent. With 7 seats until he can still hold 150 liters of luggage (in competition with a modern Fiat 500 for one), increasing to 0 L trunk space to swallow for the accoutrements of the family with the third row hidden. Folding the second row, the Zafira becomes a moving truck.
This type of space is the reason the family bought the Chevy Zafira. With three little girls aged 3 to 9, the car suits the needs of their parents well. On the highway, it is a cruiser that can take them all in comfort, while in the city, it is high compared to Brazilian standards, but not quite as large as some modern crossovers. The windows are large and the shape of the Zafira makes it very easy to drive, even in crowded area of ​​the city that visibility is excellent.
Under the hood is part of the reason why some of the daddies do not mind the car is. This release was the CD, which means it has a 2.0L 8V engine that makes 116 hp (other versions come with either a 2.0L or 1.8L 16v) ​​and, traditionally GM, it has many low-end torque. These horses are more than enough to move the car with aplomb as it rea ches its top speed of nearly 180 km / h. The dash to 100 km / h, made in the mid-12s years - so its a quick pickup. As it weighs just over 1400 kg (3086 lb), the motor is sufficient. Since it is an old engine, fuel economy is not great. In fact, it can be quite catastrophic in the city in stop and go traffic, loaded, AC thoroughly, especially as it has a 4-speed automatic transmission with a few tricks up his sleeve - like the ability to "learn" style of driving. Furthermore, as these days, it makes financial sense to fuel with ethanol, because of this car takes the Brazilian gasoline (E27) is another sore point for the family.
So that the car takes a hand (bad fuel economy), it gives the other because it offers a soothing player for this family, especially taking into account that they live in perpetually congested São Paulo. The tendency of the engine to develop bad gaskets and oil leak is well known as it has been around for centuries. In this way, preventive maintenanc e is easy to do as engineers know what to look for.
On my drive, I noticed the gearbox works well. He held gears as needed and quickly opted when requested. I did not notice any excessive flapping in the transmission, which means its probably healthy. In a country like Brazil, automatic reconstruction is a significant cost and fear that still keeps many away from these systems. In this 12-year-old car, so far so good. In fact, the main driver of this car, the lady of the house, was conquered and seek another car when it comes time for a replacement.
This Brazilian Zafira rides on 15-inch wheels fitted with 195 mm wide tires still have some side wall (65 mm) for the convenience of the city. Everything that was not broken was working well without undue hesitation. All controls have a beautiful, tactile, muted feel. Although the interior design is very conservative, everything is logically presented and the dashboard is complete. The seats are large and offer excellen t support. The fabric, although tinged in some areas, still feels soft. Lumbar support is available and telescopic wheel, as well as the seat of highly adjustable driver, helps to find a comfortable driving position.
The suspension still feels good after all these years. Equipped with a sub-frame and an initial stabilization bar, he makes short work of bad pavement widespread in Brazil. Body roll is controlled and the Zafira does not feel like it will roll on navigating most curves. Of course, theres a big, wide, long car, so care must be taken in the most sharp corners. It is not an Astra to be sure, but it is also not a car that will scare a responsible driver. - Although it can be driven with more enthusiasm than, say, an SUV
The go pedal provides excellent modulation after all these years, and the brakes (with ABS and EBD) felt good and progressive. The shift lever falls naturally to hand. The electro-hydraulic steering is as fine as the wheel turn was met with very little resistance, but it still retains some communication between her and the driver. Although the steering wheel itself is near the end of his life, work, it was a pleasure.
Yep, this Zafira is a far cry from the standard of Brazilian cars, mostly of compact and subcompact variety. And it should be. It costs a pretty penny when new, and modern substitute - Spin GM Korea developed - costs around R $ 50,000 ($ 16,500 USD ~) all the way to over R $ 70,000 (~ $ 23,000 USD). The Zafira costs even more than that in his time as General Motors do Brasil also offered smaller Meriva with seating for five. It is one of the reasons why there are so many widows Opel Brazil. They refuse to recognize the Spin as a true Chevrolet and GM say Brazil was again stabbed consumers. I think the Spin is a credible alternative as it does very well, uses the same engine, an automatic 6-art and interior gear is simpler, but still above average. In the market for used cars, according Fipe (a k ind of Brazilian-Blue Book), this 03 Chevy still recovers approximately R $ 22.500 (~ $ 7,400 USD). As a simple and compact hatch 1.0L with the necessities of life revolves around R $ 30,000 (~ $ 900 USD) today, the Zafira still offers a lot of value.
As I drove the car I was reflecting on his life. Mechanically sound, it has suffered in the hands of two families. According to the current owners, they bought the car of another family of 3 children, already showing stains and wear. scratches, dings and scratches are all on the outside. However, this Zafira is like a woman who led a full life. The "damage" to it is similar to what is usually seen on a woman who chose to have children and live life to its greatest extent. Stretchmarks usually found on such a woman should be worn with pride, like trademarks on this minivan shows, life also led the most complete, families who serve loyally and with small brands with pride.
In this context, tens of thousands of cockroach es and some toxic gases is nothing. Just par for the course
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