2005 Chevrolet Zafira Sport 1.8 petrol from Malaysia

Summary:

Great Value for your Money

Faults:

Rear door body stripe was not fitted properly. Got that solved easily as one of the clips were not pushed in properly resulting in a gap.

Front bonnet wasn't polish when delivered. This is serious to me as I pay a lot of attention on detail. However, will sort it out myself as I can get my hands on the equipment to do it. The car wasn't built locally and was imported from a neighboring country so I doubt the local dealership has the people to polish it. They would probably send it to a paint shop.

Inspection light wasn't reseted, but was a small problem and clearly spelled out in the manual. Got that sorted out at the service centre.

General Comments:

The seats are rather hard and takes a while to get use to. Probably because I keep comparing them to the 406 but even though they are hard they don't feel really uncomfortable. Maybe will get use to it with time.

Still rather new so won't really know if it would be a pain on long distance traveling.

Low end torque is surprisingly very good for a 1.8. It performs better than my previous 406 in terms of low end. Top speed I won't know as am keeping it below 120 km/h to allow the engine to run in a little bit more.

Cabin is pretty, but not really impressive. Layout makes everything within easy reach.

Gear changes are smooth with little complaints, but the auto neutral feature on the Aisin Autobox takes a little bit of getting used to.

Ride is firm unlike most MPVs which improves handling. It doesn't drive exactly like a car, but it sure beats a whole lot of other MPVs in this department.

Initially was not really confident to attack corners, but now have the courage to do it. Best of all, all the abbreviations like ABS, EBD and TCS are present though I have not really tested them out yet.

Overall, no regrets, but need to do something about those really hard seats when I have the funds.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 22nd July, 2005

25th Sep 2005, 23:44

Hi,

I would like to give some advise:

Kindly maintain the battery as per schedule. Otherwise it will affect the ECU. Then you will see all red symbols glows on your odometer.

Possible effect is due to voltage and current differences in Malaysia. What you can do is to fix voltage stabiliser and battery saver system.

26th Jul 2008, 19:53

The Zafira is probably one of Chevy's worst cars. The seats are not comfortable and too hard, the interior quality is bad, the material is bad, the gear box is easily get scratched, and the performance is bad.

My Zafira has always had problems such as power windows not working, AC didn't work, transmission error, and more.

I think GM is not responsible for all the products that we consume. In my country, all Chevy cars are Koreans. 5 years ago, all GM cars in my country were Americans, including the Zafira and Blazer. The quality of the American and Korean cars are different. Today, all Chevys in my country are Korean such as Estate, Optra, Aveo, Kalos, Captiva, and more.

Since GM Indonesia stopped working with GM US and start working with GM Korea, Chevy's sale rates have become better, but some people still think Chevy is bad because of the Zafira and Blazer. If Cadillac is not working with GM anymore, I'll buy it.