New Vauxhall Meriva: first interior images

These are the first interior shots of the new Vauxhall Meriva MPV.

When the first official pictures of the Vauxhall Meriva were released last week, we were excited by the practical design flourishes including the sinking window line and rear-opening doors, but as MPV customers will attest, it’s what’s inside that really counts.

The most family-friendly MPV yet

Vauxhall considers the new Meriva MPV to be the most versatile and family friendly model it has ever built. Up front, we can see that the panoramic glass roof and thinner A-pillars – the vertical frame between the doors and the windscreen – have really boosted visibility, and that sense of light and space extends to the rear of the cabin.

Designers have moved the instrument panel forward to increase space and comfort up front, and raised the driver height to provide a more commanding view of the road ahead. The two-tone cabin looks modern and well finished, although we’re looking forward to having a thorough poke around the car’s official unveil at the Geneva Motor Show in March.


'FlexDoor' design improves access

Vauxhall has christened its innovative rear-opening doors ‘FlexDoor’. This picture (right) hopefully demonstrates that a rear-hinged passenger door not only opens wider – allowing better ingress and egress – it can also create a semi-enclosed area that's better for controlling children at the roadside.

The rear doors can be opened independently of the fronts - unlike other similar designs on the market - but for safety reasons are electronically locked the moment the Meriva starts moving.

FlexRail and FlexSpace

Vauxhall is making much noise about the Meriva’s new ‘FlexRail’ centre console design. Two polished aluminium rails extend rearward along the cabin floor from below the electronic parking brake and connect up to a variety of accessories or ‘modules’ including arm rests, cup holders, aux-in, USB and 12v connections.

The clever ‘FlexSpace’ rear seats of the original Meriva – which allow the seats to fold, slide and store flat - are carried over in the all-new car, but have been upgraded with ‘one-touch’ actions. With the seats folded flat, boot space increases from 400 litres to 1,500 litres