In April 1999, Opel was the first German manufacturer to launch a compact van under 4.50 meters in length. Presented at the Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris in October 1998, the Opel Zafira was based on the T-platform of the Opel Astra, but with a wheelbase extended from 261 to 269 cm. With engines ranging from 82 to 200 hp, it competed primarily against French and Japanese rivals such as the Renault Mégane Scénic and Mitsubishi Space Star.
Although it was only three centimeters longer than the Opel Astra Caravan, the Zafira offered significantly more interior space. In addition to seven instead of five standard seats, it also offered up to 1700 load space (instead of 1500 for the estate). The Zafira's unique selling point was the Flex7 system developed by Porsche. Unlike its competitors, where the seats had to be removed to expand the load compartment, the Zafira's seats could simply be folded down and lowered into the load floor.
Thanks to fine-tuning in the wind tunnel, the Zafira's Cd value was reduced to 0.33, which was the best value in its vehicle class. In addition to the Bochum plant, Opel's compact van was also produced in Thailand and Brazil, where it was sold as the Chevrolet Zafira. In addition to the usual Vauxhall offshoot for the British market, there was also the Holden Zafira for Australia. In Japan, the Astra van was also available not only as the Opel Zafira, but also as the Subaru Traviq.
Production in Bochum and Rayong (Thailand) ended in May 2005 after around 1.5 million units. Only around 12,000 of these were the hot OPC variant with 200 hp. In São José dos Campos, however, the Zafira continued to roll off the production line until 2012. This means that almost all Eurasian Opel Zafira A models have already reached youngtimer age.
