WITH its Zafira model, Vauxhall has taken the MPV theme a stage further.

It has sharpened up the old ideas to create a true family tourer and it is comfort all the way.

Of course, Vauxhall has had vast experience with MPVs with the Zafira being a pioneer in its field and it has held its ground against some much more modern competitors.

With its clever Flex7 seating plan the Zafira won many fans and the latest version looks as fresh as many of its newer rivals.

It boasts the latest corporate front-end of the latest range with a wider, sleeker grille with double LEDs in the new headlights.

First impressions count a lot and the seating in this vehicle is truly superb, worthy of some much more expensive sets of wheels.

And there is a whole new modern air about the cabin with the infotainment screen now integrated in the main controls, many of which are now accessed via the screen.

The new seven-inch touchscreen has been executed with quality inspired by top-of-the-range tablets.

The new, three-dimensionally sculptured steering wheel with the small and efficiently packaged airbag cover is designed to not only look great, but to also put ergonomics at the forefront.

An important feature is the latest generation Vauxhall IntelliLink infotainment systems with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and OnStar, including 4G/LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, ensure the Zafira Tourer offers optimum connectivity while on the road.

Fold all the rear seats down and you have what is ostensibly a van with a massive 1,860 litre capacity.

Powering this vehicle was a 1.4-litre 140ps four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with gave more than adequate performance with 124mph on tap and a 0-62mph sprint of 9.9 seconds.

This gave a particularly smooth flow of power via a six-speed manual transmission and for a petrol engine of this size economy ticked the box at 42.2mpg.

Stable and flat cornering and accurate steering with lots of feel again made the driving experience reminiscent of a much more expensive vehicle.

The SRi Nav model includes a sat nav, digital radio, smartphone connectivity, air con, cruise control, Bluetooth and front and rear parking sensors.