Opel Zafira Tourer Concept offers glimpse of third-gen MPV

Opel will be premiering its Zafira Tourer Concept at the Geneva Motor Show, and the vehicle is expected to provide the basis for the production third-generation version of the compact MPV, which will arrive in Opel and Vauxhall forms sometime early next year.

The concept is powered by a new version of the downsized, fuel-efficient 1.4 Turbo pot featuring Start/Stop technology, while among the items found in the vehicle’s underpinnings is a FlexRide adaptive damping system.

Externally, things start with a colour scheme called Frost Liquid Metal, a special metallic silver-grey, and the Zafira Tourer Concept features, among other things, dark metallic grey 20-inch twin-spoke alloy wheels with 245/40 R20 tyres and wing-shaped LED daytime running lights, bi-xenon AFL and fog lamps – all contained behind a single Plexiglass cover – at the front.

Of course, it’s in the interior where all the action is – the concept features a cabin with generous space for rear-seat passengers and a light, airy outlook, provided by a panoramic windscreen that flows into a generous glass roof extending to the rear of the car.

A second pane of high-tech composite material is edge-lit by LEDs. Tiny metallic particles are embedded in the cabin’s upper sections to reflect the light and give off a warm glow that can be varied in different shades of yellow.

The seating configuration is versatile enough, so to speak. With two rows in place, providing five-seat capacity, the Zafira concept can be transformed at the push of a button into a four-seater with limousine levels of space. A folding mechanism allows the centre section of the second row to fold down, revealing two armrests for occupants in the outer seats. These seats can then slide back and towards each other.

The concept’s tiltable three-piece headrests are electrically powered, though the driver’s remains in a vertical position when the car is in motion. In the ‘lounge’ setting, each swivels 90 degrees to the horizontal position while the outer elements curve slightly forward.

Up front, a large touchscreen display dominates the centre console, above which a covered storage compartment can hold a tablet PC like an iPad. With pivot-mounted tablet PCs on the front seat backs, passengers in the second row can comfortably surf the internet or control multimedia apps.

The interior is finished in high-quality caramel leather for the seats, with colour-matched quilted seams and stitching contrasting with cocoa dark brown door trim, soft deep-pile carpet and a host of premium materials.

Gallery after the jump.

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