Vauxhall Meriva minivan introduced

Opel Meriva 2010

Opel Meriva 2010

The butterfly wings of his new Meriva minivan unfurl to reveal a smart interior accentuated by space and light. Although the Meriva, built on the European Astra platform and so damned unlikely to make it to Australia, seats only five people, it has a versatile interior that includes a forward-facing dashboard, outboard and forward-sliding rear seats, and a central moveable center. console known as FlexRail.

This system sits between the front seats on rails, taking up space where the shifter - now higher on the dash - and the parking brake - now an electric button - once demanded space. Vauxhall said this provides convenient and adaptable storage for everyday items from bags and coloring books to iPods and sunglasses.

The flexible seats allow the baby van to have a range of interior configurations without having to remove any seats, changing from two to five. Both of its outer rear seats can be moved forward and backward individually, as well as slid inward to increase shoulder width and legroom. In addition, the rear seatbacks can be fully lowered without removing the headrests.

Butterfly (or suicide doors) have opposing hinges to facilitate entry and exit to the ear, although the B-pillar remains. The only such system on production cars is the Mazda RX-8. The Meriva will debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.