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2017 Opel Meriva C Swaps Suicide Doors for Regular Doors

When Opel presented the Meriva B in 2009, I was chuffed to bits to find out that the unassuming compact multi-purpose vehicle is equipped with suicide doors. “How fantastic is that for an MPV?” I thought to myself. The soon-to-debut Meriva C, however, will not pride itself on the suicide doors Opel had dubbed FlexDoors.
2017 Opel Meriva C 13 photos
Photo: CarPix
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Recently spied lurking in and about Germany, this pre-production example of the Opel Meriva C is neither a full-blown crossover nor a genuine multi-purpose vehicle. It sits just an idea higher off the ground compared to its predecessor and, if equipped with halogen headlights, it looks rather dreary.

The upper and lower grilles, however, are inspired by the yet-to-debut Insignia B, and that’s a good thing. The rear end, on the other hand, doesn’t foot the bill. Even though the taillights are similar in design to those of the Astra K and the third brake light is integrated into the subtle roof spoiler, the Meriva C’s rear end looks as if it is yesterday’s news. And that’s not a good thing.

I agree that MPVs aren’t bought for the way they look, but then again, why would the average family man in Europe buy a less-than-desirable multi-purpose vehicle instead of a similarly-sized crossover such as the Citroen C4 Cactus? The MPV genre finds himself between a rock and a hard place nowadays, yet the Meriva C doesn’t even try to change the fate of its species.

The interior of the 2017 Opel Meriva doesn’t help the cause either. For what it’s worth, the platform-sharing sibling of the upcoming Meriva C will be more visually pleasing and, if my intuition is correct, just a little less expensive.

I’m referring to the 2017 Citroen C3 Picasso, which our spy photographers caught in sunny Spain two months ago. On a final note, the European arm of General Motors and Citroen are expected to use their own engines and transmissions in the next-generation Meriva and C3 Picasso.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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