Hidden Heroes: Vauxhall Zafira GSi

Boney M have a lot to thank Vauxhall for. Back at the end of 2001, the Luton-based company decided to introduce a car that would turn the perception of the traditional people carrier on its head.

With 197bhp, the Zafira GSi came with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, with all that power channelled through the front wheels. Enough for a 0-60 time of 7.0 seconds and a top speed of around 150mph - hardly the standard stats for a seven-seater MPV.

Where the Seventies glam band came in, though, was in Vauxhall’s advertising. The company revived the Boney M hit ‘Daddy Cool’ for a series of TV adverts, which included children admiring their dad’s choice in people carrier. 

It was an overtly sexist but incredibly effective piece of marketing, reinventing the Zafira as a vehicle that was about more than just sensibility and practicality. Indeed, they even offered a styling pack on lesser Zafira models, so that if Dad bought a 1.8 SRi, he could make it look like the one off the advert, other than the Arden Blue paint, which was reserved for GSi spec only. 

Vauxhall pulled it off, too. The Zafira was based on the Lotus-tuned chassis of the Astra G, and in the GSi model it got the same chassis and performance enhancements as the hot Astra, which meant that it was really quite effective through the twisty bits. Yes, it suffered from torque steer and its upright bodywork meant a bit of extra lean through the bends, but it was riotous fun to drive.

It was always a niche. Vauxhall sold just 2800 of them over a four-year production run, and of those around half still survive, some in enthusiast ownership, but the others still floating around in the lower reaches of the classifieds. These days, £1500 will buy you a good one. If you want to be Daddy Cool yourself, now’s the time to buy.