The Meriva has proved us wrong! We flipped one of the back seats down, slid the tractor-sized buggy in (I actually had to learn how to fold it down) and there was still plenty of room for the dog. So she is quite a roomy little beast after all. Staying up in Charlestown – a beautiful little harbour village on Cornwall’s south coast – for the weekend, we used the Meriva every day to whiz over to the North Coast on day trips with the family onboard. What with the crowds descending on the coast for the bank holiday she was great to squeeze into tight parking spaces, although the parking sensors were bleeping like mad as I slipped into some of them with literally millimetres to spare. It got a bit hot and stuffy under the Cornish sunshine but the tinted windows and roof blind were brilliant for shading Oli, and when he did get a bit twitchy we just opened and closed the blind a few times which he just loved to watch! By the end of the weekend we felt like quite a compact little family and when we piled back into the van we realised how much kit we carry around and don’t even use. Today we were driving to the swimming pool and I realised I still haven’t mastered all the functions on the dashboard. I’ve got the fans and temperature control nailed. I’ve logged my favourite radio stations. Yet I still haven’t worked out why my lights are on most of the time on the auto setting. So this week I’ve set myself the task of becoming a bit more familiar with what all the buttons do. In the meantime Oli is completely familiar with the car – he toddled back up from the swimming pool, went straight over to our lovely Meriva and climbed his way in once I’d opened the door. Surely that’s his seal of approval. View less

Hi, we’re the Spurway family – Hayley, Ben, one-year-old Oli and Ziggy the dog. We live by the beach in Cornwall and usually drive a VW Transporter van to accommodate our active, outdoorsy lifestyle. What with the buggy, the dog, surfboards and wetsuits, cycling gear and camping equipment we’re always loading in and out the van, we need quite a large and robust family vehicle, so we’re looking forward to seeing how the Meriva performs. The only downside on its arrival is that there are no roof bars, so that will mean the kayak and surfboards will have to be left at home during our adventures over the next two weeks. Other than that our new family car is shiny, new and very exciting. Well that’s us. Now about the Vauxhall Meriva and what we think now we’ve had the low-down on its key features and how to drive it. I clocked the bit about the push button handbrake and the fact the lights come on automatically when it starts to get dark, but most of the instructions went in one ear and out the other as I gawped at the sleek, clean machine that’s to be mine for a fortnight. So now there’s me, Oli and fat instruction book to digest. All I can say is that I hope it’s easy to get to grips with because I’m the sort of person who likes to learn by experience. On first glance the feature I like the most about the car is the glass roof. I don’t really know what its benefits are but it makes the interior bright and airy and Oli gets a sky view (he usually sits in the front of the van and this is the first time he’s been in the back, so at least he can see the outside world). Being a luddite map user I’m looking forward to working out the built-in navigation system – or ‘navi’ as it’s called. Once I’ve found my MP3 player I’ll also be employing the USB socket so I no longer have to put up with rubbish radio on my travels. The most intriguing design feature is the backward opening back doors (I’m sure there is a technical term for this, but basically the back doors open the opposite way to usual doors), making it easier to put the car seat in and a cinch to faff around getting Oli in it. While I was installing the car seat Oli was in the front seat checking out the dashboard and all the cool functions on it – his favourites were the steering wheel and the very noisy horn – typical boy! It’s Wednesday evening and we’ve been for our first family beach trip and dog walk. Family Spurway fitted neatly into the Meriva with Ziggy in the boot, although I think it’ll be a little cramped with the buggy as well – we’ll be testing its capacity to the limits in our weekend travels. While we were driving along Oli spent most of his time looking upwards, suggesting the glass roof was a hit in his books. All the way home he was singing (the tuneful monotone melody of a toddler) so we’re guessing he’s happy in his new car!  I found the car very reactive and nippy compared to what I’m used to, although I’m usually high up in the van so I felt really close to the road and that was a bit strange. Sorting out the radio channels and logging my favourite channels was really straightforward – I even managed to plug an address in the navigation system, which is proof that’s really easy to use after all. Best bits so far? We love the doors that open really wide making it easy to access the interior and get things in and out. The storage compartment between the seats has loads of space for drinks, keys, wallets etc and there is a sunglasses compartment above the driver’s door so I’ll never have to hunt my sunnies down again while driving! Things we’re not so sure about? The push-button hand brake that could easily be pushed by little fingers when the car is in motion. And, we still think the car may be slightly bijou for our needs. However, with beach trips, outings to the fun park and a mini-break coming up in the next fortnight, we’re really look forward to taking the Meriva on all sorts of family Spurway adventures. View less