9 August 2002: General Motors has introduced the Opel-designed Meriva ‘mini minivan’ in Brazil six months ahead of Europe. The Meriva will go on sale in Ireland next Spring, and Opel are hoping it will emulate the success of the Zafira in the compact MPV segment.

Though based on the Corsa, the new car is actually just 2.2 inches shorter than Zafira and almost as wide. It's the production version of the ‘Concept M’ unveiled at Geneva last March. Power is provided by diesel and petrol engines ranging from 1.6 to 1.8 litres in size.

The Meriva will have a similar innovation as the Zafira - the FlexSpace concept means the vehicle can be transformed in seconds from a five-seater to a four-seater, a two-seater or even a single-seater — all without removing the seats.

With all five seats in use Meriva has a boot capacity of around 490 litres, while in four-seat mode the two rear passengers enjoy as much room as in a midsize car. A few simple movements convert it into a two-seater with a 68-inch load length and more than 1,300 litres cargo volume. The front passenger seat also folds if necessary.

At the core of FlexSpace is the design of the centre seat, whose backrest is 6 inches narrower than the cushion, and, when folded down, is at the same level as the cushion of the two outer seats.

This allows the outside seats to move inwards on horizontal rails. Then they can be pushed backwards because they can now slide past the rear wheel arches.

And there is even more flexibility. To enlarge the load area, each outer rear seat pushes forward separately by more than five inches. With the backrests moved to a steeper angle than the normal position the load capacity exceeds 530 litres.

Finally, if the front passenger’s seat back is also folded forward, Meriva can carry items as large as a surfboard.

The Meriva concept was developed by Opel's International Technical Development Centre (ITDC) in Russelsheim and GM do Brasil's Design and Engineering Centre in Sao Paulo.